Supplement to Prospectus Dated May 1, 1998
                       Supplement dated November 16, 1998

This Supplement should be retained with the current Prospectus for your variable
annuity  contract  issued  by  American   Skandia  Life  Assurance   Corporation
("American  Skandia").  If you do not have a current prospectus,  please contact
American Skandia at 1-800-SKANDIA.

REDUCTION OF THE MINIMUM INITIAL PAYMENT

Application and Initial Payment

The section of the  Prospectus  entitled  "Application  and Initial  Payment" is
amended as follows:

The minimum  initial  Purchase  Payment we accept is  decreased  from $25,000 to
$15,000.

Auto Saver ("bank drafting")

The section of the Prospectus entitled "Auto Saver" ("bank drafting") is amended
as follows:

You may make Purchase Payments to your Annuity using bank drafting, but only for
allocations to variable investment options.  However,  you must pay at least one
prior  Purchase  Payment by check or wire  transfer.  We will  accept an initial
Purchase Payment lower than our standard minimum Purchase Payment requirement of
$15,000 if you also furnish bank drafting instructions that provide amounts that
will meet a $15,000 minimum  Purchase  Payment  requirement to be paid within 12
months.  We reserve the right to suspend or cancel bank  drafting  privileges if
sufficient funds are not available from the applicable financial  institution on
any date that a transaction is scheduled to occur.



Stagecoach VA Flex (11/98)