April 2020

Product & Service Notice

April 17, 2020

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PS4240AD – Temporary Underwriting Guidelines, COVID-19

As we continue to navigate the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. is continuously evaluating and adjusting our underwriting practices to support your business and navigate the risks associated with the pandemic.

Update to SBLI’s Response to COVID-19

Important Note: This builds upon our prior updates. Click 3/26/2020 or 4/06/2020 to view these.

SBLI continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our business. We stand ready to support you through these challenging times, so let us know what we can do to help you. Please note the following temporary changes effective April 17, 2020.

Underwriting Operations Update

Temporary Age Adjustments for Life Insurance Applications

• For cases aged 59 or younger:

> Table 6 or better, we are continuing to accept applications.

> Table 7 or higher, we are postponing applications until further notice.

• For cases aged 60 or older:

> Table 2 (150%) or better, we are continuing to accept applications.

> Table 3 or higher, we are postponing applications until further notice.

Key Reminders

• A statement of health will be required on all cases going forward on policy delivery and must be signed and returned. Please note, our e-Policy delivery system enables the policyholder to accept, sign and pay for the policy online, as well as fulfill any state delivery requirements without any human contact.
• We have temporarily suspended binding coverage with a Conditional Receipt and for the State of Kansas only, the Temporary Insurance Agreement.

Vendor Information

Medical Records

We are continuing to receive medical records daily from our medical retrieval vendors and are monitoring various processing metrics and any facility closures. We may also try to obtain Digital Health Portal information from Human API if necessary. If we are unable to obtain records, we will review submitted applications on a case-by-case basis.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-888-224-7254 (option 1) or email mailto:brokerage@sbli.com.

Thank you for your business.

Effective immediately, a COVID-19 Questionnaire is a requirement of application for all individual life insurance coverage until further notice. A sample copy of the COVID-19 Questionnaire as approved in the Interstate Insurance Compact is attached here (forms may vary by state).

This COVID-19 Questionnaire is available and is associated with each Assurity life insurance application in the iPipeline forms repository, but is not included as part of the application, so requires separate download.

This questionnaire is not currently incorporated in our e-application flow with iPipeline or our accelerated underwriting process.

Any applications submitted to Assurity electronically through iPipeline will trigger a separate email communication from Assurity to the proposed insured(s) at the email address provided in the application advising them of the need to complete the questionnaire and instructions to do so with signature and return back to Assurity via DocuSign.

If the application includes an Other/Additional proposed insured, please include the email address for Other/Additional proposed insured in agent comments with application submission.

Please advise your clients to look for this email from Assurity and complete promptly to avoid processing delays as all underwriting decisions require its completion.

Proposed insureds not willing to adopt the e-sign process for completion of the questionnaire can, at their request, be mailed a paper form for completion and return.

Applications being completed entirely in paper format should be submitted along with the COVID-19 Questionnaire completed for all proposed insureds to avoid processing delays.

Please call customer connections at 800-276-7619 ext. 4264, if you have any questions.

Temporary Changes to Life Insurance Underwriting Guidelines

Due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19, we are implementing the following temporary changes to our life insurance underwriting guidelines effective April 15, 2020. Note that these temporary changes apply to fully underwritten applications and do not apply to applicants who are approved for instant issue of simplified issue life insurance, including single payment whole life or Executive Benefit life products approved on a guaranteed issue basis.

Age and rating limitations:

• We will postpone coverage on individuals who are age 80 and above.
• Ages 70 – 79: Applicants must qualify for Standard rating or better and have no significant underlying medical condition or treatment that makes them more susceptible to COVID-19 death.*
• Ages 60 – 69: Applicants must qualify for Table 4 rating or better and have no significant underlying medical condition or treatment that makes them more susceptible to COVID-19 death.*
• Ages 0 – 59: Protective will consider applicants with all medical impairments through Table 4. Applicants rated over Table 4 will be considered on a case-by-case basis if the individual has no significant underlying medical condition or treatment that makes him or her more susceptible to COVID-19 death.*

*The medical conditions and treatments referred to above include, but are not limited to:

• Heart disease
• Significant cancer in the last 10 years
• Diabetes
• Pulmonary disease (COPD, Asthma, etc.)
• Autoimmune or Immunosuppressive Disease
• Any medication that causes immunosuppression (Biologic, Prednisone/Steroid, Methotrexate, etc.)

