The minimum valuation standard for universal life insurance policies shall be the commissioners reserve valuation method, as hereinafter described for such policies, and the tables and interest rates hereinafter specified. The terminal reserve for the basic policy and any benefits and/or riders for which premiums are not paid separately as of any policy anniversary shall be equal to the net level premium reserves less (C) and less (D), where:

(1) Reserves by the net level premium method shall be equal to ((A)-(B))r where:

(a) (A) is the present value of all future guaranteed benefits at the date of valuation.

(b) (B) is the quantity PVFB•äx+t/äx, where PVFB is the present value of all benefits guaranteed at issue assuming future guaranteed maturity premiums are paid by the policyowner and taking into account all guarantees contained in the policy or declared by the insurer.

(c) äx and äx+t are present values of an annuity of one per year payable on policy anniversaries beginning at ages x and x+t, respectively, and continuing until the highest attained age at which a premium may be paid under the policy. (x) is defined as the issue age and (t) is defined as the duration of the policy.

(d) The guaranteed maturity premium for fixed premium universal life insurance policies shall be the premium defined in the policy which at issue provides the minimum policy guarantees.

(e) The guaranteed maturity premium for fixed premium policies shall be adjusted for death benefit corridors provided by the policy.

(f) r is equal to one.

(g) The guaranteed maturity fund at any duration is that amount which, together with future guaranteed maturity premiums, will mature the policy based on all policy guarantees at issue.

(2) (C) is the quantity ((a)-(b))•äx+t•r/äx, where (a)-(b) is as described in RCW 48.74.040(1) for the plan of insurance defined at issue by the guaranteed maturity premiums and all guarantees contained in the policy or declared by the insurer. The definition of äx+t and äx is set forth in subsection (1)(c) of this section.

(3) (D) is the sum of any additional quantities analogous to (C) which arise because of structural changes in the policy, with each such quantity being determined on a basis consistent with that of (C) using the maturity date in effect at the time of the change.

(a) Structural changes are those changes which are separate from the automatic workings of the policy. Such changes usually would be initiated by the policyowner and include changes in the guaranteed benefits, changes in latest maturity date, or changes in allowable premium payment period.

(b) In effecting structural changes, consistent methods are prescribed when calculating reserves. Several such methods are possible, but perhaps the simplest such method would be that of maintaining proportionality between the guaranteed maturity fund and guaranteed maturity premium values and the current face amount. In applying this method, guaranteed maturity fund and guaranteed maturity premium values could be calculated per dollar of face amount and simply multiplied by the new face amount. This would eliminate much of the complexity involved in other methods.

(c) The guaranteed maturity premium, the guaranteed maturity fund and (B) shall be recalculated to reflect any structural changes in the policy. This recalculation shall be done in a manner consistent with the foregoing descriptions.

(4) Future guaranteed benefits are determined by (a) projecting the greater of the guaranteed maturity fund and the policy value, taking into account future guaranteed maturity premiums, if any, and using all guarantees of interest, mortality, expense deductions, etc., contained in the policy or declared by the insurer; and (b) taking into account any benefits guaranteed in the policy or by declaration which do not depend on the policy value.

(5) All present values shall be determined using (a) an interest rate (or rates) specified by RCW 48.74.030 for policies issued in the same year; (b) the mortality rates specified by RCW 48.74.030 for policies issued in the same year or contained in such other table as may be approved by the commissioner for this purpose; and (c) any other tables needed to value supplementary benefits provided by a rider which is being valued together with the policy.

(6) To the extent that the insurer declares guarantees more favorable than those in the policy (contractual guarantees), such declared guarantees shall be applicable to the determination of future guaranteed benefits.

(7) The mortality and interest bases for calculating present values are those assumptions defined in the Standard Valuation Law for the calculation of minimum policy reserves.

(8) RCW 48.74.030 (1)(g) permits valuation calculations on the basis of substandard mortality. While such provisions have been used infrequently in the past, it is anticipated that substandard mortality will be more frequently utilized in universal life insurance, given its flexible nature, to reflect the mortality classification assigned to the policy by the insurer.