Voya 2013 Annual Report Download - page 32

premiums and mortality charges collected and benefits and expenses paid. Our Individual Life segment generated
operating earnings before income taxes of $254.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2013.
We intend to achieve our earnings growth in our Individual Life segment by focusing on growing our
earnings drivers. Our earnings drivers include growing our in-force block of business by adding new businesses
and entering new markets that meet our profit and capital requirements, combined with effectively managing our
in-force block to meet our profitability objectives. This also includes focusing on improving our investment
margins, growing our mortality profits and fully exploiting our technological capability in order to continue to
reduce the new business unit costs and underwriting expense. In addition, we will further our financial objectives
by continuing to utilize reinsurance to actively manage our risk and capital profile with the goal of controlling
exposure to losses, reducing volatility and protecting capital. We aim to maximize earnings and capital efficiency
in part by relieving the reserve strain for certain of our term and universal life products by means of reinsurance
arrangements and other financing transactions. In addition, we have completed the introduction of re-priced
offerings for term and universal life products, both of which are high capital consuming products. We expect
these actions to slow the sale of the high-capital products while we simultaneously grow sales in the low capital,
cash accumulation and current assumption type products.
Products and Services
Our Individual Life segment currently offers products that include term life, UL, IUL and variable universal
life insurance. These offerings are designed to address customer needs for death benefit protection, tax-
advantaged wealth transfer and accumulation, premium financing, business planning, executive benefits and
supplemental retirement income. We believe that our combination of product solutions is well-suited for the
middle-market through the mass-affluent and makes us a full service provider to our independent distribution
partners.
UL. Accumulation-focused universal life products feature the opportunity to build tax-deferred cash value
that can be accessed by consumers via loans and withdrawals for future needs. This money grows income tax-
deferred, meaning no federal or state income taxes apply while it accumulates. The compounding tax-deferred
interest can be an attractive feature to policyholders. These products help policyholders meet longer-range goals
like college funding, supplemental retirement income and leaving a legacy for heirs. Other features include
flexible premium payments that can change to meet policyholders’ evolving financial needs.
IUL. For customers looking for an opportunity for a higher return in a low rate environment, we offer IUL
products, which, along with death benefit protection, provide customers the opportunity for growth through
potentially stronger surrender values than traditional UL products. These IUL products link to both fixed and
indexed crediting strategies and offer protection from downside risk through a minimum interest guarantee,
helping customers who seek solutions that would be advantageous for providing supplemental retirement income,
payment of college costs or executive benefits. One of the IUL products we offer provides up to a lifetime death
benefit guarantee coupled with significant long term surrender value potential through the ability to earn an index
credit linked, in part, to any increases in the S&P 500. As discussed above, in October 2012, we announced the
suspension of sales of this product for No-Lapse Guarantee UL products. In October 2013, we introduced a re-
priced Index Universal Life-Guaranteed Death Benefit (“IUL-GDB”) which focuses on providing a death benefit
for the customer wanting a guarantee but also wanting cash value for future flexibility. We also have a unique
global IUL product that links to multiple international indices, such as the S&P 500, Hang Seng Index or Euro
Stoxx 50. Indexed products are the fastest growing new product segment and are a major focus of our product
and distribution effort as they are less capital intensive and provide attractive returns.
Variable Universal Life. For customers seeking greater growth potential and more control over their
investments, we offer an individual variable universal life insurance product designed to provide long-term cash
accumulation potential with the ability to add optional riders that provide guarantees and more flexibility. We
offer customers the ability to choose from individual variable investment options, which range from conservative
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