Allen M. Klein, FSA 1988, MAAA

Vice President, Actuarial Experience Studies, AIG American General, Houston, TX

Brief description of the type of work you currently do:

I am responsible for the experience studies for all lines of business (life insurance, individual and group annuities, Structured Settlements, A&H). I also help design new underwriting programs and report quarterly financial results to management.

Primary Area of Practice:

Life insurance

Other Areas of Practice / Interests:

Underwriting, medical, mortality issues. Finding creative solutions to complex issues

Professional Background:

Broad background having worked for insurance companies, consultants and a reinsurer. Expert in mortality and preferred and older age underwriting issues.

Volunteer Experience:

Speaker

• Frequent speaker–actuarial, underwriting and general industry meetings ('96–Present)
• Keynote speaker–International Underwriting Congress, London ('99), Geneva ('05), Shanghai ('07)
• Joint Regional Seminar on Product Development in Singapore, Schenzen, Tai Pei and Seoul ('01)–1 of 3 representing US

Planner/Speaker

• Living to 100 and Beyond Symposium–Facilitator ('05), Planning Committee ('08)
• Product Development Symposium ('01, '02)
• Introduction to Reinsurance ('02, '03)

Chair

• Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys ('99–Present)–Completed many surveys of interest to the industry
• Task Force on Enhancements to Life Experience Studies ('04–Present)–Designed new input and output paradigm for experience studies
• Underwriting Criteria Team ('05–Present) –Created algorithm to score preferred risk classes to be used with Principles Based Reserves
• Preferred Underwriting Task Force ('96–'00)

Member

• Futurism Section Council ('07–Present)
• Longer Life Advisory Board ('98–Present) –Help decide projects to fund to find ways for certain segments of the population to live longer
• Preferred Mortality Project Oversight Group ('07–Present)
• Preferred Persistency Project Oversight Group ('05–'07)
• 2001 ('99–'02) and 2008 ('06–'08) Valuation Basic Table Development Teams

Other

• Illinois State High School Minority Actuarial Program ('96–'00)
• Illinois State Actuarial Curriculum Advisory Board ('99–'02)
• Officer, Chicago Actuarial Association ('87–'89, '95–'97), President ('97–'98)

Vision Statement:

I have always felt we should publicize the value of an actuary to both promote the capabilities of the profession and to help ensure our continuing viability. I applaud the work of the Image Campaign and its recent well deserved recognition! I was recently in New York to meet with a Vietnamese delegation from the Ministry of Finance to help them create their first statutory mortality table. I received the New York Times at my hotel and read it on my plane ride home. On the front page of the business section, I saw an article about actuaries and got excited. My excitement quickly faded as I began to read about pension actuaries creating "numbers that make little economic sense." All of the Image Campaign work can be lost with events like these and, unfortunately, numerous examples were given in the article. I agree that we should self–police rather than have others do it for us. While I am not necessarily suggesting disciplinary action for those involved, I think the Board should establish a system where any advice that might be viewed materially different by others should be reported to a special panel. This panel would review these issues and decide what is reasonable to avoid this bad publicity. Any two actuaries will see the same thing differently, but the issue here is the potential magnitude of these differences. We need to take action to ensure the profession is viewed favorably and sought out for our expertise and advice.