These temporary changes apply to all new or pending cases with no final underwriting offer or outstanding underwriting requirements. They do not apply to issued or approved cases that are awaiting policy issue requirements, including a Statement of Health.

Statement of Health:

All fully underwritten coverage approved on any applicant, regardless of age or face amount, will require a Statement of Health to be signed on delivery. This includes applicants who are not approved for instant issue of simplified issue life insurance or single payment whole life.

Please contact your Protective Life representative with any questions.

TEMPORARY CHANGES TO OUR UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES

April 15, 2020

As the COVID-19 situation continues to progress, we are constantly assessing our guidelines and procedures to ensure that they are evolving with these unprecedented events. Additionally, we continuously monitor updates from the U.S. Department of State and CDC, as well as other local, state and federal agencies.

Today, we are announcing temporary changes to our underwriting guidelines as they relate to older ages, smokers and clients with additional comorbidities. These changes are an update to our March 24, 2020 communication and will be effective Wednesday, April 15, 2020, until further notice. Changes are detailed below.

• Ages 80 and above: Postpone 45 days
• Ages 70-79 (all risks over Standard Non-Nicotine): Postpone 45 days
• Ages 66-69 (all risks over Table 2 Non-Nicotine): Postpone 45 days
• Ages 60-65 (all risks over Table 4 Non-Nicotine): Postpone 45 days

These guidelines will apply to new formal and informal cases, as well as any cases that are currently with Symetra where an underwriting decision has not been made.

We will continue to require a good health statement on all cases.

Smokers must be Preferred or better, otherwise they will be postponed. We will decline any cases over age 60 where the proposed insured vapes or uses vaping products.

Cases ages 60 and older with the following comorbidities will be automatically postponed for 45 days: coronary artery disease, diabetes, pulmonary issues, obesity/weight builds and immunosuppression disorders.

Please note that for any cases that are postponed, Symetra will re-underwrite the risk and review any new additional evidence after the postponement period.

We want to assure you that we are open for business and our team is here to assist you and your clients with any and all of your product, coverage and service needs.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your regional vice president or the Symetra Life Sales Desk at 1-877-737-3611.

IMPORTANT UNDERWRITING UPDATES:
SYMETRA ANNOUNCES ACCELERATED UNDERWRITING GUIDELINES

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, we recognize the difficulty in obtaining client exams and APS’s. That’s why we are pleased to announce our accelerated underwriting solution. These changes will allow us to offer:

Ages      Maximum coverage        Risk classes

18-50    $2 million           Standard through Super Preferred

51-60    $1 million           Standard through Super Preferred

This program is now in effect and applies to our permanent life insurance products.*

How the program works

You will need to only submit a completed application (both Part I and II) and we’ll run an MIB, Rx and MVR.

If this information yields a Standard or better risk class, an offer will be made.

For cases that are submitted through this program that do not receive a Standard or better offer, we will reach out and attempt to fully underwrite the case.

You should continue to submit business as you normally would, and our underwriters will follow the guidelines detailed above if they meet the above criteria.

We of course continue to welcome large cases, and we will continue to fully underwrite business where an exam and APS are available.

We are committed to our guiding principles of Value, Transparency and Sustainability and we feel that our accelerated underwriting and Adobe Signature programs align with these goals. We look forward to continuing to enhance our underwriting and new business capabilities, as ease of doing business is of paramount concern and focus for Symetra.

As always, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation on a regular basis and will revisit these guidelines as the marketplace normalizes.

For more information about these changes, contact your regional vice president or the Symetra Life Sales Desk at 1-877-737-3611 or lifesales@symetra.com.

Wednesday, April 9th, 2020.

Nationwide promises to provide extraordinary care during these uncertain times.

We’re all feeling the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in one way or another. And we want to assure you that Nationwide® remains fully committed to our members, employees, business partners and communities.

We understand there are going to be circumstances such as vendor closures and staffing issues that prevent us from receiving standard medical requirements. To ensure that protection is still available to as many individuals as possible during this time, we’re temporarily adjusting our underwriting guidelines.

