Description: Exploration of sources of volatility in retiree health valuations, noting how volatility arises and might be mitigated, with discussion of valuation parameters more problematic for retiree health benefits than for pensions. Three significant influences on retiree health valuation volatility are covered-- changes in benefit level, fluctuations in cost level, and alterations in eligibility for, or duration of, benefit – and attention focused on the last two. Specific conclusions result in recommendations, which are supported by practical examples contrasting volatile measurement results with those likely from the recommended practices. Theoretical discussion includes health claim variation, health trend usage, financial economics, option pricing, discount rates, and deterministic vs. stochastic modeling.

Description: Enterprise risk management ERM is for the measurement and the management of all significant risks of the business holistically irrespective of types and sources. The study offers significant advances in the current debate on the performance of enterprise risk management, in particular, minimizing the existing gap between the academic understanding and practitioners’ experience on the topic.

Description: Actuaries have traditionally recognized the links between risk and value, and in recent years have begun to incorporate aspects of modern financial economic theory into their traditional valuation and risk management approaches. As a result, there has been an increasing trend in the incorporation of explicit market-based risk adjustments into valuations, whether for internal or external purposes. The use of market-based metrics to reflect risk in valuations is becoming increasingly widespread—in fact, major external standard setters, including FASB, IASB, CFO Forum and the various parties setting standards for Solvency II, have prescribed varying levels of use of market-based metrics to measure risk in valuations. Presented at 2010 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, Society of Actuaries, April 12-15, 2010.

Description: Management's goal is to continuously optimize the economic value of the firm, subject to regulatory constraints, with the use of financial valuation of the firm’s balance sheet. Both the assets and liabilities can be perceived as derivative securities. This chapter discusses a variety of financial economics issues with this common theme. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.