Edgar Filing: NATIONAL WESTERN LIFE INSURANCE CO

nwlform10k.htm

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

þ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2008

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 2-17039

NATIONAL WESTERN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

COLORADO	84-0467208
(State of Incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

850 EAST ANDERSON LANE, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78752-1602

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(512) 836-1010

(Telephone Number)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (b) of the Act:

None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes þ No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated file” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One)

Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer þ Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ

The aggregate market value of the common stock (based upon the closing price) held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2008 was $748,573,529.

As of March 12, 2009, the number of shares of Registrant's common stock outstanding was: Class A – 3,425,966 and Class B - 200,000.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None

	TABLE OF CONTENTS


	PART I	Page

Item 1.	Business	4
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	10
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	15
Item 2.	Properties	15
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	15
Item 4.	Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders	15

	PART II

Item 5.	Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	16
Item 6.	Selected Consolidated Financial Data	18
Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	19
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	48
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	48
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	48
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	49
Item 9B.	Other Information	51

	PART III

Item 10.	Directors, and Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	51
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	54
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	72
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	74
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	75

	PART IV

Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	76

	Signatures	138

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

National Western Life Insurance Company (hereinafter referred to as "National Western", "Company", or "Registrant") is a stock life insurance company, chartered in the State of Colorado in 1956, and doing business in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories or possessions. National Western is also licensed in Haiti, and although not otherwise licensed, accepts applications from and issues policies to residents of various countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Eastern Europe and Asia. Such policies are underwritten, accepted, and issued in the United States upon applications submitted by independent contractors. The Company provides life insurance products for the savings and protection needs of approximately 148,000 policyholders and for the asset accumulation and retirement needs of 117,000 annuity contractholders.

In 2008, the Company's total assets remained at $6.8 billion at December 31, 2008, the same level as December 31, 2007. The Company generated revenues of $411.1 million, $474.5 million, and $521.9 million in 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively. In addition, National Western generated net income of $33.6 million, $85.4 million, and $76.3 million in 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively.

The Company's financial information, including information in this report filed on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to the above reports, are accessible free of charge through the Company's Internet site at www.nationalwesternlife.com or may be viewed at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. or at the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov.

Products

National Western offers a broad portfolio of individual whole life, universal life and term insurance plans, and annuities, including supplementary riders.

Life Products. The Company's life products provide protection for the life of the insured and, in some cases, allow for cash value accumulation on a tax-deferred basis. These product offerings include universal life insurance ("UL"), interest-sensitive whole life, and traditional products such as term insurance coverage. Interest sensitive products such as UL accept premiums that are applied to an account value. Deducted from the account value are cost of insurance charges which vary by age, gender, plan, and class of insurance, as well as various expense charges. Interest is credited to account values at a fixed interest rate generally determined in advance and guaranteed for a policy year at a time, subject to minimum guaranteed rates specified in the policy contract. A slight variation to this general interest crediting practice involves equity-indexed universal life ("EIUL") policies whose credited interest may be linked in part to an outside index such as the S&P 500Ò Composite Stock Price Index ("S&P 500 IndexÒ") at the election of the policyholder. These products offer both flexible and fixed premium modes and provide policyholders with flexibility in the available coverage, the timing and amount of premium payments and the amount of the death benefit, provided there are sufficient policy funds to cover all policy charges for the coming year. Traditional products generally provide for a fixed death benefit payable in exchange for regular premium payments.

Annuity Products. Annuity products sold include flexible premium and single premium deferred annuities, fixed indexed annuities, and single premium immediate annuities. These products can be tax qualified or nonqualified annuities. A fixed single premium deferred annuity ("SPDA") provides for a single premium payment at the time of issue, an accumulation period, and an annuity payout period commencing at some future date. A flexible premium deferred annuity ("FPDA") provides the same features but allows, generally with some conditions, additional payments into the contract. Interest is credited to the account value of the annuity initially at a current rate of interest which is guaranteed for a period of time, typically the first year. After this period, the interest credited is subject to change based upon market rates and product profitability subject to a minimum guaranteed rate specified in the contract. Interest accrues during the accumulation period generally on a tax-deferred basis to the contract holder. After a number of years specified in the annuity contract, the owner may elect to have the proceeds paid as a single payment or as a series of payments over a period of time. The owner is permitted at any time during the accumulation period to withdraw all or part of the annuity account balance subject to contract provisions such as surrender charges and market value adjustments. A fixed indexed deferred annuity performs essentially in the same manner as SPDAs and FPDAs with the exception that, in addition to a fixed interest crediting option, the contract holder has the ability to elect an interest crediting mechanism that is linked, in part, to an outside index such as the S&P 500 IndexÒ. A single premium immediate annuity ("SPIA") foregoes the accumulation period and immediately commences an annuity payout period.

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Distributions of the Company's direct premium revenues and deposits by product type are provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)
Annuities:
Single premium deferred	$	4,417		3,808		8,216
Flexible premium deferred		116,902		112,472		163,415
Fixed indexed deferred		281,649		316,848		303,613
Single premium immediate		7,165		4,637		10,750

Total annuities		410,133		437,765		485,994

Universal life insurance		170,933		168,279		146,742
Traditional life and other		20,698		22,310		18,046

Total direct premiums and deposits collected	$	601,764		628,354		650,782

Operating Segments

The Company manages its business between Domestic Insurance Operations and International Insurance Operations. For segment reporting purposes, the Company's annuity business, which is predominantly domestic, is separately identified.

Domestic Insurance Operations. The Company is currently licensed to do business in all states and the District of Columbia, except for New York. Products marketed are annuities, universal life insurance, and traditional life insurance, which include both term and whole life products. The majority of domestic sales are the Company's annuities. National Western markets and distributes its domestic products primarily through independent national marketing organizations ("NMO"). These NMOs assist the Company in recruiting, contracting, and managing independent agents. The Company's agents are independent contractors who are compensated on a commission basis. At December 31, 2008, the Company's NMO relationships had contracted approximately 4,300 independent agents with the Company. Over 31% of these contracted agents submitted policy applications to the Company in the past twelve months.

International Insurance Operations. National Western's international operations generally focus on foreign nationals in upper socioeconomic classes. Insurance products are issued primarily to residents of countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Issuing policies to residents of countries in these different regions provides diversification that helps to minimize large fluctuations that could arise due to various economic, political, and competitive pressures that may occur from one country to another. Products issued to international residents are almost entirely universal life and traditional life insurance products. However, certain annuity and investment contracts are also available. At December 31, 2008, the Company had 74,860 international life insurance policies in force representing nearly $15.9 billion in face amount of coverage.

International applications are submitted by independent contractors, consultants and broker-agents, many of whom have been submitting policy applications to National Western for 20 or more years. The Company had relationships with approximately 4,800 independent international individuals at December 31, 2008, nearly 45% of which submitted policy applications to the Company in the past twelve months.

There are some inherent risks of accepting international applications which are not present within the domestic market that are reduced substantially by the Company in several ways. As previously described, the Company accepts applications from foreign nationals in upper socioeconomic classes who have substantial financial resources. This targeted customer base coupled with National Western's conservative underwriting practices have historically resulted in claims experience, due to natural causes, similar to that in the United States. The Company minimizes exposure to foreign currency risks by requiring payment of premiums and claims in United States dollars. Finally, over forty years of experience with the international products and the Company's longstanding business relationships further serve to minimize risks.

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Geographical Distribution of Business. The following table depicts the distribution of the Company's premium revenues and deposits.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)

United States domestic products:
Annuities	$	398,312		421,497		475,867
Life insurance		59,412		57,770		35,780

Total domestic products		457,724		479,267		511,647

International products:
Annuities		11,821		16,268		10,127
Life insurance		132,219		132,819		129,008

Total international products		144,040		149,087		139,135

Total direct premiums and deposits collected	$	601,764		628,354		650,782

Although many agents sell National Western's products, the Company's annuity sales in any year typically reflect one or two NMOs whose agents sold 10% or more of the Company’s total annuity sales. In 2008, there was just one NMO who accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s annuity sales with 23.3% of the total annuity sales. Similarly, domestic life insurance sales in any year may include one or two NMOs who accounted for 10% or more of total domestic life insurance sales. In 2008, there were three NMOs who generated 27.6%, 21.2% and 15.2%, respectively, of total domestic life insurance sales. The NMO accounting for 21.2% of domestic life sales was also the same NMO who produced 23.3% of total annuity sales. With the independent distribution model the Company employs, the concentration of sales within a particular NMO is not as an acute concern as with other distribution channels given the underlying agents are free to contract with the Company through any NMO the Company has a relationship with. International life insurance sales are much more diversified by independent consultants and contractors and in 2008 were geographically attributed to Latin America (73%), the Pacific Rim (16%), and Eastern Europe (11%).

Segment Financial Information. A summary of financial information for the Company's segments is as follows:

	Domestic		International
	Life		Life				All
	Insurance		Insurance		Annuities		Others		Totals
	(In thousands)
Revenues, excluding
realized gains (losses):
2008	$	48,193		115,073		252,511		21,530		437,307
2007		44,783		113,598		292,402		20,227		471,010
2006		43,222		106,613		350,665		18,697		519,197

Segment earnings: (A)
2008	$	717		15,350		27,842		6,781		50,690
2007		342		20,179		56,299		6,278		83,098
2006		297		12,191		56,559		5,566		74,613

Segment assets: (B)
2008	$	397,413		842,119		5,369,920		127,189		6,736,641
2007		399,097		796,012		5,500,226		106,039		6,801,374
2006		381,490		715,064		5,467,733		103,087		6,667,374

Notes to Table:

(A) Amounts exclude realized gains and losses on investments, net of taxes.

