April 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, AIG remains focused on protecting the health and safety of our colleagues and those around us, as well as continuing to serve clients, policyholders, business partners and other stakeholders.

AIG has activated its Business Continuity Plans and colleagues across our business remain available to help meet the needs of clients and other business partners with both in-force and new business. Our call centers also remain accessible to provide support and information.

Please see Underwriting Bulletin 20-036 for updates on our business.

Financial services has historically been an in-person business, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak we all need to adapt to other methods. Technology can help, whether you are conducting new business or are working with a current client.

1. FLX eApp allows you to enter and submit applications online, even when you and the client aren’t in the same physical location. Using software that guides you through the requirements ensures you gather all necessary information from the client. With the embedded electronic signature functionality (DocuSign) a client can apply and sign for coverage from anywhere there is internet connectivity.

If you are gathering a signature via email, choose that option within eApp and fill out the information for the agent and the client. (See attached for direction on eSignature. If you need more information on the eApp process, use the link below.) The client will receive an email from DocuSign containing a URL that will take them to the document to sign. Make your client aware the link expires in a few days.

eApp Training

2. FLXelerate, our accelerated underwriting program on Ameritas FLX Term and Index Universal Life products allows eligible clients ages 18 to 60 to get $300,001 to $1,000,000 of coverage without a paramed. A full list of eligibility criteria can be found in our Underwriting Guide

More on FLXelerate

3. Our Non Med program allows qualifying clients through age 70 to get up to $300,000 of coverage without a paramed exam, which means clients don’t need to leave their home for labs or exams. For more details, review our Underwriting Guide.

Now is a great time to proactively reach out to your clients by phone or email to help deepen relationships, reaffirm the steps they have taken in working with you and address their concerns. Utilizing a video screen sharing technology like GoToMeeting or Zoom can help you overcome not being able to meet in person.

We are here to help you win. Don’t hesitate to call us for help on any of these tips and tools, or product information.

800-390-2361

As a follow up to our communications last week, we want to provide you with some specific operational updates as we navigate the upcoming weeks together. We’re working hard to minimize disruptions in processing during these unusual times and remain committed to providing you with the products and services you rely upon to meet your clients’ needs.

New Business processing

Our New Business team is working diligently to continue processing your business as usual. As part of our business continuity plan, our staff is cross-trained to ensure key functions can operate efficiently.

Underwriting vendors

John Hancock is continuing to monitor and work closely with our paramedical vendors, lab processing centers and medical record providers, who have all implemented their business continuity plans.

In this evolving landscape, we will be providing updates on our short-term alternative underwriting processes. You can expect to see the first update in the coming days.

Policy contract delivery

We realize many of our firms have adopted flexible work arrangements and people may not be in the office to receive the policy contract for delivery to the client. Until further notice, we are sending all policies via email. The firm contact will receive a non-watermarked PDF copy of the contract via Office 365 Encryption.

Inforce operations

The Inforce Operations team remains committed to delivering on customer requests in a timely and efficient manner. We have redeployed staff to focus on high volume requests and those with more urgency. Based on staff redeploying to support critical functions, the current impact to cycle time is limited.

Similarly, we are working to ensure that we can answer calls as quickly as possible. The Call Center remains a high priority for the organization and will continue to be a focus as we navigate through this time.

Grace periods

If customers are experiencing a hardship and having difficulty paying their premium based on challenges arising from the COVID-19 situation, we will extend grace periods by an additional 61 days from the date the policy would have otherwise lapsed. We are here to support your customers and want to ensure they have the time they need to fund their policy.

To request an extended grace period for a customer, please contact us at JohnHancockInsurance.com or by calling 1-800-387-2747 (USA) or 1-888-267-7784 (NY) between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST to speak to a customer service representative.

Claims

We have received several questions about how claims related to COVID-19 will be administered.

John Hancock life insurance policies do not contain exclusions related to any specific disease or a pandemic. If a claim is received where a death occurred as a result of COVID-19, it will be paid in accordance with our normal procedures, subject to our standard contestability provisions. We remain committed to paying death claims as quickly as possible.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these unprecedented times.