What you need to know

Given the challenges of collecting information for underwriting, submitting applications via our Nationwide Intelligent Underwriting process is the best choice. Our Intelligent Underwriting process is being expanded to allow increased acceleration rates for qualifying clients, including those qualifying for the Standard rate class. Additionally, we will consider alternative sources of medical information when an exam is necessary for both traditional business and for our Intelligent Underwriting process. Here’s what’s changing:

1. 1. Health records and results — If acceleration is not possible and alternative sources of data are insufficient, we will consider client-provided personal health records and exam results that have been completed within the past 24 months.
2. 2. Medical requirement substitutions — Until further notice, the following acceleration guidelines are acceptable underwriting solutions:

• Face amounts
• Age 18 to 50: $100,000 to $2 million
• Age 51 to 60: Up to and including $1 million
• – Now allowing Standard or better risk classifications
• – If exams are needed, we will consider a completed physical, including labs, with all results normal within the prior 24 months
• – We can confirm the exam and lab results through digital health data
• Face amounts
• Age 18 to 50: Over $2 million
• Age 51 to 60: Over $1 million
• – Case meets regular accelerated underwriting guidelines for eligibility
• – Applicant has had a complete physical, including labs, with all results normal within the prior 24 months
• – We can confirm the exam and lab results through digital health data
• – Standard or better risk classifications only

3. Digital health data and attending physician statements (APS) — We are rapidly implementing solutions that will provide alternate sources of underwriting data in lieu of labs, exams and medical records.

Cases that don’t meet these conditions will be considered on an individual case basis. Our underwriters are proactively reviewing new cases to identify options that may be available to continue underwriting without exam requirements and notify you of available options.

4. Important note about new customers — Our Life Underwriting team is closely monitoring new customers who apply for life insurance, especially those who may have traveled where the risk of COVID-19 is highest. We may delay those applications for 30 days or request additional testing of those applicants.
5. Important note for existing customers — We want to ensure that customers don’t suffer additional hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are aware of customers who require assistance with the payment of their insurance premium due to COVID-19, please contact us.

We’re here for you

Please be assured that we’re making every effort to keep moving business along as normal. We hope you find these answers to commonly asked questions for doing Life business with Nationwide during these challenging times helpful.

We care about you and all your customers, so please feel free to use the following additional resources, even for those who may not be Nationwide members.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: COVID-19
• Staying focused when headlines react
• CDC: Coping with a traumatic event
• Learn about the steps Nationwide has taken to be ready

We’re also proud to share that the Nationwide Foundation will provide $5 million in national and community response grants to assist nonprofits, including $1 million each to the American Red Cross, United Way and Feeding America. $2 million in donation grants will be distributed to assist communities in responding to COVID-19 where Nationwide companies operate.

Since 1926, Nationwide has navigated these kinds of unexpected events many times, and we are strong, stable and prepared to support you and your customers. Thank you for all you’re doing, and we wish you and your customers good health.

At John Hancock Insurance we have taken the time to carefully review our underwriting practices to determine how we can evolve them in the current circumstances. While our normal underwriting practices continue, we are pleased to share three important ways we’re making it easier for you and your clients to secure coverage during these challenging times:

1. Establishing an alternative to paramed and/or exam when not obtainable

In cases where exams and labs are not possible, we may consider medical records as a substitute.1

1. For the following ages and amounts we will routinely consider recent and comprehensive medical records as an alternative to a current paramed or exam:
2. Face amounts up to $5 million for ages 18-65
3. Face amounts up to $3 million for ages 66-70
4. We may be able to apply this practice to face amounts up to $10 million for ages 18-60 and up to $5 million for ages 66-70, subject to individual case consideration

For these cases, medical records should include a comprehensive visit with a physical and labs within the last 12 months, accompanied by a completed Part II medical supplement form. All other submissions will be subject to routine age and amount requirements. Please contact your John Hancock underwriter with any questions.

2. Expanding John Hancock ExpressTrack® streamlined underwriting process to include paper applications with no need for a telephone interview

• Submissions must include the application (“Part I”), the medical supplement (“Part II”) and any other applicable authorizations
• All application elements must be submitted simultaneously
• The medical supplement (“Part II”) is not automatically included in the application kit and it should be completed by the agent
• Please see below for ExpressTrack criteria and other submission methods

1. Providing our capabilities for EHR access when APS is not available

We recognize it is difficult to obtain attending physician statements (APS) at this time. John Hancock Insurance has electronic health record (EHR) access capabilities that can be utilized in some cases where an APS is not available. Please contact John Hancock Underwriting for details and availability.

In addition to these enhancements, below you will also find other administrative updates. We hope you find all this information useful as we navigate these unprecedented circumstances together.