(B) Amounts exclude other unallocated assets.

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Additional information concerning these industry segments is included in Note 13, Segment and Other Operating Information, of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Competition and Ratings

National Western competes with hundreds of life and health insurance company groups in the United States as well as other financial intermediaries such as banks and securities firms who market insurance products. Competitors in our international markets include Pan-American Life Insurance, American Fidelity Life Insurance, Manhattan Life Insurance Company and Best Meridian Insurance while domestic market competitors include, among others, American Equity Investment Life, Sammons Financial Group (Midland, NACOLAH), AVIVA, Allstate (Lincoln Benefit), Lincoln National Life, Equitrust Life Insurance Company and Old Mutual Financial Network (F&G). Competitive factors are primarily the breadth and quality of products offered, established positions in niche markets, pricing, relationships with distribution, commission structures, perceived stability of the insurer, quality of underwriting and customer service, scale and cost efficiency. Operating results of life insurers are subject to fluctuations not only from this competitive environment but also due to economic conditions, interest rate levels and changes, performance of investments, and the maintenance of strong insurance ratings from independent rating agencies.

In order to compete successfully, life insurers have turned their attention toward distribution, technology, defined end market targets, speed to the market in terms of product development, and customer relationship management as ways of gaining a competitive edge. The Company's management believes that it competes primarily on the basis of its longstanding reputation for commitment in serving international markets, its financial strength and stability, and its ability to attract and retain distribution based upon product and compensation.

Ratings with respect to financial strength are an important factor in establishing the competitive position of insurance companies. Financial strength ratings are generally defined as a rating agency’s opinion as to a company’s financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to policyholders. Accordingly, ratings are important to maintaining public confidence and impact the ability to market products. The following summarizes the Company's financial strength ratings.

Rating Agency	Rating	Outlook

Standard & Poor's	A (Strong)	Stable

A.M. Best	A- (Excellent)	Positive

A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s ratings are a consideration of the Company’s claims paying ability and are not a rating of the Company’s investment worthiness. The rating agencies formally review the Company's rating on an annual basis with interim analysis performed as necessary. The above ratings and outlooks were assigned during 2008 maintaining the stable outlook from Standard & Poor’s and positive outlook from A.M. Best assigned to the Company in 2007. This is particularly noteworthy given the financial crisis backdrop that framed the 2008 calendar year and the number of companies who were negatively impacted, often significantly, in this environment. The positive outlook from A.M. Best signifies the rating agency’s bias toward a rating upgrade sometime in the future. However, there is no assurance that the Company's ratings will continue for a certain period of time. In the event the Company's ratings are downgraded, the Company's business may be negatively impacted.

Risk Management

Similar to other insurers, the Company is exposed to a wide spectrum of financial, operational, and other risks as described in Item 1A “Risk Factors”. Effective enterprise risk management is a key concern for identifying, monitoring, measuring, communicating, and managing risks within limits and risk tolerances. The Company’s Board of Directors and senior management are knowledgeable of and accountable for key risks. The Board meets at least every other month and regularly hears reports from the President and Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, the Chief Actuary, the Chief Investment Officer, and the Chief Compliance Officer. In addition, the Board has several committees which include the Audit Committee, the Investment Committee, and the Compensation and Stock Option Committee that regularly convene to address various aspects of risk.

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The Company also has several management groups and committees that meet regularly to discuss a variety of issues and risks associated with the business. These groups and committees include numerous areas such as regulatory compliance, fraud unit investigations, product spread management, and business strategy. Many key members of senior management are involved with these groups and committees providing direction and oversight.

The Company maintains a system of disclosure controls and procedures, including internal controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and transactions are properly authorized, executed and recorded. The Company recognizes the importance of full and open presentation of its financial position and operating results and to this end maintains a Disclosure Controls and Procedures Committee comprised of senior executives who possess comprehensive knowledge of the Company's business and operations. This Committee is responsible for evaluating disclosure controls and procedures and for the gathering, analyzing, and disclosing of information as required to be disclosed under the securities laws. It assists the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in their responsibilities of making the certifications required under the securities laws regarding the Company's disclosure controls and procedures. It ensures that material financial information is properly communicated up the Company's hierarchy to the appropriate person or persons and that all disclosures are made in a timely fashion. This Committee reports directly to the Audit Committee of the Company.

The Company's product designs, underwriting standards and risk management techniques are utilized to protect against disintermediation risk and greater than expected mortality and morbidity risk. Disintermediation risk is limited through the use of surrender charges, certain provisions not allowing discretionary withdrawals, and market value adjustment features. Investment guidelines including duration targets, asset allocation tolerances and return objectives help to ensure that disintermediation risk is managed within the constraints of profitability criteria. Prudent underwriting is applied to select and price insurance risks and the Company regularly monitors mortality experience relative to its product pricing assumptions. Enforcement of disciplined claims management serves to further protect against greater than expected mortality.

A significant aspect of the Company’s business is managing the linkage of its asset characteristics with the anticipated behavior of its policy obligations and liabilities, a process commonly referred to as asset-liability matching. The Company maintains an Asset-Liability Committee (“ALCO”) consisting of senior level members of the Company who assist and advise the Company’s Board of Directors in monitoring the level of risk the Company is exposed to in managing its assets and liabilities in order to attain the risk-return profile desired. Certain members of the ALCO meet as frequently as necessary, to review and recommend for board of director ratification, current period interest crediting rates to policyholders based upon existing and anticipated investment opportunities. These rates apply to new sales and to products after an initial guaranteed period, if applicable. Rates are established after the initial guaranteed period based upon asset portfolio yields and each product’s required interest spread, taking into consideration current competitive market conditions.

Substantially all international products contain a currency clause stating that premium and claim "dollars" refer to lawful currency of the United States. Policy applications submitted by international insurance brokers are generally associated with individuals in upper socioeconomic classes who desire the stability and inflationary hedge of dollar denominated insurance products issued by the Company. The favorable demographics of this group typically results in a higher average policy size, and persistency and claims experience (from natural causes) similar to that in the United States. By accepting applications submitted on residents outside the United States, the Company is able to further diversify its revenue, earnings, and insurance risk.

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Reinsurance

The Company follows the industry practice of reinsuring (ceding) portions of its insurance risks with a variety of reinsurance companies. We do not use financial or surplus relief reinsurance. The use of reinsurance allows the Company to underwrite policies larger than the risk it is willing to retain on any single life and to continue writing a larger volume of new business. The maximum amount of life insurance the Company normally retains is $250,000 on any one life subject to a minimum reinsurance session of $50,000. However, the use of reinsurance does not relieve the Company of its primary liability to pay the full amount of the insurance benefit in the event of the failure of a reinsurer to honor its contractual obligation. Consequently, the Company avoids concentrating reinsurance risk with any one reinsurer and only participates in reinsurance treaties with reputable carriers. No reinsurer of business ceded by the Company has failed to pay policy claims (individually or in the aggregate) with respect to our ceded business. The Company continuously monitors the financial strength of our reinsurers and has been able to obtain replacement coverages from financially responsible reinsurers when making changes. The Company’s primary reinsurers as of December 31, 2008 were as follows.

			Amount of In
	A.M. Best		Force Ceded
Reinsurer	Rating		($000’s)

Hannover Life Reassurance Company	A	$	1,572,315
SCOR Rueckversicherung (Cologne)	A-		1,266,975
Transamerica Life Insurance Company	A+		1,191,601
SCOR Global Life (Paris)	A-		897,274
Mapfre Re (Madrid)	A+		440,512
All others			492,954
		$	5,861,631

Regulatory and Other Issues

Regulation. The Company's insurance business is subject to comprehensive state regulation in each of the states it is licensed to conduct business. The laws enforced by the various state insurance departments provide broad administrative powers with respect to licensing to transact business, licensing and appointing agents, approving policy forms, regulating unfair trade and claims practices, establishing solvency standards, fixing minimum interest rates for the accumulation of surrender values, and regulating the type, amounts, and valuations of permitted investments, among other things. The Company is required to file detailed annual statements with each of the state insurance supervisory departments in which it does business. Annually, our board-appointed qualified actuary must submit an opinion to state insurance regulators where the Company is licensed to do business on whether the statutory assets held backing the statutory reserves are sufficient to meet contractual obligations and related expenses of the insurer. The Company's operations and financial records are subject to examination by these departments at regular intervals. Statutory financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting practices prescribed or permitted by the Colorado Division of Insurance, the Company's principal insurance regulator. Prescribed statutory accounting practices are largely dictated by the Statutory Accounting Principles adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC").

The NAIC, as well as state regulators, continually evaluates existing laws and regulations pertaining to the operations of life insurers. To the extent that initiatives result as a part of this process, they may be adopted in the various states in which the Company is licensed to do business. It is not possible to predict the ultimate content and timing of new statutes and regulations adopted by state insurance departments and the related impact upon the Company's operations although it is conceivable that they may be more restrictive.

