Form 497VPU Files Dataset

The Form 497VPU Files Dataset packages every Form 497VPU filing submitted to EDGAR from April 2021 to the present. Each record represents one EDGAR Form 497VPU submission — an "updating summary prospectus" or mid-cycle supplement filed pursuant to Securities Act Rule 497(k) and Rule 498A by an insurance company separate account registered on Form N-3, Form N-4, or Form N-6. The filings are prepared by sponsoring life insurance company depositors and used to deliver concise, annually refreshed disclosure to existing variable annuity and variable life insurance contract holders, as adopted by the SEC in March 2020. Each record is materialized as a folder named after the 18-digit accession number containing a flat metadata.json describing the filing at the EDGAR header level and the primary 497VPU document as a single .htm file. Filings appear seasonally each year, clustered in late Q1 and Q2 alongside the underlying Rule 485 post-effective amendments to which they are anchored.

Dataset APIs

Dataset Files

What This Dataset Contains

This dataset captures the EDGAR submissions filed under the form type 497VPU, the SEC code reserved for an updating summary prospectus (USP) for a variable annuity or variable life insurance contract. Form 497VPU was created by Securities Act Rule 497(k) read together with Rule 498A — the "summary prospectus for variable contracts" framework adopted by the SEC in March 2020 — which permits insurance company separate accounts registered on Forms N-3, N-4, or N-6 to satisfy their statutory prospectus delivery obligations to existing contract owners by delivering a concise, annually refreshed updating summary prospectus rather than the full statutory prospectus. The 497VPU submission is the EDGAR vehicle through which that updating summary prospectus, or a mid-year supplement to it, is filed.

A 497VPU is therefore not a registration statement and not a full prospectus. It is a short, dated, contract-owner-facing disclosure document that points back to a previously effective prospectus, initial summary prospectus, or updating summary prospectus and modifies discrete portions of it. Two structurally different uses appear under the same form type:

• Annual updating summary prospectus — a standalone summary document covering required disclosure topics (key contract features, fee and expense table, investment-option appendix, benefits, risks, surrender charges, contract terms).
• Mid-cycle supplement to a previously filed updating summary prospectus or full prospectus, announcing a discrete change such as a fund addition, fund liquidation, fund substitution, share-class rename, or replacement of the Appendix A investment-option table. Mid-cycle supplements dominate the corpus by volume.

Form 497VPU has been filed exclusively in HTML inside the EDGAR SGML wrapper since its inception. The dataset's file types are HTML, JSON, and TXT references; in practice every record is one HTML document plus one JSON metadata file. The dataset is distributed as monthly ZIP container archives covering the full population of 497VPU filings from April 2021 forward.

Content Structure of a Single 497VPU Record

What one record represents

One record is a single EDGAR Form 497VPU filing, materialized on disk as a folder named after the 18-digit accession number with hyphens stripped. Each folder packages two artifacts: a flat metadata.json describing the filing at the EDGAR header level, and the primary 497VPU document as a single .htm file. There is exactly one 497VPU document per record. The EDGAR complete-submission .txt stream is referenced by URL inside metadata.json but is not redistributed locally, and any image attachments accompanying the filing are excluded from the dataset copy.

The unit of observation is one variable-contract supplement event, defined by one accession number, one effective date, and one set of disclosed contract changes. It is not one contract, one separate account, or one underlying prospectus. A single 497VPU filing routinely supplements multiple variable annuity or variable life contracts within the same separate account; the seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] array in metadata.json enumerates every Investment Company Act series and C-prefixed contract class touched by that one supplement.

Layered structure of the record

A record has two layers: structured EDGAR-level metadata in metadata.json, and the unstructured-but-conventionalized supplement body in the .htm document. The HTML document is wrapped in the EDGAR SGML <DOCUMENT> header that EDGAR prepends inside the complete-submission stream, so each .htm file begins with <DOCUMENT>, <TYPE>497VPU, <SEQUENCE>1, <FILENAME>…, an optional <DESCRIPTION> line, <TEXT>, and then the <HTML>…</HTML> body, closing with </TEXT></DOCUMENT>. The <DESCRIPTION> line is sometimes omitted.