Expansion of ExpressTrack process

To help you continue to place cases as quickly as possible, we’ve expanded the ExpressTrack process. 2 Here’s what you need to know:

• NEW! As we mentioned above, the traditional paper application has been added as an ExpressTrack submission option. Please remember, all submissions must include the application (“Part I”), the medical supplement (“Part II”) and any other applicable authorizations, and all elements must be submitted simultaneously. No telephone interview will be conducted. Please note: the medical supplement (“Part II”) is not automatically included in the application kit and it should be completed by the agent.
• JH Life eTicket, iPipeLine’s Drop Ticket and ApplicInt Multi-Carrier Drop Ticket for term will include a telephone interview with the client to complete medical questions
• JH Paper Ticket for all single-life products including LTC rider will include a telephone interview with the client to complete medical questions
• ExpressTrack is not available with iPipeline’s iGO eApp
• Here’s a list of ExpressTrack-eligible submission methods

ExpressTrack eligibility criteria remain the same:

• Ages 18-60
• Face amounts up to and including $3 million
• All term and permanent single-life products, including the Long-Term Care rider
• Standard or better risk class

All other submissions will be subject to routine age and amount requirements. Please contact your John Hancock underwriter with any questions.

Additional updates

COVID-19 requirements

• A statement in the “Special Instructions” box in Part I, Section L of the application indicating whether or not each proposed insured or any household member has within the past 30 days traveled or resided outside of the US, has traveled by cruise ship, or has come into close contact with anyone known to the insured to have tested positive for COVID-19. If travel has occurred, the statement should indicate where they traveled and when they returned.3
• For individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, underwriting will be postponed for a minimum of 30 days post-recovery until further evaluation can be completed.
• Any consultations with medical professionals, or completed or pending tests by a proposed insured, that are related to COVID-19 should be disclosed in response to the relevant questions on the application and/or supplemental application forms.
• An updated good health statement is required at delivery on all policies.

Underwriting reserves the right to request additional information and/or defer any decisions when there is not enough information to render an underwriting assessment.

Policy delivery enhancements

In addition to temporary changes to our underwriting process, we are also updating our policy delivery process to accommodate our many partners who are now working remotely. Details are available here.

New webpage for COVID-19 related information

We know you need easy access to the most current information. In an effort to centralize important updates and spare your inboxes from multiple emails, we created a COVID-19 information hub on JHSalesHub.com where you can find answers to many of your questions as well as a repository of our recent communications.

Underwriting and Operation Updates: COVID-19

Pacific Life continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, and through it all, we are committed to supporting your needs as you service your clients during this extraordinary time. The following guideline changes are temporary and intended to assist your clients in getting the life insurance protection they need without significant delays.

Important Note: This reflects an update to our March 18, 2020 communication.

Temporary Underwriting Requirement Adjustments

There may be situations where we are unable to obtain traditional medical requirements due to either vendor closure or limited staff. In those circumstances, we’re temporarily offering an alternative to underwriting for pending or newly submitted formal applications.

For applicants that meet all the following criteria, Pacific Life will use other available data sources to underwrite in lieu of in-person exams:

• Applicants must be age 60 or younger.
• Face amounts up to $1 million.
• Standard or better risk classifications only. Applicants with a rating below standard will require normal exam requirements.

If we are unable to get adequate data from the data sources, Pacific Life may require traditional underwriting methods. Please contact us for more information, as this will be on a case-by-case basis.

Underwriting Vendor Updates

Current social distancing requirements are changing how we complete underwriting requirements. As the situation quickly shifts, we are closely monitoring announcements from our underwriting vendors as well as local and state governments. To see the most up-to-date operational status of our underwriting requirements vendors, you can access the “COVID-19 Vendor Status Report” available on https://plexpress.pacificlife.com/pro-web/login.html in the “Featured News” section or by bookmarking this link: http://www.marketing.pacificlife.com/documents/MasterLinks/COVID-19VendorStatus-external.pdf.

Paramed Exam Process Updates

To promote the safety of your clients as well as the medical examiners, when scheduling appointments to complete paramed exams, our vendors will ask whether—within the last 14 days—the applicant has exhibited signs of fever or respiratory distress, traveled to a travel ban country, or has had close contact with someone who has. If the applicant provides any information that indicates possible exposure, the appointment will be rescheduled 15 or more days out. During the call to access the applicant’s potential exposure, the examiner will also clearly confirm the same information for themselves, so that your clients can be assured the examiner has not been exposed.

