Description: The author notes that “current market value is highly relevant, but its accuracy is limited. Historical accounting, on the other hand, is highly accurate, but is of little relevance.” The article then goes on to discuss two leading methods for performing fair valuation of liabilities: the actuarial appraisal method and the option pricing method, and how they can be reconciled.

Description: ongoing discussion of the proper interest rate to use in discounting liability cash flows to reflect credit risk of the insurer in a fair value accounting system

Description: This article uses the example of a bullet or general account GIC to determine the fair value of liabilities.

Description: An outline of a teaching session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000, discussing the evolution toward fair value accounting methodologies

Description: Discussion rebutting the Dec. 2004 issue of The Financial Reporter article titled, “On the Fair Value of Insurance Liabilities,” authored by Don Solow. That article expressed disagreement with the position of the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reflect the value of “own credit risk” in the fair valuation of insurance liabilities.

Description: Presented at May 2002 Spring Meeting. Discusses emerging trends worldwide in financial reporting, management, FASB and how to look at a performance management tool.

Description: This presentation is an open forum, session 58OF, from the 2004 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 14-15 in San Antonio, TX. The panelists present both theoretical and practical perspectives of the role of assumed asset returns and credit spreads in determining the fair value of policyholder liabilities. They cover financial economics, how other financial service companies value liabilities, what factors go into determining an appropriate discount rate for insurance liabilities, and issues currently being debated by the International Accounting Standards Board [IASB], and the Financial Accounting Standards Board [FASB]. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 2.

Description: “It’s interesting to note that, given the past year’s reversal of fortunes in the stock markets, all the media rap about heated inquiries around back-dating options has stopped.”

Description: This article discusses actuarial appraisal value and explores the relationship between cost of capital, market fair value of assets and liabilities, and the option pricing method.

Description: The author refers to a separate article in this edition of Risks and Rewards, in which Babbel, Gold and Merrill provide an excellent exposition of three approaches to present-valuing a series of risky cash flows and provide several insights into the way modern finance theory deals with risk. The purpose of this article is to bring these insights to the world of insurance risks and view them in relation to existing actuarial techniques. The author also discusses direct discounting and the actuarial appraisal method and their consistency.