Filenames of the inner .htm follow filer-specific conventions rather than a single SEC pattern. Donnelley-style hashed names (e.g. d41329d497vpu.htm), Voya/Broadridge job-numbered names (e.g. vrm-efp21410_497vpu.htm), Toppan Merrill-style names (e.g. tm2533715d7_497vpu.htm), and filer-mnemonic descriptive names (e.g. bondfundaddsupp.htm, f3venfundaddsupp-landmarketc.htm) all appear. The substring 497vpu is common in filenames but not guaranteed.

The metadata.json object

metadata.json is a single flat JSON object describing exactly one filing. Top-level fields include:

• formType — the literal string "497VPU".
• accessionNo — dashed accession number (e.g. 0001193125-25-338309); the enclosing folder name is the dash-stripped form.
• effectivenessDate — the supplement's effective date as YYYY-MM-DD.
• filedAt — full ISO-8601 timestamp with timezone offset, capturing the EDGAR acceptance moment.
• description — typically the literal "Form 497VPU -", often with no further free-text detail.
• id — a 32-character hex hash uniquely identifying the filing record.
• linkToFilingDetails — direct URL to the primary 497VPU .htm on sec.gov.
• linkToTxt — URL to the EDGAR complete-submission .txt (not redistributed in the folder).
• linkToHtml — URL to the EDGAR filing index page (-index.htm).
• linkToXbrl — empty string; Rule 498A did not impose structured-data tagging on the updating summary prospectus.
• dataFiles — empty array; 497VPU filings carry no XBRL or financial data files.

documentFormatFiles[] lists every document EDGAR reports for the submission, with type, sequence, size, documentUrl, and an optional description. Two entries are typical: the 497VPU .htm itself with type: "497VPU" and a free-text description such as "VOYA RETIREMENT MASTER (333-130822) - 497VPU" or "497VPU FUND ADD SUPPLEMENT - LANDMARK ETC.", and the complete-submission .txt with type: " " (single space) and description: "Complete submission text file".

entities[] carries one entry per filer reported in the EDGAR header. Each entry exposes companyName (with a parenthetical role suffix such as "(Filer)"), cik as a string, fileNo (the SEC file number, typically a 333- Securities Act file), filmNo, irsNo, act (consistently "33" for 497VPU, signaling the Securities Act of 1933), type mirroring the form type, fiscalYearEnd as an MMDD string (typically "1231"), stateOfIncorporation as a two-letter code, and sic as a code-plus-label string (commonly "6311 Life Insurance"). Many 497VPU filings list two entities — the issuing life insurance company and its registered separate account — both flagged as filers.

seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] is the substantive product mapping unique to insurance-product filings. Each element describes one Investment Company Act series with a series ID prefixed S (e.g. S000091107), a formal name (typically the separate account name, e.g. "SEPARATE ACCOUNT B OF VENERABLE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY"), and a classesContracts[] array. Each class/contract entry carries the marketing name of the variable contract (e.g. "Advanced Series APEX II", "GOLDENSELECT LANDMARK", "Retirement Master") and the C-prefixed classContract identifier (e.g. C000266993). A single filing routinely supplements multiple contracts under one series, making this array the canonical key for joining 497VPU filings to specific variable-contract products.

The 497VPU document body

After the SGML wrapper, the HTML body is a short, dated supplement. Across filings the body follows a recurring sequence:

1. Centered header block identifying the issuing insurance company (e.g. Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, VENERABLE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY, FORTITUDE LIFE INSURANCE & ANNUITY COMPANY), the registered separate account (e.g. Variable Annuity Account I, Separate Account B, Variable Account B), and the contract or product names being supplemented. When one supplement covers many products, the product list is rendered as a multi-cell table (e.g. ARCHITECT, GOLDENSELECT FLEET PREMIUM PLUS, GOLDENSELECT LANDMARK, GOLDENSELECT ESII).

2. Supplement caption stating the supplement date and the document(s) it amends. The caption typically reads in one of three patterns: Supplement dated [date] to the Prospectus and Summary Prospectus dated [earlier date]; Supplement dated [date] to Prospectuses and Updating Summary Prospectuses dated [earlier date]; or [date] to the Contract Prospectus, Initial Summary Prospectus, and Updating Summary Prospectus, each dated [earlier date], as amended. The caption typically hyperlinks the prior document(s) on www.sec.gov.

