What does M&E stand for?

And since the products are bought directly from the company, the mortality and expense fees are low, and there is no surrender charge.

In addition to a review of the financial performance of the underlying separate accounts, the sites provide information regarding mortality and expense ratios, other insurance expenses, and subaccount asset management fees.

The second method, called the shadow account method, guarantees that a contract will stay in force as long as the shadow account balance remains positive, where the shadow account is calculated using interest credits and/or mortality and expense charges that are more favorable than those guaranteed in the policy.

These annuity fees, known in the industry as the mortality and expense charge, also might pay for the costs of issuing and administering the product, Lewis said.