Individual Variable Life Product Outline

Summary of Changes

(Last Updated July 8, 2024)

1. Section II.A.1 (Prior Approval Requirement) was revised for consistency with other posted outlines to remind insurers of the definition of “policy form” under Insurance Law § 3201(a).
2. Section II.A.7 (Filings Must be Submitted Through the System for Electronic Rates and Forms Filing (“SERFF”)) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to reflect the requirements of 11 NYCRR 6 (Insurance Regulation 195) that filings must be submitted through SERFF.
3. Section II.B.3(c) (Prior Approval With Certification Procedure) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
4. Section II.B.4(a) (Filing of Non-English Versions of Forms) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
5. Section II.C.1 (Duplicates) was deleted to emphasize the use of SERFF rather than paper submissions.
6. Section II.C.4 (Final Format) was revised for consistency with other posted outlines to clarify that a company may not reserve the right to make revisions to the form, outside of those listed in section II.C.4, without filing the revised form for approval.
7. Section II.C.5 (Submission Made on Behalf of the Insurer) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
8. Section II.C.7 (Circular Letter No. 8 (1999)) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to emphasize certain existing SERFF Form Schedule procedures from the General SERFF Guidelines.
9. Section II.C.8 (Numbering Variable Material) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to clarify that if variable material within the policy form is identified by numbers that correspond to the memorandum of variable material, it is this version with the numbering that should be attached under the SERFF Form Schedule rather than a “clean” copy without numbering.
10. Sections II.D (SERFF Filing Description/Requested Filing Mode), II.D.1 (Filing Basis) and II.D.2 (Compliance with Section I.G. of Circular Letter No. 6 (1963)) were revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and reformatted for consistency with other posted outlines.
11. Sections II.D.3(a) and (c) (Explanation of Unique Features and Markets) were updated for consistency with other posted outlines to remind insurers of Circular Letter No. 6 (2023) and the corresponding filing guidance.
12. Section II.D.3(c) (Explanation of Unique Features and Markets) was revised for consistency with posted outlines to add a link to the Department’s website guidance.
13. Section II.D.5 (Sex-Distinct/Unisex) was updated to emphasize the use of SERFF.  New sections were added to assist insurers with submitting configurations of policies, specification pages, and endorsements that may be utilized for sex-distinct/unisex policies and for consistency with posted outlines.
14. Section II.D.6  (Noncompliance Explanation) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
15. Section II.D.7 (Informational Filings) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
16. Section II.D.8 (Extension of Use) was added to clarify when an extension of use is necessary, and for consistency with other posted outlines.
17. Section II.D.9 (Resubmissions) was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
18. Section II.D.10 (Policy Illustration)  was revised to emphasize the use of SERFF and reminds insurers of the obligation to comply with Section 3209 and Regulation 74, consistent with other posted outlines.
19. Section II.D.10(b) (Policy Illustration) was added to clarify that for a variable universal life policy, an insurer must provide either preliminary information and a policy summary, or an illustration that complies, to the extent applicable, with Regulation 74.
20. Section II.E.3 (Self-Support Statement) was revised to clarify that if a submission includes more than one set of specification page forms, each set must be addressed in the statement of self-support and for consistency with other posted outlines.
21. Section II.E.5 (Variable Material) was revised to emphasize existing procedures, appearing in other filing guidance, that the Memorandum of Variable Material should be submitted under the Form Schedule in SERFF and for consistency with other posted outlines.
22. Section II.E.7 (Actuarial Memorandum) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to clarify that an actuarial memorandum must be included in the submission.
23. Section II.F.2 (Regulations) and section II.F.3 (Circular Letters) were expanded for completeness.
24. Section III.A.1 (Insurer Name and Address) subsections (a) and (f) were revised for consistency with other posted outlines to remind insurers that the insurer’s name must be at least as prominent as any logo used on the form.
25. Section III.A.2 (Free Look Provision) was revised to remind insurers of the policy form filing options for changing language in the free look provision, which is consistent with other posted outlines.
26. Section III.A.3 (Form Identification Number) was revised to clarify that subsequent pages of a form must contain the same form number and is consistent with other posted outlines.
27. Section III.A.4 (Brief Description of Policy) was reformatted for consistency with other posted outlines.
28. Section III.A.6 (Bar Codes and QR Codes) was added to address the use of bar codes and QR codes and is consistent with other posted outlines.
29. Section III.B.10 (Specification Page) was created to address disclosure of modal premium for scheduled premium policies and is consistent with posted outlines.
30. Section III.B.14 (For Substandard Rate Classes) was added to clarify the requirements for substandard rate classes and for consistency with other posted outlines.
31. Section III.D.1(d) (Entire Contract) was added to clarify that any dollar cost averaging or asset rebalancing provisions be contained in the policy rather than incorporated by reference.
32. Section III.D.2(c)(ii) (Grace Period) was revised to clarify there will be no pro rata refund on death if the policyholder elected a level death benefit.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
33. Section III.D.4(d) (Reinstatement) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to remind insurers that evidence of insurability upon reinstatement must be the same, or comparable to the evidence of insurability required at issue to prevent the insurability requirements from rendering the statutory reinstatement right illusory.
34. Section III.D.4(e) (Reinstatement) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to clarify that if the reinstatement provision allows for repayment or reinstatement of policy loans, the policyowner must have the option to repay or reinstate any outstanding loans upon reinstatement.
35. Section III.D.7(n) (Policy Loans) was added to clarify that if a future reduction in loan spread is illustrated, it must be guaranteed in the policy.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
36. Section III.D.11 (Settlement Options) was expanded to address mortality tables, purchase rates, and to clarify that purchase option rates or settlement option rates that provide the same income for individuals of different ages are not permitted.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
37. Sections III.D.12(e) and (f) (Account Value) were added to address policies that also credit additional amounts in an equity index account and for consistency with posted outlines.
38. Sections III.D.12(g) and (h) (Account Value) were added to remind insurers to comply with Regulation 74 where applicable.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
39. Section III.D.12(o) (Account Value) was added to remind insurers that for flexible premium universal life policies, the policy needs to be clear that for the level death benefit option, the account value is not refunded upon death.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
40. Section III.E.1(m)(ii)(II) (Minimum Cash Surrender Values) was revised for consistency with other posted outlines to clarify that purchase basis specified in the policy form for guaranteed paid up insurance should include the mortality table and interest rate.
41. Section III.E.1(m)(ii)(VIII) (Minimum Cash Surrender Values) was added for consistency with other posted outlines to remind insurers that the paid-up interest rate used in determining the amount of guaranteed paid-up life insurance must be specified in the policy form.
42. Section III.E.3 (Accounts with an Equity Index Feature) was expanded to provide additional guidance regarding interest rates and guaranteed minimum cap rates.  This is consistent with other posted outlines.
43. Section III.E.6(c) (Joint Life Policies) was added to provide clarification regarding reinstatement and is consistent with posted outlines.
44. Section III.F.8 (Proof of Loss) was revised for consistency with other posted outlines to reflect Circular Letter No. 1 (2017).
45. Section III.F.12 (Inducements) was added for clarification and is consistent with posted outlines.
46. Section III.H (Policies for the Section 403(b) Market) was reformatted for consistency with other posted outlines.
47. Section III.I.(3) was added to provide clarification on automatic coverage on newborns and is consistent with posted outlines.
48. Section IV.A.1 was revised for consistency with other posted outlines to state the interest rates that require Department approval.
49. Section V (Separate Account Plan of Operations) was revised to provide updated contact information.

Note: Additional formatting changes or technical/stylistic changes of a non-substantive nature may have also been made.