3. Reading-instructions paragraph instructing the contract owner to read the supplement together with the original prospectus or updating summary prospectus and to retain it for future reference.

4. Substantive update sections carrying the actual disclosure changes. Common section types include:

   • Notice of upcoming fund changes, fund additions, or fund liquidations, usually under headings such as NOTICE OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING FUND CHANGES or NOTICE OF AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING FUND ADDITIONS. These sections describe portfolio mergers, substitutions, conversions, reorganizations, or share-class renames, and typically state an effective date.
   • Replacement of "Appendix A: Investment Options Available Under the Contract" — the canonical investment-option table required by Form N-4/N-6 summary prospectus rules. Replacement tables list either fixed-account options (with columns for name, term, certificate issue year, and minimum guaranteed interest rate) or variable portfolios (with columns for fund type, portfolio company and advisor/subadvisor, current expenses, and average annual total returns over 1-, 5-, and 10-year horizons).
   • Updates to "Portfolios Available Under the Annuity" with the same column structure as Appendix A but scoped to additions or removals.
   • Footnotes disclosing predetermined-formula asset-flow risks for AST bond-portfolio products and similar managed-volatility constructs.

5. Footer block carrying a filer-internal form or form-control number (e.g. FLIAC-SUP4, X.130822-25B) and the supplement month/date. The footer is the filer's internal version stamp and is not regulator-defined.

Included content in the dataset copy

For each accession, the dataset packages the structured metadata.json and the primary 497VPU .htm exactly as filed, including the EDGAR SGML <DOCUMENT> wrapper around the HTML body. URL fields inside metadata.json (linkToFilingDetails, linkToTxt, linkToHtml) point back to the original EDGAR locations for any artifact not redistributed locally.

Excluded content

Three categories of EDGAR artifact are not redistributed inside the per-accession folder. First, the EDGAR complete-submission .txt file (which contains the full SGML stream and any embedded uuencoded attachments) is excluded; its URL is preserved as linkToTxt. Second, image attachments — graphics, signatures, scanned exhibits — are excluded from the dataset by design. Third, the underlying prospectus, initial summary prospectus, or updating summary prospectus that the 497VPU supplement amends is not redistributed. Those base documents are separately filed under other 497-series form types, live in their own EDGAR accessions, and must be retrieved separately to reconstruct the full disclosure as the contract owner sees it. The supplement caption hyperlinks them on sec.gov.

Evolution of required content and structure

Form 497VPU is a young form type. It came into existence as part of the Rule 498A "summary prospectus for variable contracts" rulemaking adopted in March 2020, with a compliance date of July 1, 2020 and a transition window that effectively brought the first updating summary prospectuses onto EDGAR during the spring 2021 annual-update cycle. The dataset's earliest filing date of April 2021 reflects that origin. Because the form has existed only inside the Rule 498A regime, there is no pre-498A legacy structure to reconcile against — the entire historical corpus is post-rule.

Within the post-2021 period, the substantive disclosure architecture inherited from Form N-4 and Form N-6 has been stable: the updating summary prospectus is required to discuss key changes since the last update, fee and expense information, investment options available under the contract (Appendix A), benefits and risks, and surrender charges and other contract terms. Mid-cycle 497VPU supplements track changes in those required components — most often the Appendix A investment-option table, which the rule itself singles out as the primary update vector when underlying funds change.

File format

Form 497VPU has been filed exclusively in HTML inside the EDGAR SGML wrapper since its inception. The only meaningful format variation across the corpus is filer-side authoring conventions: Donnelley, Toppan Merrill, Broadridge, and CompSci Resources fingerprints appear in HTML comments (e.g. <!-- Created by CompSci Resources, LLC on … -->) and in filename patterns. Table layouts use heavily inlined CSS with explicit font-family, font-size, and pixel- or point-precise widths (e.g. width: 528pt) intended for print-style rendering of fee tables and investment-option appendices. Common typefaces include Arial Narrow, Arial, and Calibri at 8-11pt.

Interpretation and extraction notes

Several characteristics of 497VPU records matter for downstream interpretation and extraction.