Individual life underwriting update:
COVID-19

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented times. Our first concern is for the safety and well-being of our customers, business partners, and employees. Principal^® has worked to create a safe environment for our employees and we’re hopeful for the same for our customers and business partners.

The completion of underwriting requirements, specifically insurance exams, is more difficult at this time due to social distancing considerations and the orders in some states for all but essential businesses to shut down. The situation is changing rapidly, and we’re adjusting to allow many individuals to get the protection they need.

Temporary underwriting guideline changes

Effective March 24, 2020, for any pending or newly submitted formal applications, we’re offering additional solutions to underwrite without exam requirements. Our Principal Accelerated Underwriting^SM program may meet the needs of many, but we’ve also developed some temporary guidelines during this challenging time to help. Note, we’ll regularly review these guidelines and reserve the right to make changes at any time.

Applicant ages 18-40

• For face amounts up to and including $1,000,000 – no change to Accelerated Underwriting program
• For face amounts from $1,000,001 to $2,500,000, and meets the following requirements:
  • 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

Applicant ages 41-60

• Face amounts up to and including $1,000,000 – no change to Accelerated Underwriting program
• Face amounts from $1,000,001 to $2,000,000, and meets the following requirements:
  • 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

Digital health data or attending physician statements (APS)

• Principal will initiate the requests for digital health data, including the use of patient portal information through the vendor Human API. We have other sources of digital health data as well, so please do not request patient portal information or traditional APS without first consulting with your Principal underwriter.

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

A few other underwriting items you should know about:

• With the global spread of the pandemic, the U.S. Department of State has advised against any travel outside the U.S. by airplane or cruise ship.
  • Anyone planning to travel outside the U.S. may be subject to postponement of their application until travel is completed and an appropriate time has passed since traveling.
  • For anyone who has traveled outside the U.S. by airplane or cruise ship, applications will be postponed until 30 days after the date of their return to the U.S.
• Anyone who has been tested or been treated for COVID-19 is expected to disclose any tests or treatments on their life insurance application or supplement we provide.
• Effective immediately, we will request a statement of health at policy delivery.

Principal is well-positioned to meet the needs of our customers and business partners with our electronic and digital application capabilities through Principal Life Online and Accelerated Underwriting. We appreciate the confidence you have in us as we navigate through this challenging time. As always, please call or email your Principal underwriter with any questions.

March 24, 2020

Dear valued partner:

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

We are committed to our guiding principles of Value, Transparency and Sustainability. To ensure that our business procedures are aligned with these principles, we will be implementing the following underwriting changes effective today.

• Until further notice, a Good Health Statement (Supplemental Statement of Health) will be required to be signed at policy delivery on all cases or prior to initiating any 1035 exchange. The Good Health Statement will attest that there has been no change to the applicant’s health status.
• Any permanent resident or U.S. citizen who has traveled internationally within the past 30 days will be postponed for 30 days from the date of their return, unless prohibited by state law. Applicants with future plans to travel internationally in the next 60 days will also be postponed.
• Anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 will be postponed for at least 30 days and be reconsidered at that time with APS information indicating the virus has cleared and health status has returned to baseline.
• Anyone who has been exposed with COVID-19 will be postponed for 30 days and be reconsidered at that time with evidence showing no infectious process.
• For those cases that are not already a decline, any informal or formal case over age 70 with co-morbidities that cause the risk to be Table 4 or above (these conditions are diabetes, obesity, coronary artery disease, respiratory disorders), will be postponed for 90 days.
• For applicants up to age 70 and face amounts of up to $5 million, we will consider cases on a case-by-case basis where a paramed exam cannot be completed, but the insured has had a complete physical within the past 12 months which includes blood work results.
• All of the guidelines listed above will also apply to our high-net-worth foreign national program, which we continue to monitor closely.

We continue to monitor and work closely with our paramedical vendors, lab processing centers and medical record providers, who have all implemented their business continuity plans.

I 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 questions or concerns, please reach out to your Symetra regional vice president or the Symetra Life Sales Desk at 1-877-737-3611 or lifesales@symetra.com.

Sincerely,

Jon Stenberg
EVP, Individual Life Division
Symetra Life Insurance Company