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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Expense of defending a lawsuit. To mount a legal defense against civil or criminal liability, a defendant faces expenses for lawyers, investigation, fact gathering, bonds, and court costs. ...
Income (premiums + investment earnings) minus disbursements (dividends + death claims + policies surrendered for benefits + general expenses). ...
Individual who has met professional standards of the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor for signing the actuarial reports required by the Employee Retirement Security Act ...
Clause in a life insurance policy that states that once the cash value exceeds the net single premium (based on current interest and mortality rates) required for the policy to become ...
in property and casualty insurance, termination of a policy because of failure to pay a renewal premium. in life insurance, termination of a policy because of failure to pay a premium and ...
Coverage providing protection for a business against loss from a hazard under the On-Premises Form, that provides all risk protection against the loss of money and securities; or the ...
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 ...
Same as term Buy-Back Deductible: deductible eliminated through the payment of an additional premium, resulting in first-dollar coverage under the policy. ...
Coverage in the event of death due to accident, usually in combination with dismemberment insurance. If death is due to accident, payment is made to the insured's beneficiary; if bodily ...
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