The supplement is not self-contained. The caption's reference to a previously dated prospectus, initial summary prospectus, or updating summary prospectus is load-bearing: the substantive meaning of phrases like "the Fund will be replaced," "the following row is added to Appendix A," or "Class 2 shares will be renamed" depends on the prior document. Reconstructing the full disclosure picture requires resolving the captioned reference to its source filing.

A single 497VPU filing may amend many contracts. The seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] array, not the entities[] array, is the authoritative join key to specific variable annuity or variable life products. Treating the filing as if it pertained to a single contract will undercount affected products in roll-ups.

Tables drive the substance. Most body-level content sits in HTML tables with print-oriented styling rather than in semantic markup. The Appendix A investment-option tables and the fee tables in particular are pixel-positioned with explicit point widths; row-and-column extraction generally requires HTML table parsing rather than text-stream parsing.

Top-level description is rarely informative. It commonly reads simply "Form 497VPU -". The richer free-text description of the filing's content tends to appear inside the documentFormatFiles[] entry for the primary document (e.g. "497VPU FUND ADD SUPPLEMENT - LANDMARK ETC.") and inside the <DESCRIPTION> line of the SGML wrapper, when the filer included one.

No amendment form type exists. Because 497VPU sits inside the prospectus-supplement family rather than the periodic-report family, there is no 497VPU/A. When a supplement itself needs to be revised, a new 497VPU is filed with a new accession, a new effective date, and a new caption that may reference the prior supplement. Tracking the evolution of disclosure for a given contract therefore requires ordering 497VPU filings for that contract by effectivenessDate and reading them as a chain.

Who Files or Publishes Form 497VPU, and When

Who files

Form 497VPU is filed by insurance company separate accounts registered with the SEC as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and offering variable insurance contracts under the Securities Act of 1933. The legal registrant on EDGAR is the separate account itself; the filing is prepared and signed by the sponsoring life insurance company depositor on the separate account's behalf.

The filer population is narrow and consists of three registrant classes:

• Form N-4 registrants: separate accounts organized as unit investment trusts (UITs) issuing variable annuity contracts. This is the dominant group.
• Form N-6 registrants: UIT separate accounts issuing variable life insurance contracts (including variable universal life).
• Form N-3 registrants: separate accounts organized as management investment companies issuing variable annuities. The smallest group; most variable annuity accounts file on N-4.

In practice, the filers are large U.S. life carriers and their captive separate accounts (Lincoln National, Prudential, MetLife, Pacific Life, Voya, Jackson National, Nationwide, Equitable, Transamerica, Brighthouse, TIAA, John Hancock, MassMutual, etc.). Each carrier typically maps to multiple separate-account CIKs, one per contract series.

Operating-company issuers, mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and BDCs are not in the filer population. Mutual funds and ETFs file 497K under Rule 498; 497VPU is the variable-contract analogue created specifically for N-3/N-4/N-6 registrants that elect the Rule 498A regime.

What triggers the filing

Form 497VPU is the EDGAR submission code used to file an updating summary prospectus (USP) under Rule 498A(j) of the Securities Act, transmitted to the Commission pursuant to Securities Act Rule 497(k). It is the variable-contract analogue of Form 497K for mutual funds (the "VPU" suffix denotes "Variable Prospectus, Updating"; the corresponding initial summary prospectus is filed as Form 497VPI).

The trigger is annual and schedule-driven, not event-driven. It is mechanically tied to the post-effective amendment cycle of the underlying registration statement:

• A separate account on Form N-3, N-4, or N-6 must keep its statutory prospectus current through annual post-effective amendments under Rule 485 (typically within roughly four months of fiscal year end), consistent with the 16-month currency obligation under Section 10(a)(3).
• Each year, in connection with that updated statutory prospectus, a depositor that has elected to rely on the Rule 498A summary prospectus framework must prepare a USP for each currently offered contract and for each contract closed to new investors but still held by existing owners.
• Reliance on Rule 498A is elective. A depositor may continue to deliver the full statutory prospectus instead; 497VPU appears only for separate accounts whose depositors have opted in.

