POLICYHOLDERS’ LIABILITIES

Future Policy Benefits

Future policy benefits at December 31 for the years indicated are as follows:



	2017		2016
	(in millions)
Life insurance	$	172,586	$	161,406
Individual and group annuities and supplementary contracts	67,090		63,486
Other contract liabilities	14,849		13,173
Subtotal future policy benefits excluding unpaid claims and claim settlement expenses	254,525		238,065
Unpaid claims and claim settlement expenses	2,792		2,843
Total future policy benefits	$	257,317	$	240,908

Life insurance liabilities include reserves for death and endowment policy benefits, terminal dividends and certain health benefits. Individual and group annuities and supplementary contracts liabilities include reserves for life contingent immediate annuities and life contingent group annuities. Other contract liabilities include unearned premiums and certain other reserves for group, annuities and individual life and health products.

Future policy benefits for individual participating traditional life insurance are based on the net level premium method, calculated using the guaranteed mortality and nonforfeiture interest rates which range from 2.5% to 7.5%. Participating insurance represented 3% and 4% of direct individual life insurance in force at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and 14%, 14% and 16% of direct individual life insurance premiums for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Future policy benefits for individual non-participating traditional life insurance policies, group and individual long-term care policies and individual health insurance policies are generally equal to the present value of future benefit payments and related expenses, less the present value of future net premiums. Assumptions as to mortality, morbidity and persistency are based on the Company’s experience, industry data, and/or other factors, when the basis of the reserve is established. Interest rates used in the determination of the present values range from 0.1% to 9.5%; less than 1% of the reserves are based on an interest rate in excess of 8%.

Future policy benefits for individual and group annuities and supplementary contracts with life contingencies are generally equal to the present value of expected future payments. Assumptions as to mortality are based on the Company’s experience, industry data, and/or other factors, when the basis of the reserve is established. The interest rates used in the determination of the present values range from 0.1% to 11.3%; less than 1% of the reserves are based on an interest rate in excess of 8%.

Future policy benefits for other contract liabilities are generally equal to the present value of expected future payments based on the Company’s experience, except for example, certain group insurance coverages for which future policy benefits are equal to gross unearned premium reserves. The interest rates used in the determination of the present values range from 1.0% to 7.3%.

The Company’s liability for future policy benefits is also inclusive of liabilities for guaranteed benefits related to certain long-duration life and annuity contracts. Liabilities for guaranteed benefits with embedded derivative features are primarily in “other contract liabilities” in the table above. The remaining liabilities for guaranteed benefits are primarily reflected with the underlying contract. See Note 11 for additional information regarding liabilities for guaranteed benefits related to certain long-duration life and annuity contracts.

Premium deficiency reserves included in “Future policy benefits” are established, if necessary, when the liability for future policy benefits plus the present value of expected future gross premiums are determined to be insufficient to provide for expected future policy benefits and expenses. Premium deficiency reserves have been recorded for the group single premium annuity business, which consists of limited-payment, long-duration traditional, non-participating annuities; structured settlements; single premium immediate annuities with life contingencies; long-term care; and for certain individual health policies. Additionally, in certain instances the policyholder liability for a particular line of business may not be deficient in the aggregate to trigger loss recognition, but the pattern of earnings may be such that profits are expected to be recognized in earlier years followed by losses in later years. In these situations, accounting standards require that an additional PFL liability be recognized by an amount necessary to sufficiently offset the losses that would be recognized in later years. A PFL liability is included in “Future policy benefits” and is predominately associated with certain interest-sensitive life contracts.

Unpaid claims and claim settlement expenses primarily reflect the Company’s estimate of future disability claim payments and expenses as well as estimates of claims incurred but not yet reported as of the balance sheet dates related to group disability products. Unpaid claim liabilities that are discounted use interest rates ranging from 2.6% to 6.4%.

Policyholders’ Account Balances

Policyholders’ account balances at December 31 for the years indicated are as follows:



	2017		2016
	(in millions)
Individual annuities	$	41,449	$	40,338
Group annuities	28,152		28,350
Guaranteed investment contracts and guaranteed interest accounts	14,002		14,528
Funding agreements	4,631		4,794
Interest-sensitive life contracts	36,879		34,452
Dividend accumulation and other	23,076		22,743
Total policyholders’ account balances	$	148,189	$	145,205

Policyholders’ account balances primarily represent an accumulation of account deposits plus credited interest less withdrawals, expense charges and mortality charges, if applicable. These policyholders’ account balances also include provisions for benefits under non-life contingent payout annuities. Included in “Funding agreements” at December 31, 2017 and 2016 are $4,165 million and $3,758 million, respectively, related to the Company’s Funding Agreement Notes Issuance Program (“FANIP”). Under this program, which has a maximum authorized amount of $15 billion of medium-term notes and $3 billion of commercial paper, Delaware statutory trusts issue short-term commercial paper and/or medium-term notes to investors that are secured by funding agreements issued to the trusts by Prudential Insurance. The outstanding commercial paper and notes have fixed or floating interest rates that range from 0.0% to 2.6% and original maturities ranging from seven days to five years. Included in the amounts at December 31, 2017 and 2016 is the medium-term note liability, which is carried at amortized cost, of $3,211 million and $3,210 million, respectively and short-term note liability of $957 million and $550 million, respectively.

Also included in “Funding agreements” are collateralized funding agreements issued to the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (“FHLBNY”), which at December 31, 2017 and 2016 totaled $436 million and $1,001 million, respectively. These obligations, which are carried at amortized cost, have fixed or floating interest rates that range from 1.2% to 2.1% and original maturities ranging from five to seven years. For additional details on the FHLBNY program, see Note 14.

Interest crediting rates range from 0% to 7.6% for interest-sensitive life contracts and from 0% to 13.3% for contracts other than interest-sensitive life. Less than 1% of policyholders’ account balances have interest crediting rates in excess of 8%.