Description: This session discussion is about tools, techniques, and methods used by the health valuation actuary HVA in dealing with business projections, cash-flow analysis, valuation on nonguaranteed premium business, target surplus analysis, reinsurance and claim reserves. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 1A.

Description: Article Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch by Bartlett in The Actuary, June 1979, Volume 13, Number 6

Description: Written from a regulatory perspective, the article covers the purpose of regulation and some regulatory expectations. The topics include the appointed actuary's involvement in corporate governance, reasonability of results when compared to prior results, data quality, familiarity with the company's annual statement and applicable statutes, and areas where appointed actuaries can add value though services provided to smaller life insurance companies.

Description: The article is Part 1 of two articles that provide a case study for the development of a profitability and risk dashboard. The sample dashboard provides distilled information regarding actual to expected (A/E) ratios for key risks, agent quality scores and customer value scores. The dashboard would also provide the value of new business written, surplus strain, debit balances, and expected losses on debit balances at different levels, down to the agent level. A product mix index is provided, together with visual comparisons of key metrics to the company's business plan. The Part 2 article will add information to the dashboard regarding risk margins, target capital, and company value.

Description: Although rate structures where low-cost cohorts subsidize high cost cohorts may be justified from a actuarial, marketing, or legal standpoint, the subsidization creates risks which must be understood and monitored. This article presents the concept of subsidization signature to measure and interpret the effects of rate subsidization, and to assess the sustainability of rating structures and the sensitivity of business mix assumptions.

Description: Models are useful in illustrating various facets of complex phenomena, but they are inherently limited.

Description: The author encourages the use of sound actuarial principles to develop reasonable retirement spending budgets instead of rule of thumb approaches commonly used.

Description: This paper discusses the need for actuarial judgment to be used in conjunction with statistical analysis in the calculation of incurred but not reported IBNR claim reserves.

Description: How including the intent and rationale of the tax law in system specifications can lead to better software system designs.

Description: Summary of recent SOA-sponsored research on Enterprise Risk Management practices as applied to health insurers, self-insured plans, and health finance professionals.