When it is filed

• Cadence: Annual, per contract, per separate account.
• Filing deadline (Rule 497(k)): The USP must be filed with the SEC no later than the date it is first sent or given to existing investors.
• Anchor: The USP must be current as of, and used in connection with, the most recent annual update to the statutory prospectus filed under Rule 485(b) (Form 485BPOS / Form 485APOS).
• Seasonality: Most variable contract registrants update post-effectively in late winter or spring, producing a clustered late-Q1/Q2 distribution of 497VPU filings each year.
• EDGAR history: Rule 498A was adopted in March 2020 (Release No. 33-10765); the optional compliance period began in 2021, so the earliest 497VPU filings appear in April 2021.

A depositor with many contract variants commonly files multiple 497VPU accessions in a single seasonal window, one per contract series.

Important distinctions

• 497VPU vs. 497VPI: Both flow from Rule 498A. 497VPI is the initial summary prospectus used at point of sale to new contract purchasers (Rule 498A(b)–(i)); 497VPU is the updating summary prospectus delivered annually to existing contract holders (Rule 498A(j)).
• 497VPU vs. 497K: 497K is the summary prospectus for open-end mutual funds and ETFs under Rule 498. The two regimes are parallel but separate; no fund or ETF files 497VPU, and no variable contract account files 497K.
• 497VPU vs. generic 497: Form 497 is the generic Rule 497 prospectus/supplement submission. 497VPU is a specialized code flagging the filing as a Rule 498A USP, allowing EDGAR consumers to identify USPs without parsing the document body. Mid-year contract changes are typically disclosed through stickers/supplements on plain Form 497, not by re-using 497VPU outside the annual cycle.
• 497VPU vs. the underlying N-3/N-4/N-6 post-effective amendment: The 485APOS/485BPOS updates the statutory prospectus; the 497VPU is the summary layer derived from it. They are companion filings.
• No amendment variant: There is no "497VPU/A". A corrected USP is re-filed under the same 497VPU code, operationally superseding the earlier accession.
• Filer vs. depositor: The EDGAR registrant is the separate account (e.g., "Pruco Life Variable Universal Account"); the life insurance carrier is the depositor that prepares and signs the document. A single carrier typically maps to multiple separate-account CIKs.
• Closed contracts: The USP obligation extends to contracts closed to new investors but still held by existing owners. These legacy series continue to generate annual 497VPU filings as long as contract holders remain.

How This Dataset Differs From Similar Datasets or Filings

Form 497VPU sits in a tight cluster of variable insurance product disclosures and Rule 497 prospectus filings. The closest neighbors split along three axes: lifecycle stage (initial vs. updating), product type (variable contract vs. mutual fund), and document role (summary delivered to holders vs. full registration on file with the SEC).

Closest related filings

Form 497VPI — Initial Summary Prospectus. The direct sibling. Same Rule 498A framework, same N-3/N-4/N-6 filer base. The only difference is audience: 497VPI is the Initial Summary Prospectus delivered to new purchasers and is structured as a complete standalone summary; 497VPU is the Updating Summary Prospectus delivered annually to existing holders and is structured around material changes since the last update. Use 497VPI for point-of-sale disclosure analysis; use 497VPU for in-force annual update analysis.

Form 485BPOS — Annual Post-Effective Amendment. Complementary, not competing. 485BPOS refreshes the full N-3/N-4/N-6 registration on file with the SEC under Rule 485(b); 497VPU is the contract-holder-facing summary derived from that update. The two typically file in close temporal sequence for the same separate account. A complete annual-cycle analysis needs both: 485BPOS for the full updated record, 497VPU for the document actually delivered.

Forms N-3, N-4, N-6 — Underlying Registration Statements. The parent registrations that authorize the variable contracts summarized in 497VPU. N-4 covers UIT-funded variable annuities, N-3 covers management-company-funded variable annuities, N-6 covers variable life. These contain full statutory prospectuses, SAIs, and Part C exhibits running hundreds of pages. 497VPU is the condensed standardized summary that Rule 498A permits in lieu of redelivering the full prospectus annually. Use N-3/N-4/N-6 for exhibits, full risk narratives, and complete fee tables; use 497VPU for the standardized summary.

