In order to portray the changing role of life reinsurance it is necessary to describe many of the traditional areas of activity for the industry, so that an understanding can be gained of how current developments have usually emerged in a natural way from previous undertakings. Therefore, this paper, particularly in its early sections, summarizes techniques and procedures which have been covered in greater detail in previous papers related to the subject of life reinsurance. Current developments, which are naturally associated with some existing activity, are described under the appropriate heading. In this way we hope that those who have little experience of reinsurance will quickly grasp the main principles, whilst anyone fortunate enough to have been involved in the fascinating world of reinsurance will still find items of interest scattered throughout the paper.