2023 Delaware Code › Title 18 - Insurance Code › Chapter 11. ASSETS AND LIABILITIES › Subchapter III. Life Insurance Reserves › § 1114B. Computation of minimum standard by calendar year of issue.

§ 1114B. Computation of minimum standard by calendar year of issue.
(a) The interest rates used in determining the minimum standard for the valuation of the following shall be the calendar year statutory valuation interest rates as defined in this section:
(1) Life insurance policies issued in a particular calendar year, on or after the operative date of § 2929(g) of this title;
(2) Individual annuity and pure endowment contracts issued in a particular calendar year on or after January 1, 1984;
(3) Annuities and pure endowments purchased in a particular calendar year on or after January 1, 1984, under group annuity and pure endowment contracts; and
(4) The net increase, if any, in a particular calendar year after January 1, 1984, in amounts held under guaranteed interest contracts.
(b) Calendar year statutory valuation interest rates. — (1) The calendar year statutory valuation interest rates, I, shall be determined as follows and the results rounded to the nearer ¼ of 1%
(A) For life insurance:
I = .03 + W R1 - .03 + W 2 R2 - .09
(B) For single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits involving life contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and from guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options:
I = .03 + WR - .03
Where R1 is the lesser of R and .09, R2 is the greater of R and .09, R is the reference interest rate defined in this section, and is the weighting factor defined in this section;
(C) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, valued on an issue year basis, except as stated in paragraph (b)(1)(B) of this section, the formula for life insurance stated in paragraph (b)(1)(A) of this section shall apply to annuities and guaranteed interest contracts with guarantee durations in excess of 10 years and the formula for single premium immediate annuities stated in paragraph (b)(1)(B) of this section shall apply to annuities and guaranteed interest contracts with guarantee duration of 10 years or less;
(D) For other annuities with no cash settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options, the formula for single premium immediate annuities stated in paragraph (b)(1)(B) of this section shall apply.
(E) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, valued on a change in fund basis, the formula for single premium immediate annuities stated in paragraph (b)(1)(B) of this section shall apply.
(2) However, if the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for a life insurance policy issued in any calendar year determined without reference to this sentence differs from the corresponding actual rate for similar policies issued in the immediately preceding calendar year by less than 1/2 of 1%, the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for the life insurance policies shall be equal to the corresponding actual rate for the immediately preceding calendar year. For purposes of applying the immediately preceding sentence, the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for life insurance policies issued in a calendar year shall be determined for 1980 (using the reference interest rate defined in 1979) and shall be determined for each subsequent calendar year regardless of when § 2929(g) of this title becomes operative.
(c) Weighting factors. — (1) The weighting factors referred to in the formulas stated above are given in the following tables:
(A) Weighting factors for life insurance:
Guarantee
Duration
Weighting
Years
Factors
10 or less
.50
More than 10, but not more than 20
.45
More than 20
.35
For life insurance, the guarantee duration is the maximum number of years the life insurance can remain in force on a basis guaranteed in the policy or under options to convert to plans of life insurance with premium rates or nonforfeiture values or both which are guaranteed in the original policy;
(B) Weighting factor for single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits involving life contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options:
.80.
(C) Weighting factors for other annuities and for guaranteed interest contracts, except as stated in paragraph (c)(1)(B) of this section, shall be as specified in paragraphs (c)(1)(C)(i), (ii) and (iii) of this section below, according to the rules and definitions in paragraphs (c)(1)(C)(iv), (v) and (vi) of this section below:
(i) For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on an issue year basis:
Guarantee
Weighting Factor
Duration
for Plan Type
Years
A
B
C
5 or less:
.80
.60
.50
More than 5, but not more than 10:
.75
.60
.50
More than 10, but not more than 20:
.65
.50
.45
More than 20:
.45
.35
.35
(ii) For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on a change in fund basis, the factors shown in paragraph (c)(1)(C)(i) of this section above increased by:
Plan Type
A
B
C
.15
.25
.05
(iii) For annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on an issue year basis (other than those with no cash settlement options) that do not guarantee interest on considerations received more than 1 year after issue or purchase and for annuities and guaranteed interest contracts valued on a change in fund basis that do not guarantee interest rates on considerations received more than 12 months beyond the valuation date, the factors shown in paragraph (c)(1)(C)(i) of this section or derived in paragraph (c)(1)(C)(ii) of this section increased by:
Plan Type
A
B
C
.05
.05
.05
(iv) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, the guarantee duration is the number of years for which the contract guarantees interest rates in excess of the calendar year statutory valuation interest rate for life insurance policies with guarantee duration in excess of 20 years. For other annuities with no cash settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options, the guaranteed duration is the number of years from the date of issue or date of purchase to the date annuity benefits are scheduled to commence.