Adjacent but distinct

Form 497K — Mutual Fund/ETF Summary Prospectus. Shares the "summary prospectus" label but governs a different product under a different rule: Rule 498 for open-end funds and ETFs, not Rule 498A for variable contracts. Scope differs by an order of magnitude — a 497K covers a single fund's objective, strategy, risks, fees, and performance; a 497VPU covers a full variable contract wrapper with contract-level charges (M&E, administrative, surrender), insurance benefits and riders, annuitization terms, and a menu of underlying investment options. The underlying funds inside a variable contract still file their own 497Ks; 497VPU references them but does not replace them.

Generic Form 497 — Definitive Materials Under Rule 497. The broad parent tag covering definitive prospectuses, SAIs, and ad-hoc supplements ("stickers") for any registered investment company. Used for event-driven mid-year changes (manager changes, fee revisions, rider closures). 497VPU is a narrow, codified subset reserved for the Rule 498A annual Updating Summary Prospectus. Event-driven variable contract changes appear under generic 497, not 497VPU.

Form N-VPFS — Annual Financial Statements for Separate Accounts. Same filer population (separate accounts on N-3/N-4/N-6) and similar annual cadence, but different content and audience. N-VPFS contains audited financials (assets and liabilities, operations, notes) for regulators and analysts. 497VPU contains narrative contract disclosure for policyholders. No content overlap; neither substitutes for the other.

Boundary summary

497VPU is uniquely the Rule 498A Updating Summary Prospectus for variable annuity and variable life contracts, delivered annually to existing contract holders, available in EDGAR from April 2021 forward following the SEC's March 2020 rule adoption. It is narrower than generic 497, distinct from 497VPI by lifecycle stage, distinct from 497K by product type and governing rule, distinct from N-VPFS by content purpose, and complementary to 485BPOS and the parent N-3/N-4/N-6 registrations. Paired with 485BPOS and the parent registration, it completes the annual update record; on its own, it isolates the single document the contract holder actually receives.

Who Uses This Dataset

The dataset's combination of issuer identifiers (entities[], cik), contract and series identifiers (seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[]), filing timestamps (effectivenessDate, filedAt, accessionNo), and the full HTML disclosure body makes it useful to a defined set of professional roles built around the variable annuity and variable life market.

Product counsel and disclosure compliance at variable insurance issuers

In-house counsel and disclosure specialists at competing carriers map each filing to a specific contract through seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[], then read the HTML to compare fee tables, M&E charges, surrender grids, rider charges, and free-withdrawal terms. Output: drafting precedents and disclosure-completeness checks for the carrier's next annual update.

Variable contract product managers

Product managers track industry-level changes in subaccount menus, share-class swaps, and rider repricing. Combined with effectivenessDate and filedAt, the records produce a longitudinal view of fund-menu turnover that feeds product roadmaps, replacement subaccount selection, and pricing committee materials.

Sell-side equity research analysts covering life insurers

Analysts group filings by issuer through entities[] and parse the HTML for changes in benefit-base roll-ups, step-ups, GLWB and GMDB credit rates, and caps, spreads, and buffers on registered index-linked options. Output: updated earnings models and notes flagging quietly tightened benefits ahead of quarterly disclosures.

Broker-dealer and RIA distribution compliance

Compliance officers at firms distributing variable contracts use seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] and effectivenessDate to maintain an inventory of currently effective summary prospectuses, surface changes that must be reflected in suitability documentation and point-of-sale materials, and support Reg BI files for variable product recommendations.

Subadvisers to variable insurance trusts

Subadvisory firms search the HTML investment-options list for their portfolio names and use filedAt and effectivenessDate to track when their funds are added, retained, or removed from a carrier's contract. Output: sales pipeline tracking and revenue forecasting on the variable insurance distribution channel.

Plaintiffs' counsel and litigation support

Attorneys handling sales-practice, fee, and rider claims reconstruct the sequence of summary prospectuses delivered for a given contract using effectivenessDate and filedAt, then quote HTML language to show how a fee or benefit was characterized at each point in time. Supports complaints, expert reports, and document production in class actions and arbitrations.

Academic researchers in insurance economics

Researchers join entities[], seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[], and effectivenessDate to build panels of contract features, then mine the HTML for fee tables and rider terms. Used for empirical work on variable annuity pricing, fee dispersion, and the evolution of guarantee design after rate or regulatory shifts.

