Dictionary of Insurance Terms: prospective reserve
prospective reserve
amount designated as a future liability for life or health insurance to meet the difference between future benefits and future premiums. net level premium is determined so that this basic relationship holds: the present value of a future premium equals the present value of a future benefit. This relationship, incidentally, exists in fact only at the point of issuance of a life insurance policy. After that, the value of future premiums is less than the value of future benefits because fewer premiums are left to be paid. Thus, a reserve must be maintained at all times to make up this difference.
