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17.7 Review and Practice

  1. Why is the time period observed in life table calculation important?
  2. How can the economic value of life be calculated? What does the result mean?
  3. What income streams should be taken into consideration when assessing economic value by the PV method?
  4. Using the PV method, what is the economic value of a forty-year-old man who earns an average annual income of $130,000 for his lifetime at an interest rate of 3 percent?
  5. Why might the results of the family needs analysis and the PV method of determining economic value be so similar?
  6. If both the PV value and needs analysis methods produce similar results with respect to a person’s economic value, why aren’t life insurance products typically made available at these amounts?
  7. Do you see any fundamental problems with the methods of estimating economic value, other than ethical considerations?
  8. Distinguish between select and ultimate tables.
  9. Mary Koonce describes herself as an optimist who does not wish to dwell on the unpleasant what-ifs in life. She is urged by her financial planner to perform a family needs analysis to insure against the risk of premature death. Mary insists this is unnecessary because she already made such an assessment ten years ago and has a life insurance policy guaranteeing a $250,000 death benefit. Mary is divorced, has two teenage sons and a seven-year-old daughter, and purchased her first home a year ago. Do you agree with Mary’s judgment regarding her needs analysis? If you were her financial advisor, what would you tell her?
  10. In light of the significant demographic changes taking place in global populations, do world governments have a greater responsibility to provide for the retirement of their aged citizens, directly or indirectly? Why or why not?
  11. Can you conclude from the World Health Organization statistics on medical costs that greater spending on health and wellness has a positive impact on longevity and/or mortality? Why or why not?