State insurance examiners and federal market-monitoring staff

Examiners align each 497VPU with a regulated separate account through entities[] and cik, then review the HTML for fee, feature, and investment-option changes that may warrant follow-up against state form filings or advertising submissions. Supports market conduct reviews and complaint analysis.

Data engineering and RAG teams in insurance analytics

Engineers at insurance research platforms and retrieval-augmented systems key off accessionNo for record identity, normalize identifiers from entities[] and seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[], and parse HTML into structured fee tables, fund menus, and rider sections. Output: contract-comparison tools and chat assistants for underwriters, wholesalers, and contact-center staff.

Specific Use Cases

The following workflows show how the Form 497VPU corpus is used in practice. Each draws on the structured metadata.json fields, the HTML supplement body, or the join key in seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[].

Tracking fund-menu turnover inside variable annuity contracts

Product teams and subadvisers parse the Appendix A investment-option tables and "Notice of Upcoming Fund Changes" sections from the HTML body, then join each entry to a specific contract through seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] and order the resulting events by effectivenessDate. The output is a per-contract timeline of fund additions, liquidations, substitutions, and share-class renames that feeds replacement-subaccount selection and competitor benchmarking.

Building a current-prospectus inventory for distribution compliance

Broker-dealer and RIA compliance teams ingest every 497VPU and key on seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[] plus effectivenessDate to maintain a roster of the most recent summary prospectus for each in-force variable contract. The roster drives Reg BI files, suitability documentation refreshes, and point-of-sale material updates whenever a new supplement supersedes an earlier one for the same C-prefixed contract.

Reconstructing the disclosure chain for litigation and arbitration

Plaintiffs' and defense counsel pull every 497VPU tied to a contested contract via seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[], sort by effectivenessDate, and chain the supplements together — since no 497VPU/A exists, this ordering is the only way to reproduce what the contract holder received in sequence. Quoted HTML language about M&E charges, surrender grids, GLWB roll-ups, or rider terms then anchors complaints, expert reports, and document production.

Detecting quietly tightened guarantees ahead of earnings

Sell-side analysts covering life insurers group filings by issuer through entities[] and cik, then scan the HTML for changes to GLWB and GMDB credit rates, step-up frequencies, benefit-base roll-ups, and caps, spreads, and buffers on registered index-linked options. Diffs against the prior supplement for the same contract surface repricing actions before they appear in quarterly disclosures and update earnings models accordingly.

Pairing 497VPU with 485BPOS for full annual-update analysis

Disclosure compliance and academic users align each 497VPU with the corresponding 485BPOS post-effective amendment for the same separate account by matching entities[]/cik and clustering on close filedAt timestamps. The 485BPOS supplies the full registration record and the 497VPU supplies the document actually delivered to holders, giving a complete view of one annual update cycle.

Powering contract-comparison tools and RAG assistants

Data engineering teams use accessionNo as the record key, normalize issuer and contract identifiers from entities[] and seriesAndClassesContractsInformation[], and parse the HTML tables (Appendix A fund menus, fee tables, surrender grids) into structured rows. The result feeds side-by-side variable-contract comparison tools and retrieval-augmented chat assistants used by underwriters, wholesalers, and contact-center staff.

Dataset Access

Dataset Index JSON API: https://api.sec-api.io/datasets/form-497vpu-files.json

This endpoint returns the dataset metadata, including name, description, last updated timestamp, earliest sample date, total records and total size, form types covered, container format, and content file types. It also provides the download URL for the entire dataset along with the list of individual container files and their per-container metadata such as size, record count, updated timestamp, and download URL. Poll this endpoint daily to detect which containers were modified in the most recent refresh run and selectively download only the updated archives. This endpoint does not require an API key.

