Virginia Law

Article V
Contracts Providing for Variable Benefits

A. Any variable contract providing benefits payable in variable amounts delivered or issued for delivery in this Commonwealth shall contain a statement of the essential features of the procedures to be followed by the insurance company in determining the dollar amount of such variable benefits. Any such contract, including a group contract and any certificate issued thereunder, shall state that such dollar amount will vary to reflect investment experience and shall contain on its first page a clear statement to the effect that the benefits thereunder are on a variable basis.

B. Illustrations of benefits payable under any contract providing benefits payable in variable amounts shall not include projections of past investment experience into the future or attempted predictions of future investment experience; provided that nothing contained herein is intended to prohibit use of hypothetical assumed rates of return to illustrate possible levels of annuity payments.

C. Any individual variable annuity contract delivered or issued for delivery in this Commonwealth shall stipulate the expense, mortality, and investment increment factors to be used in computing the dollar amount of variable benefits or other contractual payments or values thereunder, and may guarantee that expense and/or mortality results shall not adversely affect such dollar amounts.

In computing the dollar amount of variable benefits or other contractual payments or values under an individual variable annuity contract:

1. The annual net investment increment assumption shall not exceed 5.0%, except with the approval of the Commission;

2. To the extent that the level of benefits may be affected by mortality results, the mortality factor shall be determined from the Annuity Mortality Table for 1949, Ultimate, or any modification of that table not having a higher mortality rate at any age, or, if approved by the Commission, from another table.

"Expense", as used in this subdivision, may exclude some or all taxes, as stipulated in the contract.

D. The reserve liability for variable annuities shall be established pursuant to the requirements of the standard valuation law in accordance with actuarial procedures that recognize the variable nature of the benefits provided.