Glossary

CSO mortality table

The table of death rates state regulators adopt as the minimum standard for life insurance reserves, guaranteed values and tax-law tests.

Also called: Commissioners Standard Ordinary table, CSO table, 2017 CSO

A Commissioners Standard Ordinary (CSO) mortality table lists death rates by age, sex and tobacco status and is adopted by the NAIC and state regulators for individual life insurance. It does not set the premium you pay, since insurers price with their own experience. Instead, it sets the floor for statutory reserves and minimum guaranteed cash values, caps guaranteed cost-of-insurance charges, and is used in the tax code's Section 7702 and seven-pay calculations.

The current table is the 2017 CSO, developed by the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries and adopted by the NAIC in 2016. Insurers could use it for new policies starting in 2017 and must use it for policies issued on or after January 1, 2020. It replaced the 2001 CSO and, like that table, runs to age 120, which is why many newer permanent policies mature at age 121.

Hypothetical example: if the table shows a death rate of 1 per 1,000 at a given age, an insurer computing minimum reserves must assume at least that many deaths among its policyholders that age. Because each new CSO table reflects longer lives, it generally allows lower reserves and lower guaranteed maximum charges on new policies. See mortality trends and how they move life insurance prices and principle-based reserving and what it means for prices.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Mortality table A chart showing, for each age, the probability of dying within a year and often the expected remaining lifetime, used to price and reserve for life insurance. Reserves Liabilities a life insurer must hold on its balance sheet, as required by state law, to cover future claims and benefits owed on policies in force. Actuary A specialist who uses statistics, mortality data and financial math to price policies, set reserves and measure an insurer's long-term risk. Section 7702 The federal tax code section that defines which contracts count as life insurance, limiting how much cash value a policy can hold for its death benefit. Mortality improvement The long-term decline in death rates at each age over time, which actuaries project forward when pricing life insurance, annuities and pensions. Guaranteed values The cash values, death benefits and premiums a permanent policy promises in writing, which the insurer can't reduce whatever its results.

Related guides

Mortality trends and how they move life insurance prices Life insurance prices follow expected death rates. What CDC and SSA data show about U.S. mortality, and why insured-population trends move prices slowly. Principle-based reserving and what it means for prices How principle-based reserving (VM-20) replaced formula reserves for new life policies from 2020, and why its effect on your premiums is indirect.

Related tools

Life expectancy calculator Shows average remaining lifetime at your age and sex, and the chance of reaching 70, 80, 90 or 100, from the Social Security life table.