Although the federal government does not directly regulate the life insurance industry, federal measures previously considered or enacted by Congress, if revisited, could affect the insurance industry and the Company's business. These measures include the tax treatment of life insurance companies and life insurance products, as well as changes in individual income tax structures and rates. Even though the ultimate impact of any of these changes, if implemented, is uncertain, the persistency of the Company's existing products and the ability to sell products could be materially affected.

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Risk-Based Capital Requirements. In order to enhance the regulation of insurer solvency, the NAIC established risk-based capital ("RBC") requirements to help state regulators monitor the financial strength and stability of life insurers by identifying those companies that may be inadequately capitalized. Under the NAIC's requirements, each insurer must maintain its total capital above a calculated threshold or take corrective measures to achieve the threshold. The threshold of adequate capital is based on a formula that takes into account the amount of risk each company faces on its products and investments. The RBC formula takes into consideration four major areas of risk which are: (i) asset risk which primarily focuses on the quality of investments; (ii) insurance risk which encompasses mortality and morbidity risk; (iii) interest rate risk which involves asset-liability matching issues; and (iv) other business risks. For each category, the RBC requirements are determined by applying specified factors to various assets, premiums, reserves, and other items, with the factor being higher for items with greater underlying risk and lower for items with less risk. The standards require life insurers to submit a report to state regulators on an annual basis regarding their risk-based capital. The Company's statutory capital and surplus at December 31, 2008, was significantly in excess of the threshold RBC requirements.

Effects of Inflation. The rate of inflation as measured by the change in the average consumer price index has not had a material effect on the revenues or operating results of the Company during the three most recent fiscal years.

Employees. The Company had 296 employees as of December 31, 2008 substantially all of which worked in the Company’s home office in Austin, Texas. None of the employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements governing their employment with the Company.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Company performance is subject to varying risk factors. This section provides an overview of possible risk exposures at this point in time that could impact Company performance in the future. While these scenarios do not represent expectations of future experience, they are intended to illustrate the potential impacts if any of the following risks were to manifest into actual occurrences.

Current difficult conditions globally and in the U.S. economy may materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The Company’s results of operations are materially affected by economic conditions both in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world. The stress experienced by financial markets that began in the second half of 2007 continued and substantially increased throughout 2008. Volatility and disruption in the financial markets reached unfamiliar levels such that the availability and cost of credit has been materially impacted. When combined with a declining real estate market, volatile oil prices, sinking business and consumer confidence, rising unemployment, and falling equity market values it has precipitated a severe recession. The market for fixed income securities has experienced decreased liquidity, increased price volatility, credit downgrades, and an increasing probability of default. Consequently, these securities are less liquid, more difficult to value, and may be harder to dispose of if situations dictate. These events have had an adverse effect on the value of our investment portfolio and may continue to do so in the event of a prolonged economic downturn.

Demand for our products and ultimately the profitability of our business may be adversely affected by such factors as lower consumer spending, negative investor sentiment, higher unemployment, lower corporate earnings, falling consumer confidence, and ongoing volatility in capital markets. We may also experience a higher incidence of claims, lapses or surrenders of policies. Our policyholders may opt to defer or stop paying insurance premiums. Adverse changes as detailed above could negatively affect our net income and have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The recent actions taken by the U.S. government, Federal Reserve and other governmental and regulatory bodies to stabilize the financial markets may not have the intended effect.

The federal government, Federal Reserve and other governmental and regulatory bodies, in light of the ongoing financial and economic crisis, have taken and are considering taking actions to address the current plight. There can be no assurances as to the near-term and ultimate impact these actions will have on the economy and financial markets, especially the extreme volatility levels currently being experienced. Continued volatility could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, or the trading price of our Class A common shares.

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Our investment portfolio is subject to several risks which may lessen the value of invested assets and the amounts credited to policyholders.

The Company substantially invests monies received in investment grade, fixed income investment securities in order to meet its obligations to policyholders and provide a return on its deployed capital. Consequently, we are subject to the risk that issuers of these securities may default on principal and interest payments, particularly in the event of an ongoing downturn in the economic and/or business climate. At December 31, 2008, approximately 1% of the Company’s $5.6 billion fixed income securities portfolio was comprised of issuers who were investment grade at the time the Company acquired them but were subsequently downgraded for various reasons. A substantial increase in defaults from these or other issuers could negatively impact the Company’s financial position and results.

For the Company’s fixed-indexed products, over the counter derivative instruments are purchased from a number of highly rated counterparties to fund the index credit to policyholders. In the event that any of these counterparties fails to meet their contractual obligations under these derivative instruments, the Company would be financially at risk for providing the credits due that the counterparty reneged on. The failure of the counterparty to perform could negatively impact the Company’s financial position and results.

The determination of valuation and impairments of fixed income securities include estimations and assumptions that are subjective and prone to differing interpretations and could materially impact our results of operations or financial condition.

The determination of whether to impair an investment is based upon our evaluation of known and inherent risks which we revise as conditions change and new information becomes available. During periods of market disruption and volatility, it becomes more difficult to evaluate securities particularly if trading becomes less frequent or market data becomes less observable. As a result, valuations may include inputs and assumptions that are less observable or require greater estimation and judgment as well as valuation methods which are more complex. We also consider a wide range of factors about security issuers in evaluating the cause of a decline in the estimated fair value of a security and in assessing the prospects for recovery. The decision on whether to record an other-than-temporary impairment is determined by our assessment of the financial condition and prospects of a particular issuer, projections of future cash flows and recoverability as well as our ability and intent to hold the securities to recovery or maturity. There can be no assurance that we have accurately assessed the level of impairments in our financial statements or that additional impairments may not need to be taken in the future.

We are subject to changing interest rates, market volatility, and general economic conditions which may affect the risk and returns on both our investment portfolio and our products.

We are exposed to significant capital market risk related to changes in interest rates. Substantial and sustained changes, up or down, in market interest rate levels can materially affect the profitability of our products, the market value of our investments, and ultimately the reported amount of stockholders’ equity.

A rise in interest rates will increase the net unrealized loss position of our investment portfolio and may subject the Company to disintermediation risk. Disintermediation risk is the risk that policyholders may surrender their contracts in a rising interest rate environment, requiring the Company to liquidate investments in an unrealized loss position (i.e. the market value less than the carrying value of the investments). With respect to fixed income security investments the Company maintains in an “Available for Sale” category, rising interest rates will cause declines in the market value of these securities. These declines are reported in our financial statements as an unrealized investment loss and a reduction of stockholders’ equity.

There may be occasions, especially in the current climate, where the Company could encounter difficulty selling some of its investments due to a lack of liquidity in the marketplace. If the Company required significant amounts of cash on short notice during such a period, it may have difficulty selling investments at attractive prices, in a timely manner or both.

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A decline in interest rates could expose the Company to reduced profitability due to minimum interest rate guarantees that are required in our products by regulation. A key component of profitability is investment spread, or the difference between the yield on our investments and the rates we credit to policyholders on our products. A narrowing of investment spreads could negatively affect operating results. Although the Company has the ability to adjust the rates credited on products in order to maintain our required investment spread, a significant decline in interest rate levels could affect investment yields to the point where the investment spread is compromised due to minimum interest rate guarantees. In addition, the potential for increased policy surrenders and cash withdrawals, competitor activities, and other factors could further limit the Company’s ability to maintain crediting rates on its products at levels necessary to avoid sacrificing investment spread.

The profitability of the Company’s fixed-indexed products linked in part to market indices is significantly affected by the cost of underlying call options purchased to fund the credits owed to contract holders selecting this form of interest crediting. If there are little or no gains on the call options purchased over the expected life of these fixed-indexed products, the Company would incur expenses for credited interest over and above the option costs. In addition, if the Company does not successfully match the terms of the underlying call options purchased with the terms of the fixed-indexed products, the index credits could exceed call option proceeds. This would serve to reduce the Company’s spread on the products and decrease profits.

We are subject to incurring difficulties in marketing and distributing our products through our current and future distribution channels.

The Company distributes its life and annuity products through independent broker-agents. There is substantial competition, particularly in the Company’s domestic market, for independent broker-agents with the demonstrated ability to market and sell insurance products. Competition for these individuals or organizations typically centers on products, compensation, home office support and the insurer’s financial strength ratings. The Company’s future sales and financial condition are dependent upon avoiding significant interruptions in attracting and retaining independent broker-agents.

We are subject to a downgrade in our financial strength ratings which may negatively affect our ability to attract and retain independent distributors, make our products less attractive to consumers, and may have an adverse effect on our operations.

Financial strength ratings are an important criteria in establishing the competitive position of insurers. Ratings generally reflect the rating agencies’ view of a particular company’s financial strength, operating performance, and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. However, some of the rating factors often relate to the particular views of the rating agency, their independent economic modeling, the general economic climate, and other circumstances outside of the insurer’s control. Accordingly, we cannot predict with any certainty what actions rating agencies may take. A downgrade in our financial strength rating, or an announced potential downgrade, could affect our competitive position and make it more difficult to market our products vis-à-vis competitors with higher financial strength ratings. In extreme situations, a significant downgrade action by one or more rating agency could induce existing policyholders to cancel their policies and withdraw funds from the Company. These events could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and liquidity.

We are subject to competition from new sources as well as companies having substantially greater financial resources which could have an adverse impact upon our business levels and profitability.

