Tax Equity And Financial Responsibility Acts Of 1982 And 1983 (TEFRA)
Legislation that redefined life insurance and raised taxes on life insurance companies. Among the provisions were new rules for some life insurance products, including a definition of flexible premium life insurance, and an increase in life insurance company taxes. Congress was concerned that a policyholder could take a substantial amount, say $1 million, and, after putting a few dollars toward a life insurance premium, put the remainder into a tax-free investment vehicle. One of two tests had to be satisfied for a policy to qualify as life insurance: the cash surrender value policy could not exceed a net single premium, and the death benefit had to represent a certain percentage of the cash value, which declined as the policy-holder got older. For example, at age 40, the death benefit must be 140% of cash value. The second rule closed a loophole on tax-free withdrawals from annuities. Prior to 1982 annuity holders could withdraw their initial premium tax free at any time. The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable. The older 1959 tax code devised a shorthand formula for determining taxes paid by insurers. The formula worked when interest rates were low, but as they soared, insurers found ways to reduce the increased tax bite. The 1982 code introduced a stopgap measure designed to raise taxes on life insurers by $3 billion.
Popular Insurance Terms
Date of the initial annuity payment. ...
Transfer of property from a bailor to a bailee; for example, transferring a suit to be cleaned from the bailor (owner) to the bailee (cleaners). ...
Structure. In general, company functions are delegated to several departments: actuarial, agency, claims and loss control, investments, legal, marketing, and underwriting. ...
Circumstance under which the insured maintains that, if an insurance policy covers at least two scheduled items of real or personal property, in the event of a loss applicable coverage ...
Legal capability of those involved in mutual assent of making a contract, including an insurance contract. Those who have been deemed to be incompetent to make a valid contract include ...
Specific powers granted by the principal (the insurance company) to the agent in the contract. ...
Endorsement to an automobile insurance policy that protects an insured in either or both of two circumstances when driving a non owned car: business endorsement if the insured's negligent ...
Written document containing instructions on managing one's assets during one's lifetime. The document may be revoked (unless made irrevocable at creation), terminated, or amended at any ...
Premium income divided by the surplus account. ...
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