(v) “Plan type” as used in the above tables is defined as follows:
Plan type A:
— At any time policyholder may withdraw funds only (1) with an adjustment to reflect changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt of the funds by the insurance company, or (2) without an adjustment but installments over 5 years or more, or (3) as an immediate life annuity, or (4) no withdrawal permitted.
Plan type B:
— Before expiration of the interest rate guarantee, policyholder may withdraw funds only (1) with an adjustment to reflect changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt of the funds by the insurance company, or (2) without an adjustment but in installments over 5 years or more, or (3) no withdrawal permitted. At the end of interest rate guarantee, funds may be withdrawn without an adjustment in a single sum or installments over less than 5 years.
Plan type C:
— Policyholder may withdraw funds before expiration of interest rate guarantee in a single sum or installments over less than 5 years either (1) without adjustment to reflect changes in interest rates or asset values since receipt of the funds by the insurance company, or (2) subject only to a fixed surrender charge stipulated in the contract as a percentage of the fund.
(vi) A company may elect to value guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options and annuities with cash settlement options on either an issue year basis or on a change in fund basis. Guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options and other annuities with no cash settlement options must be valued on an issue year basis. As used in this section, an “issue year basis of valuation” refers to a valuation basis under which the interest rate used to determine the minimum valuation standard for the entire duration of the annuity or guaranteed interest contract is the calendar year valuation interest rate for the year of issue or year of purchase of the annuity or guaranteed interest contract, and the change in fund basis of valuation refers to a valuation basis under which the interest rate used to determine the minimum valuation standard applicable to each change in the fund held under the annuity or guaranteed interest contract is the calendar year valuation interest rate for the year of the change in the fund.
(d) Reference interest rate. — (1) The reference interest rate referred to in subsection (b) of this section shall be defined as follows:
(A) For life insurance, the lesser of the average over a period of 36 months and the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year preceding the year of issue, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(B) For single premium immediate annuities and for annuity benefits involving life contingencies arising from other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of issue or year of purchase, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(C) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, valued on a year of issue basis, except as stated in paragraph (d)(1)(B) of this section, with guarantee duration in excess of 10 years, the lesser of the average over a period of 36 months and the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of issue or purchase, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(D) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, valued on a year of issue basis, except as stated in paragraph (d)(1)(B) of this section, with guarantee duration of 10 years or less, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of issue or purchase, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(E) For other annuities with no cash settlement options and for guaranteed interest contracts with no cash settlement options, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of issue or purchase, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(F) For other annuities with cash settlement options and guaranteed interest contracts with cash settlement options, valued on a change in fund basis, except as stated in paragraph (d)(1)(B) of this section, the average over a period of 12 months, ending on June 30 of the calendar year of the change in the fund, of the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds, as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.
(e) Alternative method for determining reference interest rates. — In the event that the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds is no longer published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or in the event that the NAIC determines that the monthly average of the composite yield on seasoned corporate bonds as published by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is no longer appropriate for the determination of the reference interest rate, then an alternative method for determination of the reference interest rate adopted by the NAIC and approved by regulation promulgated by the Commissioner may be substituted.
80 Del. Laws, c. 117, §  1;