In recent years, there has been considerable consolidation among companies in the insurance and financial sectors resulting in large, well-capitalized entities that offer products comparable to the Company. Frequently, these larger organizations are not domiciled in the United States or are financial services entities attempting to establish a position in the insurance industry. These larger competitors often enjoy economies of scale which produce lower operating costs and the wherewithal to absorb greater risk allowing them to price products more competitively and, in turn, attract independent distributors. Consequently, the Company may encounter additional product pricing pressures and be challenged to maintain profit margin targets and profitability criteria. Because of these competitive presences, the Company may not be able to effectively compete without negative affects on our financial position and results.

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We are subject to regulation and changes to existing laws that may affect our profitability or means of operations.

The Company is subject to extensive laws and regulations which are complex and subject to change. In addition, these laws and regulations are enforced by a number of different authorities including, but not limited to, state insurance regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state attorney generals, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Compliance with these laws and regulations is time consuming and any changes may materially increase our compliance costs and other expenses of doing business. The regulatory framework at the state and, increasingly, federal level pertaining to insurance products and practices is advancing and could affect not only the design of our products but our ability to continue to sell certain products.

Life insurer products generally offer tax advantages to policyholders via the deferral of income tax on policy earnings during the accumulation phase of the product, be it an annuity or a life insurance product. Taxes, if any, are payable on income attributable to a distribution under a policy/contract for the year in which the distribution is made. Periodically, Congress has considered legislation that would reduce or eliminate this tax deferral advantage inherent to the life insurance industry and subject the industry’s products to treatment more equivalent with other investments. In the event that the tax-deferred status of life insurance products is revised or reduced by Congress all life insurers would be adversely impacted.

In January 2009, the SEC published its newly adopted rule 151A, Indexed Annuities and Certain Other Insurance Contracts. This rule defines “indexed annuities to be securities and thus subject to regulation by the SEC and under federal securities laws”. Currently indexed annuities sold by life insurance companies are regulated by the States as Insurance products and Section 3(a)(8) of the Securities Act of 1933 provides an exemption for certain “annuity contracts,” “optional annuity contracts,” and other insurance contracts. The new rule is not effective until January 12, 2011. The Company and others have filed suit in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to overturn this rule. In the event rule 151A is not overturned, it could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may be subject to unfavorable judicial developments, including the time and expense of litigation, which potentially could affect our financial position and results.

In the ordinary course of business, we are involved in various legal actions common to the life insurance industry, some of which may occasionally assert claims for large amounts. These actions, for example, could include allegations of improper sales practices in connection with the sale of life insurance or bad faith in the handling of insurance claims. While at this time we are not a party to any lawsuit that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our financial position or operations, given the inherent unpredictability of litigation, there can be no assurance that such litigation, current or in the future, will not have such a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operation or cash flows in any particular reporting period.

We could be liable with respect to liabilities ceded to reinsurers if the reinsurers fail to meet the obligations assumed by them.

The Company cedes material amounts of insurance to other unaffiliated insurance companies through reinsurance. However, these reinsurance arrangements do not fully discharge the Company’s obligation to pay benefits on the reinsured business. If a reinsurer fails to meet its obligations, the Company would be forced to cover these claims. In addition, if a reinsurer becomes insolvent, it may cause the Company to lose its reserve credits on the ceded business which require the establishment of additional reserves. To mitigate the risks associated with the use of reinsurance, the Company carefully monitors the ratings and financial condition of its reinsurers on a regular basis and attempts to avoid concentration of credit risks in order to diversify its risk exposure.

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We are subject to policy claims experience which can fluctuate from period to period and vary from past results or expectations.

The Company’s earnings are significantly influenced by policy claims received and will vary from period to period depending upon the amount of claims incurred. In any given quarter or year, there is very limited predictability of claims experience. The liability established for future policy benefits is based upon a number of different factors. In the event our future claim experience does not match our past results or pricing assumptions, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

We are subject to assumption inaccuracies regarding future mortality, persistency, and interest rates used in determining deferred policy acquisition costs which may require us to accelerate our amortization.

Deferred policy acquisition costs (and deferred sales inducement amounts) are calculated using a number of assumptions related to policy persistency, mortality and interest rates. They represent costs that vary with and are primarily related to the acquisition of new insurance and annuity contracts. Amortization of deferred policy acquisition expenses is dependent upon actual and expected profits generated by the lines of business that incurred the related expenses and they are amortized over the expected lives of the corresponding contracts. The deferred policy acquisition costs recorded on the balance sheet are tested to determine if they are recoverable under current assumptions. The estimates and assumptions used to amortize deferred policy acquisition costs proportional to expected gross profits are also regularly reviewed. Due to the uncertainty associated with establishing these assumptions, the Company cannot, with precision, determine the exact pattern of profit emergence. Increases in actual or future withdrawals or surrenders or investment losses, often associated with severe economic recessions, could result in an acceleration of amortization. Accordingly, actual results could differ from the related assumptions which could have a material and adverse impact on the Company’s operating results.

We are dependent upon effective information technology systems and on development and implementation of new technologies.

The Company’s business operations are technology dependent for maintaining accurate records, administering complex contract provisions, and complying with increasingly demanding regulation. While systems developments can streamline many processes and in the long term reduce the cost of doing business, these initiatives can present short-term cost and implementation risks. Projections of expenses, implementation time frames and the ultimate enhancement values may be different from expectations and escalate over time. The Company also faces rising costs and time constraints in meeting data security compliance requirements of new and proposed regulations. These increased risks and expanding requirements expose the Company to potential data loss and damages and significant increases in compliance and litigation costs.

The Company relies on its computer systems to conduct business and produce financial statements. While policies, procedures and back-up plans designed to prevent or minimize the effect of incapacity or failure are maintained, the Company’s computer systems may be vulnerable to disruptions or breaches as a result of natural disasters, man-made disasters, criminal activity or other events beyond the Company’s control. The failure or incapacity of any of the Company’s computer systems could disrupt operations and adversely impact our profitability.

The Company retains confidential information on its systems, including customer information and proprietary business information. The increasing volume and sophistication of computer viruses, hackers and other external threats may increase the vulnerability of the Company’s systems to data breaches. Any compromise of the security of the Company’s technology systems that results in the disclosure of personally identifiable customer information could damage the Company’s reputation, expose it to litigation, and result in significant technical, legal and other expenses.

Some of the Company’s information technology systems are older legacy-type systems and require an ongoing commitment of resources to maintain current standards. These legacy systems are written in older programming languages with which fewer and fewer individuals are knowledgeable of and trained in. The Company’s success is in large part dependent on maintaining and enhancing the effectiveness of existing legacy systems and failure of these systems for any reason could disrupt our operations, result in the loss of business and adversely impact our profitability.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The Westcap Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary, owns the Company’s principal office location in Austin, Texas and two buildings adjacent to it, totaling approximately 93,000 square feet that are leased and utilized by the Company. The Company’s affiliate, Regent Care Building, Limited Partnership, owns a 65,000 square foot building in Reno, Nevada, which is leased and utilized by another of the Company’s affiliates, Regent Care Operations, Limited Partnership, for use in its nursing home operations. The Company’s subsidiary Regent Care San Marcos Holdings, LLC completed construction of a 74,000 square foot building in San Marcos, Texas that will be utilized in nursing home operations beginning in 2009. Lease costs and related operating expenses for facilities of the Company’s subsidiaries are currently not significant in relation to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The intercompany lease costs related to The Westcap Corporation and the nursing home have been eliminated for consolidated reporting purposes.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

The Company is a defendant in two class action lawsuits. In one case, the Court has certified a class consisting of certain California policyholders age 65 and older alleging violations under California Business and Professions Code section 17200. The Court has additionally certified a subclass of 36 policyholders alleging fraud against their agent, and vicariously, against the Company but it is expected that a motion for class certification will be filed in early 2009. A second class action lawsuit is in discovery with no class certification motion pending. Management believes that the Company has good and meritorious defenses and intends to continue to vigorously defend itself against these claims.

The Company is involved or may become involved in various other legal actions, in the normal course of business, in which claims for alleged economic and punitive damages have been or may be asserted, some for substantial amounts. Although there can be no assurances, at the present time, the Company does not anticipate that the ultimate liability arising from potential, pending, or threatened legal actions, will have a material adverse effect on the financial condition or operating results of the Company.

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE

OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to a vote of the Company’s security holders during the fourth quarter of 2008.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY,

RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER

PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

The principal market on which the Class A common stock of the Company trades is The NASDAQ Stock Market® under the symbol “NWLI”. The high and low sales prices for the Class A common stock for each quarter during the last two years are shown in the following table.

		High		Low

2008:	First Quarter	$	221.67		173.55
	Second Quarter		259.97		199.00
	Third Quarter		258.46		193.20
	Fourth Quarter		275.00		111.06

2007:	First Quarter	$	235.25		223.05
	Second Quarter		271.60		249.05
	Third Quarter		268.00		228.56
	Fourth Quarter		246.95		199.53

Equity Security Holders

The number of stockholders of record on March 12, 2009 was as follows:

Class A Common Stock		4,390
Class B Common Stock		2

Dividends

During 2008, the Company paid cash dividends on its Class A and Class B common stock in the amounts of $1,233,348 and $36,000, respectively. During 2007, the Company paid cash dividends on its Class A and Class B common stock in the amounts of $1,232,037 and $36,000, respectively. Payment of dividends is within the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors. The Company’s general policy is to reinvest earnings internally to finance the development of new business.

Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The Company has two equity compensation plans that were approved by security holders. Under the two plans, a total of 105,812 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock may be issued upon exercise of the outstanding options at December 31, 2008. The weighted average exercise price of the outstanding options is $174.33 per option. Excluding the outstanding options, 291,400 shares of the common stock remain available for future issuance under the plan at December 31, 2008. The Company’s equity compensation plans have all been approved by security holders.

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Performance Graph

The following graph compares the change in the Company's cumulative total stockholder return on its common stock with the NASDAQ - U.S. Companies Index and the NASDAQ Insurance Stock Index. The graph assumes that the value of the Company's common stock and each index was $100 at December 31, 2003, and that all dividends were reinvested.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Effective March 10, 2006, the Company adopted and implemented a limited stock buy-back program associated with the Company's 1995 Stock Option and Incentive Plan ("Plan") which provides Option Holders the additional alternative of selling shares acquired through the exercise of options directly back to the Company. Option Holders may elect to sell such acquired shares back to the Company at any time within ninety (90) days after the exercise of options at the prevailing market price as of the date of notice of election.

Effective August 22, 2008 the Company adopted and implemented another limited stock buy-back program substantially similar to the 2006 program for shares issued under the 2008 Incentive Plan.

There were no purchases of shares from option holders during the fourth quarter of 2008. Purchased shares are reported in the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements as authorized and unissued.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following five-year financial summary includes comparative amounts derived from the audited consolidated financial statements.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007		2006		2005		2004
	(In thousands except per share amounts)
Earnings Information:
Revenues:
Life and annuity premiums	$	17,752			19,513		15,805		14,602		14,025
Universal life and annuity contract
revenues		133,424			119,677		106,320		96,765		89,513
Net investment income		273,362			318,137		379,768		310,213		315,843
Other income		12,769			13,683		17,304		9,579		11,259
Realized gains (losses) on
investments		(26,228	)		3,497		2,662		9,884		3,506
Total revenues		411,079			474,507		521,859		441,043		434,146
Benefits and expenses:
Life and other policy benefits		39,759			41,326		35,241		39,162		34,613
Amortization of deferred policy
acquisition costs		127,161			88,413		90,358		87,955		88,733
Universal life and investment
annuity contract interest		138,960			164,391		213,736		150,692		173,315
Other operating expenses		55,630			55,130		65,709		46,349		35,441
Total expenses		361,510			349,260		405,044		324,158		332,102
Earnings before Federal income taxes
and cumulative effect of change in
accounting principle		49,569			125,247		116,815		116,885		102,044
Federal income taxes		15,927			39,876		40,472		39,618		34,572
Earnings before cumulative effect of
change in accounting principle		33,642			85,371		76,343		77,267		67,472
Cumulative effect of change in
accounting principle, net of tax		-			-		-		-		54,697
Net earnings	$	33,642			85,371		76,343		77,267		122,169

Diluted Earnings Per Share:
Earnings from operations:
Class A	$	9.48			23.95		21.46		21.83		19.26
Class B	$	4.77			12.12		10.84		11.00		9.68
Cumulative effect of change in
accounting principle:
Class A	$	-			-		-		-		15.61
Class B	$	-			-		-		-		7.85
Net earnings:
Class A	$	9.48			23.95		21.46		21.83		34.87
Class B	$	4.77			12.12		10.84		11.00		17.53

Balance Sheet Information:
Total assets	$	6,786,480			6,835,326		6,693,443		6,369,008		5,991,685

Total liabilities	$	5,800,267			5,823,641		5,760,459		5,495,000		5,183,013

Stockholders’ equity	$	986,213			1,011,685		932,984		874,008		808,672

Book value per common share	$	271.99			279.29		257.67		241.89		225.62

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Forward-Looking Statements

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. Certain information contained herein or in other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of National Western Life Insurance Company or its subsidiaries are or may be viewed as forward-looking. Although the Company has taken appropriate care in developing any such information, forward-looking information involves risks and uncertainties that could significantly impact actual results. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, matters described in the Company’s SEC filings such as exposure to market risks, anticipated cash flows or operating performance, future capital needs, and statutory or regulatory related issues. However, National Western, as a matter of policy, does not make any specific projections as to future earnings, nor does it endorse any projections regarding future performance that may be made by others. Whether or not actual results differ materially from forward-looking statements may depend on numerous foreseeable and unforeseeable events or developments. Also, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations (“MD&A”) of National Western Life Insurance Company for the three years ended December 31, 2008 follows. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related notes beginning on page 81 of this report.

Overview

The Company provides life insurance products on a global basis for the savings and protection needs of policyholders and annuity contracts for the asset accumulation and retirement needs of contractholders both domestically and internationally. The Company accepts funds from policyholders or contractholders and establishes a liability representing future obligations to pay the policy or contract-holders and their beneficiaries. To ensure the Company will be able to pay these future commitments, the funds received as premium payments and deposits are invested in high quality investments, primarily fixed income securities.

Due to the business of accepting funds to pay future obligations in later years, the underlying economics and relevant factors affecting the life insurance industry include the following:

Ÿ	level of premium revenues collected

Ÿ	persistency of policies and contracts

Ÿ	returns on investments

Ÿ	investment credit quality

Ÿ	levels of policy benefits and costs to acquire business

Ÿ	effect of interest rate changes on revenues and investments including asset and liability matching

Ÿ	adequate levels of capital and surplus

The Company monitors these factors continually as key business indicators. The discussion that follows in this Item includes these indicators and presents information useful to an overall understanding of the Company’s business performance in 2008, incorporating required disclosures in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Critical Accounting Policies

Accounting policies discussed below are those considered critical to an understanding of the Company’s financial statements.

Impairment of Investment Securities. The Company’s accounting policy requires that a decline in the value of a security below its amortized cost basis be evaluated to determine if the decline is other-than-temporary. The primary factors considered in evaluating whether a decline in value for fixed income and equity securities is other-than-temporary include: (a) the length of time and the extent to which the fair value has been less than cost, (b) the reasons for the decline in value (credit event, interest rate related, credit spread widening), (c) the overall financial condition as well as the near-term prospects of the issuer, (d) whether the debtor is current on contractually obligated principal and interest payments, and (e) the intent and ability of the Company to retain the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery. In addition, certain securitized financial assets with contractual cash flows are evaluated periodically by the Company to update the estimated cash flows over the life of the security. If the Company determines that the fair value of the securitized financial asset is less than its carrying amount and there has been a decrease in the present value of the estimated cash flows since the previous purchase or prior impairment, then an other-than-temporary impairment charge is recognized. The Company would recognize impairment of securities due to changing of interest rates or market dislocations only if the Company no longer had the ability to hold the securities until recovery or maturity. When a security is deemed to be impaired a charge is recorded as a realized loss equal to the difference between the fair value and amortized cost basis of the security. Once an impairment charge has been recorded, the fair value of the impaired investment becomes its new cost basis and the Company continues to review the other-than-temporarily impaired security for appropriate valuation on an ongoing basis. However, the new cost basis of an impaired security is not adjusted for subsequent increases in estimated fair value.

Deferred Acquisition Costs (“DAC”). The Company is required to defer certain policy acquisition costs and amortize them over future periods. These costs include commissions and certain other expenses that vary with and are primarily associated with acquiring new business. The deferred costs are recorded as an asset commonly referred to as deferred policy acquisition costs. The DAC asset balance is subsequently charged to income over the lives of the underlying contracts in relation to the anticipated emergence of revenue or profits. Actual revenue or profits can vary from Company estimates resulting in increases or decreases in the rate of amortization. The Company does regular evaluations to determine if actual experience or other evidence suggests that earlier estimates should be revised. Assumptions considered significant include surrender and lapse rates, mortality, expense levels, investment performance, and estimated interest spread. Should actual experience dictate that the Company change its assumptions regarding the emergence of future revenues or profits (commonly referred to as “unlocking”), the Company would record a charge or credit to bring its DAC balance to the level it would have been if using the new assumptions from the inception date of each policy.