Example response:

          1
          {
        

          2
            "datasetId": "1f13365b-9ae0-6930-814f-5f71298be159",
        

          3
            "datasetDownloadUrl": "https://api.sec-api.io/datasets/form-497vpu-files.zip",
        

          4
            "name": "Form 497VPU Files Dataset",
        

          5
            "updatedAt": "2026-04-25T02:58:06.669Z",
        

          6
            "earliestSampleDate": "2021-04-01",
        

          7
            "totalRecords": 11483,
        

          8
            "totalSize": 147360504,
        

          9
            "formTypes": ["497VPU"],
        

          10
            "containerFormat": "ZIP",
        

          11
            "fileTypes": ["HTML", "JSON", "TXT"],
        

          12
            "containers": [
        

          13
              {
        

          14
                "downloadUrl": "https://api.sec-api.io/datasets/form-497vpu-files/2026/2026-04.zip",
        

          15
                "key": "2026/2026-04.zip",
        

          16
                "size": 4821336,
        

          17
                "records": 142,
        

          18
                "updatedAt": "2026-04-25T02:58:06.669Z"
        

          19
              }
        

          20
            ]
        

          21
          }
        

Download Entire Dataset: https://api.sec-api.io/datasets/form-497vpu-files.zip?token=YOUR_API_KEY

Downloads the complete Form 497VPU Files dataset as a single ZIP archive covering all filings from April 2021 to the present. This endpoint requires an API key.

Download Single Container: https://api.sec-api.io/datasets/form-497vpu-files/2026/2026-04.zip?token=YOUR_API_KEY

Downloads one individual monthly container archive instead of the full dataset, which is useful for incremental updates or when only a specific time period is needed. This endpoint requires an API key.

Frequently Asked Questions

What form does this dataset cover?

The dataset covers EDGAR submissions filed under form type 497VPU, the SEC code reserved for an updating summary prospectus (USP) for a variable annuity or variable life insurance contract under Securities Act Rule 497(k) and Rule 498A(j). The dataset includes all 497VPU filings from April 2021 — when the first USPs landed on EDGAR following the March 2020 Rule 498A adoption — to the present.

What does one record in this dataset represent?

One record is one EDGAR Form 497VPU filing — a single variable-contract supplement event defined by one accession number, one effective date, and one set of disclosed contract changes. Each record is materialized as a folder named after the dash-stripped 18-digit accession number and contains a flat metadata.json plus the primary 497VPU document as a single .htm file.

Who is required to file Form 497VPU?

Form 497VPU is filed by insurance company separate accounts registered with the SEC and offering variable insurance contracts — specifically those registered on Form N-4 (UIT-funded variable annuities, the dominant group), Form N-6 (variable life and variable universal life), or Form N-3 (management-company-funded variable annuities). The legal registrant is the separate account; the sponsoring life insurance company depositor prepares and signs the document. Reliance on Rule 498A is elective, so 497VPU appears only for separate accounts whose depositors have opted in.

How often are 497VPU filings made, and is there a seasonal pattern?

The trigger is annual and schedule-driven, not event-driven. A USP must be prepared each year for each currently offered contract and for each contract closed to new investors but still held by existing owners, and it must be filed no later than the date it is first sent to existing investors. Most variable contract registrants update post-effectively in late winter or spring, producing a clustered late-Q1/Q2 distribution of 497VPU filings each year.

How does Form 497VPU differ from Form 497VPI and Form 497K?

497VPI is the initial summary prospectus delivered to new contract purchasers at point of sale; 497VPU is the updating summary prospectus delivered annually to existing contract holders. Both flow from Rule 498A. Form 497K is a different regime entirely — the summary prospectus for open-end mutual funds and ETFs under Rule 498. No mutual fund or ETF files 497VPU, and no variable contract separate account files 497K.

What file formats does the dataset use?

Each record contains an HTML document (the primary 497VPU filing wrapped in the EDGAR SGML <DOCUMENT> header) and a flat JSON metadata file (metadata.json). The dataset's listed file types are HTML, JSON, and TXT references; the EDGAR complete-submission .txt is not redistributed locally but its URL is preserved in metadata.json as linkToTxt. Form 497VPU has been filed exclusively in HTML inside the EDGAR SGML wrapper since its inception, with no XBRL or structured-data tagging.

Does the dataset include the underlying prospectus that a 497VPU supplements?

No. The underlying prospectus, initial summary prospectus, or updating summary prospectus that the 497VPU supplement amends is not redistributed in the per-accession folder. Those base documents are separately filed under other 497-series form types and live in their own EDGAR accessions; the supplement caption hyperlinks them on sec.gov and the URLs preserved in metadata.json (linkToFilingDetails, linkToHtml) point back to EDGAR.