Temporary Underwriting Guidelines

1. Applicants Traveling From Travel-Ban Countries—If an applicant has traveled from one of the travel-ban countries as found at the U.S. Department of State (Travel.State.Gov), a 30-day delay period will apply:
2. After the 30-day delay period, if the individual tests negative and is cleared, an application may be submitted or a policy delivered.
3. After the 30-day delay period, if the individual tests positive, a statement must be received stating the virus has been cleared and is required prior to submitting an application or delivering a policy.
5. A Certificate of Health or Good Health Statement is required on delivery for:
6. Applicants age 60 and older if the face amount is $250,000 or higher.
7. All rated policies, regardless of age or face amount.

Ongoing Support and Service

We are supporting our employees by ensuring they are set up to work in a safe and effective work-from-home environment and are pleased to report that our work force is fully operational in a remote capacity. You may experience additional wait time as you call to talk with a representative from Pacific Life, but know we are answering calls and are available to answer your questions.

Grace Period Extensions

To further assist policyholders, Pacific Life is complying with all applicable state disaster relief regulations and bulletins. This includes grace period extensions for impacted policyholders. If your clients are experiencing a hardship and having difficulty paying their premium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, please have them call our customer service representatives to discuss options.

Policy Delivery

For Broad Market: Pacific Life offers the ability to deliver policies electronically using our intuitive and easy-to-use, in-house ePolicy Delivery solution. Throughout the electronic process, all participants are notified of to-do tasks, status, and issues via email. With ePolicy Delivery, customers can:

• Review policy package, delivery requirements and payment plan
• Complete the payment plan for initial premium and recurring payments
• eSign all necessary documents
• Return delivery requirements
• Minimize re-issue delays
• Request delivery extensions electronically.

Claims

We have received several inquiries about how claims related to COVID-19 will be administered. Pacific Life insurance policies do not contain an exclusion for pandemics. All claims received will be processed in accordance with our normal procedures.

Thank you

We appreciate your patience and understanding during these unusual times. Pacific Life will continue to be here for you, long through and beyond this period, and for whatever the future holds. Please feel free to contact your Pacific Life representative with any questions. You may also contact the Sales Desk at (844) 238-4872, Option 3 or LynInternalSales@PacificLife.com.

To ensure you and your producers have the most current information, check the Producer Bay website regularly by clicking on the link: http://producerbay.pacificlife.com/. If you have questions or trouble accessing the Producer Bay website, please contact us at LynDistributorServices@PacificLife.com or (844) 238-4872.

As the uncertainty of the past few weeks continues, we are committed to supporting and serving you and your clients — safely and effectively — with limited disruption to your business. Like many of you, we are evolving and changing the way we operate to accommodate the recommended and mandated guidelines for social distancing. To that end, we’d like to let you know about some important changes we’re making within the Life business at Equitable:

Streamlined underwriting program

We will temporarily offer a streamlined underwriting program, eliminating lab and paramed requirements on qualifying cases. Instead, we will be using non-invasive, no-touch medical and non-medical resources to underwrite cases.

Read this Field Bulletin for qualifying criteria and additional details.

Customer contingency program

We will be proactively reviewing pending applications for cases submitted prior to March 15, 2020, that are at risk due to missing labs or exams, and will be making accommodations by expanding our use of alternative and innovative data sources.

Assurance to our customers

We understand that it may be hard for clients to pay their premiums. Therefore, to prevent our clients from losing their important life insurance and long-term care coverage, we will be extending the grace period to pay premiums to 60 days. All claims will be honored, provided premiums are current at the time of claim submission.

Virtual capabilities

We are fully prepared and equipped to conduct business virtually. We have the digital tools in place to make it easy for you to do business with us completely over email and online, so that you can keep your distance, stay safe and make sure your clients get the protection they need.

View the simple steps you can take to conduct business with Equitable Life.

Enduring strength

For 161 years,* Equitable has been helping clients face the future with confidence through serious events and periods of market uncertainty. Today, we remain steadfast in our commitment to making your job easier and helping your clients’ secure financial well-being. Let’s work together to make sure that, despite what’s happening in the world around us, our clients can look to the future with courage, strength and wisdom.

We value your relationship and appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us. Thank you for your continued support as we navigate this challenge, and I hope everyone remains healthy and safe.

Sincerely,

Ron Herrmann

Head of U.S. Life and Employee Benefits