DAC is also subject to periodic recoverability and loss recognition testing. These tests ensure that the present value of future contract-related cash flows will support the capitalized DAC balance to be amortized in the future. The present value of these cash flows, less the benefit reserve, is compared with the unamortized DAC balance and if the DAC balance is greater, the deficiency is charged to expense as a component of amortization and the asset balance is reduced to the recoverable amount. For more information about accounting for DAC including the discussion of the adoption of Statement of Position (“SOP”) 05-1, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection with Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts, see Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Deferred Sales Inducements. Costs related to sales inducements offered on sales to new customers, principally on investment type contracts and primarily in the form of additional credits to the customer’s account value or enhancements to interest credited for a specified period, which are beyond amounts currently being credited to existing contracts, are deferred and recorded as other assets. All other sales inducements are expensed as incurred and included in interest credited to contract holders’ funds. Deferred sales inducements are amortized to income using the same methodology and assumptions as DAC, and are included in interest credited to contract holders’ funds. Deferred sales inducements are periodically reviewed for recoverability. For more information about accounting for DAC including the discussion of the adoption of Statement of Position (“SOP”) 05-1, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection with Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts, see Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Future Policy Benefits. Because of the long-term nature of insurance contracts, the Company is liable for policy benefit payments many years into the future. The liability for future policy benefits represents estimates of the present value of the Company’s expected benefit payments, net of the related present value of future net premium collections. For traditional life insurance contracts, this is determined by standard actuarial procedures, using assumptions as to mortality (life expectancy), morbidity (health expectancy), persistency, and interest rates, which are based on the Company’s experience with similar products. The assumptions used are those considered to be appropriate at the time the policies are issued. An additional provision is made on most products to allow for possible adverse deviation from the assumptions assumed. For universal life and annuity products, the Company’s liability is the amount of the contract’s account balance. Account balances are also subject to minimum liability calculations as a result of minimum guaranteed interest rates in the policies. While management and Company actuaries have used their best judgment in determining the assumptions and in calculating the liability for future policy benefits, there is no assurance that the estimate of the liabilities reflected in the financial statements represents the Company’s ultimate obligation. In addition, significantly different assumptions could result in materially different reported amounts. A discussion of the assumptions used to calculate the liability for future policy benefits is reported in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Revenue Recognition. Premium income for the Company’s traditional life insurance contracts is generally recognized as the premium becomes due from policyholders. For annuity and universal life contracts, the amounts collected from policyholders are considered deposits and are not included in revenue. For these contracts, fee income consists of policy charges for policy administration, cost of insurance charges and surrender charges assessed against policyholders’ account balances which are recognized in the period the services are provided.

Investment activities of the Company are integral to its insurance operations. Since life insurance benefits may not be paid until many years into the future, the accumulation of cash flows from premium receipts are invested with income reported as revenue when earned. Anticipated yields on investments are reflected in premium rates, contract liabilities, and other product contract features. These anticipated yields are implied in the interest required on the Company’s net insurance liabilities (future policy benefits less deferred acquisition costs) and contractual interest obligations in its insurance and annuity products. The Company benefits to the extent actual net investment income exceeds the required interest on net insurance liabilities and manages the rates it credits on its products to maintain the targeted excess or “spread” of investment earnings over interest credited. The Company will continue to be required to provide for future contractual obligations in the event of a decline in investment yield. For more information concerning revenue recognition, investment accounting, and interest sensitivity, please refer to Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, Note 3, Investments, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and the discussions under Investments in Item 7 of this report.

Pension Plans and Other Postretirement Benefits. The Company sponsors a qualified defined benefit pension plan, which was frozen effective December 31, 2007, covering substantially all employees, and three nonqualified defined benefit plans covering certain senior officers. In addition, the Company has postretirement health care benefits for certain senior officers. The freeze of the qualified benefit pension plan ceased future benefit accruals to all participants and closed the Plan to any new participants. In addition, all participants became immediately 100% vested in their accrued benefits as of that date. In accordance with prescribed accounting standards, the Company annually reviews plan assumptions.

The Company annually reviews its pension benefit plans assumptions which include the discount rate, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, and the compensation increase rate. The assumed discount rate is set based on the rates of return on high quality long-term fixed income investments currently available and expected to be available during the period to maturity of the pension benefits. The assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets is generally set at the rate expected to be earned based on the long-term investment policy of the plans, the various classes of the invested funds, based on the input of the plan’s investment advisors and consulting actuary, and the plan’s historic rate of return. The compensation rate increase assumption is generally set at a rate consistent with current and expected long-term compensation and salary policy, including inflation. These assumptions involve uncertainties and judgment, and therefore actual performance may not be reflective of the assumptions.

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Other postretirement benefit assumptions include future events affecting retirement age, mortality, dependency status, per capita claims costs by age, health care trend rates, and discount rates. Per capita claims cost by age is the current cost of providing postretirement health care benefits for one year at each age from the youngest age to the oldest age at which plan participants are expected to receive benefits under the plan. Health care trend rates involve assumptions about the annual rate(s) of change in the cost of health care benefits currently provided by the plan, due to factors other than changes in the composition of the plan population by age and dependency status. These rates implicitly consider estimates of health care inflation, changes in utilization, technological advances and changes in health status of the participants.

Share-Based Payments. Liability awards under a share-based payment arrangement have been measured based on the award's fair value at the reporting date. The Black-Scholes valuation method has been used to estimate the fair value of the options. This fair value calculation of the options include assumptions relative to the following:

Ÿ	exercise price

Ÿ	expected term based on contractual term and perceived future behavior relative to exercise

Ÿ	current price

Ÿ	expected volatility

Ÿ	risk-free interest rates

Ÿ	expected dividends

These assumptions are continually reviewed by the Company and adjustments may be made based upon current facts and circumstances.

Other significant accounting policies, although not involving the same level of measurement uncertainties as those discussed above, but nonetheless important to an understanding of the financial statements, are described in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Impact of Recent Business Environment

The financial markets began experiencing stress during the second half of 2007 which significantly increased during 2008 and on into 2009. The volatility and disruption in the financial markets has caused the availability and cost of credit to be materially affected. Combined with volatile oil prices, depressed home prices, increasing foreclosures, falling equity market values, declining business and consumer confidence, and higher unemployment, these factors have precipitated a severe recession. The combination of economic conditions began to negatively impact our sales in 2008, particularly in the international markets, and may continue to adversely impact the demand for our products in the future. We also may experience a higher incidence of claims, lapses or surrenders of policies.

The fixed income markets, our primary investment source, are experiencing a high level of volatility and limited market liquidity conditions. Credit downgrade events have begun and there is an increased probability of default for many fixed income instruments. These volatile market conditions have also increased the difficulty of valuing certain securities as trading is less frequent and/or market data is less observable. Certain securities that were in active markets with significant observable data became illiquid due to the current financial environment resulting in valuations that require greater estimation and judgment as well as valuation methods which are more complex. Such valuations may not ultimately be realizable in a market transaction and may change very rapidly as market conditions change and valuation assumptions need to be modified.

Credit spreads (difference between bond yields and risk-free interest rates) on fixed maturity securities increased markedly during 2008 given the market conditions. While the increase in credit spreads generated higher yields making our products more attractive to consumers, the higher rate levels also caused a reduction in the carrying value of our marked-to-market investments negatively impacting our financial condition and reported book value per share. It also caused us to hold a higher amount of cash and short-term investments in order to maintain a more liquid position during uncertain times.

Our operating strategy is to maintain capital levels substantially above regulatory and rating agency requirements. While not significant, our capital levels were nonetheless negatively impacted during 2008 as a result of impairment losses on our investments due to the downturn in economic activity, the increased level of credit spreads and limited liquidity conditions.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The Company’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). In addition, the Company regularly evaluates operating performance using non-GAAP financial measures which exclude or segregate derivative and realized investment gains and losses from operating revenues and earnings. Similar measures are commonly used in the insurance industry in order to assess profitability and results from ongoing operations. The Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures enhances the understanding of the Company’s results of operations by highlighting the results from ongoing operations and the underlying profitability factors of the Company’s business. The Company excludes or segregates derivative and realized investment gains and losses because such items are often the result of events which may or may not be at the Company’s discretion and the fluctuating effects of these items could distort trends in the underlying profitability of the Company’s business. Therefore, in the following sections discussing consolidated operations and segment operations, appropriate reconciliations have been included to report information management considers useful in enhancing an understanding of the Company’s operations to reportable GAAP balances reflected in the consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Operations

Revenues. The following details Company revenues.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)

Universal life and annuity contract revenues	$	133,424			119,677			106,320
Traditional life and annuity premiums		17,752			19,513			15,805
Net investment income (excluding derivatives)		339,038			334,799			336,489
Other income		12,769			13,683			17,304

Operating revenues		502,983			487,672			475,918
Derivative income (loss)		(65,676	)		(16,662	)		43,279
Realized gains (losses) on investments		(26,228	)		3,497			2,662

Total revenues	$	411,079			474,507			521,859

Universal life and annuity contract revenues – Revenues for universal life and annuity contract revenues increased 11.5% in 2008 compared to 2007. Revenues for these products consist of policy charges for the cost of insurance, administration charges, and surrender charges assessed against policyholder account balances, less reinsurance premiums. Cost of insurance charges were $82.9 million in 2008 compared to $74.3 million in 2007 and $67.7 million in 2006. Administrative charges were $25.0 million, $20.9 million, and $17.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively. Surrender charges assessed against policyholder account balances upon withdrawal were $39.1 million in 2008 compared to $33.4 million in 2007 and $28.7 million in 2006.

Traditional life and annuity premiums – Traditional life and annuity premiums decreased 9.0% in 2008 compared to 2007. Traditional life insurance premiums for products such as whole life and term life are recognized as revenues over the premium-paying period. The Company’s life insurance sales focus has been primarily centered around universal life products.

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Net investment income - A detail of net investment income is provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)
Gross investment income:
Debt securities	$	320,275			309,708			306,129
Mortgage loans		7,223			8,513			8,480
Policy loans		6,096			6,302			6,354
Short-term investments		1,915			7,059			3,118
Other investment income		5,934			6,087			15,289

Total investment income		341,443			337,669			339,370
Less: investment expenses		2,405			2,870			2,881

Net investment income
(excluding derivatives)		339,038			334,799			336,489

Derivative income (loss)		(65,676	)		(16,662	)		43,279

Net investment income	$	273,362			318,137			379,768

Investment grade debt securities generated approximately 94.5% of total investment income, excluding derivatives in 2008. The decrease in short-term investment income in 2008 is attributable to fewer asset holdings on these investments compared to prior years when the yield curve was flat or slightly inverted and the Company did not sacrifice yield holding shorter term securities and lower short-term yields. There was no other investment income from profit participation agreements in 2008. Other investment income received on various profit participation arrangements of $0.9 million and $1.2 million were recorded in 2007 and 2006, respectively. In addition, proceeds of $0.9 million and $4.3 million were received in 2008 and 2006, respectively from a class action settlement on a disposed debt security.

Net investment income performance is analyzed excluding derivative income (loss), which is a common practice in the insurance industry, in order to assess underlying profitability and results from ongoing operations. Net investment income performance is summarized as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands except percentages)
Excluding derivatives:
Net investment income	$	339,038			334,799			336,489
Average invested assets, at amortized cost	$	5,762,688			5,732,212			5,514,196
Yield on average invested assets		5.88	%		5.84	%		6.10	%

Including derivatives:
Net investment income	$	273,362			318,137			379,768
Average invested assets, at amortized cost	$	5,814,439			5,789,502			5,548,266
Yield on average invested assets		4.70	%		5.50	%		6.84	%

The average invested asset yield increase in 2008 is due to the Company obtaining higher yields on newly invested funds as well as re-investing prepayments, calls, and maturities of debt securities at higher rates. The additional income recognized from the other invested assets in 2006, as discussed below, contributes to a higher yield for that year. Refer to the Derivatives discussion following this section for a more detailed explanation.

Other income - Other income consists primarily of gross income associated with nursing home operations of $12.5 million, $12.6 million, and $11.2 million in 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively. In addition, the Company received $0.5 million and $5.5 million related to lawsuit settlements during 2007 and 2006, respectively.

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Derivatives income (loss) - Index options are derivative financial instruments used to fully hedge the equity return component of the Company’s fixed-indexed products, which were first introduced for sale in 1997. In 2002, the Company began selling an fixed-indexed universal life product in addition to its fixed indexed annuities. Any income or loss from the sale or expiration of the options, as well as period-to-period changes in fair values, are reflected as a component of net investment income. However, increases or decreases in income from these options are substantially offset by corresponding increases or decreases in amounts credited to indexed annuity and life policyholders.

Income and losses from index options are due to market conditions. Index options are intended to act as hedges to match the returns on the product’s underlying reference index and the rise or decline in the index causes option values to likewise rise or decline. While income from index options fluctuates with the underlying index, the contract interest expense to policyholder accounts for the Company’s fixed-indexed products also fluctuates in a similar manner and direction. In 2008 and 2007, the reference indices decreased resulting in index option losses and a reduction in contract interest expenses. In 2006, the reference indices increased and the Company recorded income from index options and likewise increased contract interest expenses.

Derivative components included in net investment income and the corresponding contract interest amounts are detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)
Derivatives:
Unrealized income (loss)	$	(17,480	)		(56,204	)		27,108
Realized income (loss)		(48,196	)		39,542			16,171

Total income (loss) included in net investment income	$	(65,676	)		(16,662	)		43,279

Total contract interest	$	138,960			164,391			213,736

Realized gains (losses) on investments - The net losses reported in 2008 of $26.2 million consisted of gross gains of $2.2 million primarily from calls and sales of debt securities, offset by gross losses of $28.4 million, which includes the other-than-temporary impairment losses highlighted in the table below.

Realized losses on investments have primarily resulted from impairment writedowns on investments in debt securities and valuation allowances recorded on mortgage loans. The Company records impairment writedowns when a decline in value is considered other-than-temporary and full recovery of the investment is not expected. Impairment writedowns are summarized in the following table.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)
Impairment or valuation writedowns:
Bonds	$	21,803		67		99
Equities		5,412		-		-
Mortgage loans		1,020		1,467		2,100

	$	28,235		1,534		2,199

For the year, the Company recorded other-than-temporary impairment writedowns on debt securities consisting of Washington Mutual ($9.3 million), Clear Channel Communications ($8.7 million), GMAC ($2.3 million), and Greentree ($1.5 million). Due to the events leading to the writedowns also providing evidence of a significant deterioration in the issuers’ credit worthiness, the Washington Mutual, Greentree Financial and two GMAC securities were transferred from held to maturity to available for sale.

The $5.4 million of equity impairments in 2008 include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock holdings ($4.6 million) and mark-to-market writedowns on various other equity holdings.

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The mortgage loan valuation writedown in 2008 principally involves one property located in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. The 2007 and 2006 mortgage loan valuation write downs involve a New Orleans property whose value was negatively impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

Benefits and Expenses. The following details benefits and expenses.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)

Life and other policy benefits	$	39,759		41,326		35,241
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		127,161		88,413		90,358
Universal life and annuity contract interest		138,960		164,391		213,736
Other operating expenses		55,630		55,130		65,709

Totals	$	361,510		349,260		405,044

Life and other policy benefits - Life and other policy benefits include death claims of $29.6 million, $28.5 million, and $26.2 million for 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively.

Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs - Life insurance companies are required to defer certain expenses associated with acquiring new business. The majority of these acquisition expenses consist of commissions paid to agents, underwriting costs, and certain marketing expenses and sales inducements. The Company defers sales inducements in the form of first year interest bonuses on annuity and universal life products that are directly related to the production of new business. These charges are deferred and amortized using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize other capitalized acquisition costs and the amortization is included in contract interest. Recognition of these deferred policy acquisition costs in the consolidated financial statements is to occur over future periods in relation to the expected emergence of profits priced into the products sold. This emergence of profits is based upon assumptions regarding premium payment patterns, mortality, persistency, investment performance, and expense patterns. Companies are required to review these assumptions periodically to ascertain whether actual experience has deviated significantly from that assumed. If it is determined that a significant deviation has occurred, the emergence of profit patterns is to be "unlocked" and reset based upon the actual experience.

Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs increased to $127.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to $88.4 million and $90.4 million reported in 2007 and 2006. An unlocking adjustment was recorded in the current year which resulted in an increase of amortization by $6.3 million. This unlocking adjustment was based upon changes to future annuitizations and full surrenders reflecting current experience studies. An unlocking adjustment was recorded in 2007 which resulted in a decrease in amortization of $10.4 million. This unlocking adjustment was based upon changes to (1) future mortality assumptions reflecting current experience studies and (2) assumption changes to future cost of insurance rates. There were no unlocking adjustments recognized during 2006. True-up adjustments were also recorded in 2008 and 2007 relative to partial surrender rates, mortality rates, credited interest rates and earned rates for the current year’s experience resulting in a $16.2 million and $1.0 million increase in amortization, respectively. Amortization for 2006 includes a true-up adjustment relative to partial surrenders, mortality assumptions, annuitizations, credited rates and earned rates which increased amortization in that year by approximately $5.4 million.

During the fourth quarter of 2008, during a detailed review of Deferred Acquisition Cost assets, the Company identified that it a had over capitalized $2.4 million of deferred acquisition costs during the first three quarters of 2008, and an additional $3.5 million for periods prior to 2008. This immaterial error was corrected during the fourth quarter and resulted in a decrease in the deferred acquisition cost asset and an increase in amortization.

In accordance with the adoption of SOP 05-1, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection with Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts ("SOP 05-1"), beginning in 2007 the Company’s amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs is expected to increase. Under this pronouncement, annuitizations and certain internal replacements of contracts result in the associated contract’s unamortized deferred acquisition costs, unearned revenue liabilities, and deferred sales inducement assets being written off.

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Universal life and annuity contract interest - The Company closely monitors its credited interest rates on interest sensitive policies, taking into consideration such factors as profitability goals, policyholder benefits, product marketability, and economic market conditions. As long-term interest rates change, the Company's credited interest rates are often adjusted accordingly, taking into consideration the factors described above. The difference between yields earned on investments over policy credited rates is often referred to as the "interest spread". Raising policy credited rates can typically have an impact sooner than higher market rates on the Company's investment portfolio yield, making it more difficult to maintain the current interest spread.

The Company's approximated average credited rates are as follows:

	December 31,									December 31,
	2008			2007			2006			2008			2007			2006
	(Excluding equity-indexed products)									(Including equity-indexed products)

Annuity		3.01	%		3.41	%		3.39	%		2.42	%		2.84	%		3.86	%
Interest sensitive life		3.92	%		3.23	%		4.30	%		3.39	%		4.28	%		5.41	%

Contract interest includes the performance of the derivative component of the Company's equity-indexed products. As previously noted, the recent market performance of these derivative features decreased contract interest expense in 2008 and 2007, while also decreasing the Company's investment income given the hedge nature of the options. During 2006, the reverse was noted, as the underlying reference index performance was up resulting in higher investment income and contract interest expense. With these credited rates, the Company generally realized its targeted interest spread on its products.

Other operating expenses - Other operating expenses consist of general administrative expenses, licenses and fees, commissions not subject to deferral, and expenses of nursing home operations. Nursing home expenses amounted to $11.4 million, $11.0 million, and $10.2 million in 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively. Compensation costs related to stock options totaled negative $1.4 million in 2008 and negative $1.1 million in 2007 as a result of marking the options to fair value under the liability method of accounting. In 2006, $13.1 million of increased compensation costs resulted from a change to liability classification for the Company’s stock option plan.

Federal Income Taxes - Federal income taxes on earnings from continuing operations for 2008, 2007, and 2006 reflect effective tax rates of 32.1%, 31.8%, and 34.6%, respectively, which are lower than the expected Federal rate of 35% primarily due to tax-exempt investment income related to investments in municipal securities and dividends-received deductions on income from stock investments.

During 2008, the Company was notified that its 2005 tax return amendment, which was filed September 2007, was being audited by the IRS. The audit is currently in progress. Adjustments to the amended return are not expected to have a material effect on the financial condition or operating results of the Company.

During the second quarter of 2007, upon the completion of a detailed review of the deferred tax items, the Company identified a $2.3 million error in the net deferred tax liability. The error, which occurred during various periods prior to 2005, was corrected in the second quarter of 2007 and resulted in a decrease in the net deferred tax liability and deferred tax expense. The adjustment was not material to 2007 or any prior period financial statements.

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Segment Operations

Summary of Segment Earnings

A summary of segment earnings from continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007, and 2006 is provided below. The segment earnings exclude realized gains and losses on investments, net of taxes.

	Domestic		International
	Life		Life				All
	Insurance		Insurance		Annuities		Others		Totals
	(In thousands)
Segment earnings:

2008	$	717		15,350		27,842		6,781		50,690
2007		342		20,179		56,299		6,278		83,098
2006		297		12,191		56,559		5,566		74,613

Domestic Life Insurance Operations

A comparative analysis of results of operations for the Company's domestic life insurance segment is detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)
Premiums and other revenue:
Premiums and contract revenues	$	27,919		25,879		22,731
Net investment income		20,254		18,863		20,462
Other income		20		41		29

Total premiums and other revenue		48,193		44,783		43,222

Benefits and expenses:
Life and other policy benefits		14,478		14,922		13,656
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		12,416		7,998		7,313
Universal life insurance contract interest		9,171		9,463		9,168
Other operating expenses		11,057		11,898		12,630

Total benefits and expenses		47,122		44,281		42,767

Segment earnings before Federal income taxes		1,071		502		455

Federal income taxes		354		160		158

Segment earnings	$	717		342		297

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Revenues from domestic life insurance operations include life insurance premiums on traditional type products and revenues from universal life insurance. Revenues from traditional products are simply premiums collected, while revenues from universal life insurance consist of policy charges for the cost of insurance, policy administration fees, and surrender charges assessed during the period. A comparative detail of premiums and contract revenues is provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)

Universal life insurance revenues	$	26,978			23,028			18,286
Traditional life insurance premiums		5,849			6,629			6,906
Reinsurance premiums		(4,908	)		(3,778	)		(2,461	)

Totals	$	27,919			25,879			22,731

The Company’s premiums and contract revenues have increased 8% from 2007 as efforts have been made to promote domestic life products. It is the Company's marketing plan to increase domestic life product sales through increased recruiting of new distribution and the development of new life insurance products. The Company had approximately 4,300 contracted agents as of December 31, 2008.

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, premiums collected on universal life products are not reflected as revenues in the Company's consolidated statements of earnings. Actual domestic universal life premiums are detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)

Universal life insurance:
First year and single premiums	$	15,272		15,592		14,640
Renewal premiums		19,948		16,639		14,118

Totals	$	35,220		32,231		28,758

Policy benefits in 2006 through 2008 were consistent with Company expectations. Net investment income increased to $20.3 million in 2008 as compared to $18.9 million in 2007, consistent with the growth of the volume of insurance in force. Other operating expenses increased significantly in 2006 due to an increase in compensation costs resulting from the change to liability classification for the Company’s stock option plan. Compensation costs totaled $0.3 million in both 2008 and 2007 and $3.0 million 2006.

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International Life Insurance Operations

A comparative analysis of results of operations for the Company's international life insurance segment is detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)
Premiums and other revenue:
Premiums and contract revenues	$	97,661		88,782		78,005
Net investment income		17,350		24,690		28,530
Other income		62		126		78

Total premiums and other revenue		115,073		113,598		106,613

Benefits and expenses:
Life and other policy benefits		21,292		22,810		18,161
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		37,525		24,959		23,075
Universal life insurance contract interest		16,803		20,993		25,675
Other operating expenses		16,502		15,271		21,051

Total benefits and expenses		92,122		84,033		87,962

Segment earnings before Federal income taxes		22,951		29,565		18,651

Federal income taxes		7,601		9,386		6,460

Segment earnings	$	15,350		20,179		12,191

As with domestic operations, revenues from the international life insurance segment include both premiums on traditional type products and revenues from universal life insurance. A comparative detail of premiums and contract revenues is provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)

Universal life insurance revenues	$	98,458			85,633			78,008
Traditional life insurance premiums		14,727			15,692			11,027
Reinsurance premiums		(15,524	)		(12,543	)		(11,030	)

Totals	$	97,661			88,782			78,005

International operations have emphasized universal life policies over traditional life insurance products. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, premiums collected on universal life products are not reflected as revenues in the Company's consolidated statements of earnings. Actual international universal life premiums collected are detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)
Universal life insurance
First year and single premiums	$	39,257		44,426		36,758
Renewal premiums		96,456		91,621		81,226

Totals	$	135,713		136,047		117,984

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The Company's international life operations historically have been a significant contributor to the Company's overall growth and represent a market niche where the Company believes it has a competitive advantage. A productive agency force has been developed given the Company's longstanding reputation for supporting its international life products coupled with the instability of competing companies in international markets. In particular, the Company has experienced growth with its fixed-indexed universal life products and has collected premiums of $78.5 million, $76.8 million, and $60.5 million for the years ended 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively.

The largest selling product in the international life insurance segment for the past five years has been a fixed-indexed universal life policy with the equity component linked in part to an equity index. With the growth in this block of business, the period-to-period changes in fair values of the underlying options have had an increasingly greater impact on net investment and contract interest. A detail of net investment income for international life insurance operations is provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008			2007			2006
	(In thousands)

Net investment income
(excluding derivatives)	$	28,687			26,519			25,893
Derivative income (loss)		(11,337	)		(1,829	)		2,637

Net investment income	$	17,350			24,690			28,530

Derivative income and losses fluctuate from period to period based on the Company’s international equity-indexed universal life product and the applicable performance of the S&P 500 Index®.

Life and other policy benefits in 2006 through 2008 were generally consistent with Company expectations. Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs in 2008, were impacted as the Company recorded true-up adjustments that reduced the DAC asset and increased amortization by $3.7 million. The Company recorded an unlocking adjustment benefit in 2007 totaling $9.0 million relative to improved mortality assumptions that resulted in an increase to the deferred asset balance and a decrease in amortization expense. In addition, a true-up adjustment of $1.7 million was also recorded in 2007 resulting in a decrease to amortization. Offsetting the decrease to 2007 amortization for the unlocking and true-up adjustments was an increase in amortization due primarily to the application of SOP 05-1 which requires the write-off of deferred balances on contracts that are considered substantially changed. These balances were previously carried and amortized over the projected life of the contract. In 2006, a true-up of amortization assumptions resulted in increased amortization of $1.0 million.

Contract interest expense includes fluctuations primarily the result of the S&P 500 Index® performance relative to the equity-indexed universal life products. The associated stock market gains and losses increase or decrease the amounts the Company credited to policyholders.

As the international life insurance in force continues to grow, the Company anticipates operating earnings to increase as well. The amount of international life insurance in force has grown from $13.3 billion at December 31, 2006 to $14.8 billion at December 31, 2007 and $15.9 billion at December 31, 2008.

Other operating expenses reported in 2008 were 8% higher compared to 2007. The lower level in 2007 resulted from negative compensation costs related to stock options recorded under liability accounting. Compensation costs totaled $0.6 million, $0.4 million, and $5.1 million in 2008, 2007, and 2006, respectively.

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Annuity Operations

The Company's annuity operations are almost exclusively in the United States. Although some of the Company's investment contracts are available to international residents, current sales are small relative to total annuity sales. A comparative analysis of results of operations for the Company's annuity segment is detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)

Premiums and other revenue:
Premiums and contract revenues	$	25,596		24,529		21,389
Net investment income		226,683		266,953		323,326
Other income		232		920		5,950

Total premiums and other revenue		252,511		292,402		350,665

Benefits and expenses:
Life and other policy benefits		3,990		3,594		3,424
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs		77,219		55,456		59,970
Annuity contract interest		112,986		133,935		178,893
Other operating expenses		16,685		16,931		21,847

Total benefits and expenses		210,880		209,916		264,134

Segment earnings before Federal income taxes		41,631		82,486		86,531

Federal income taxes		13,789		26,187		29,972

Segment earnings	$	27,842		56,299		56,559

Revenues from annuity operations primarily include surrender charges and recognition of deferred revenues relating to immediate or payout annuities. A comparative detail of the components of premiums and annuity contract revenues is provided below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007		2006
	(In thousands)

Surrender charges	$	20,502		20,238		17,260
Payout annuity and other revenues		5,071		4,263		4,098
Traditional annuity premiums		23		28		31

Totals	$	25,596		24,529		21,389

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, deposits collected on annuity contracts are not reflected as revenues in the Company's consolidated statements of earnings. Actual annuity deposits collected are detailed below.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2008		2007	2006
	(In thousands)

Fixed indexed annuities	$	281,649