Description: In the June 2014 issue of Product Matters, Doug Robbins of Pacific Life authored a fascinating article entitled “Velocity of Diversification.” Therein, he proposed a pricing measure that describes the “…speed at which confidence in profitability is attained”. How can stochastic modeling of mortality be applied to analyze the velocity of diversification, and how would that measure be affected by volatility in the underlying assumptions?

Description: Discussion of NAIC efforts to amend the annuity nonforfeiture laws to respond to falling interest rates.

Description: This article delves into a new line of statistical thinking of the author, that may be useful for product development actuaries. The key concept is how product design can produce products that diversify quickly, meaning that the company can be confident of a profitable product line, based on fewer sales than might be true for other designs.

Description: Summary of the Life and Health Actuarial Task Force Meeting held in September, 2003

Description: Investors in the Life Settlements Market have had to rely on simple actual to expected analyses for a quality assesment of life expectancy reports. This article presents an alternative validation methodology, which makes much better use of the available mortality information. Investors can thereby perform their own, statistically conclusive, analyses concerning the life expectancies on which they have based their pricing and management of future cash flows.

Description: A discussion of the growing popularity of annuities with guaranteed minimum income benefits GMIB during times of bear markets and some related discussion of product features, minimum statutory reserves and capital requirements for the product

Description: Discussion of events of a the June 2009 NAIC/LHATF meeting.

Description: discussion of a LIMRA survey on the quantity and types of recent product development efforts of life insurance companies and the considerations driving these efforts

Description: This article provides a summary of the results from a recent Milliman survey. Survey results provide UL/IUL carriers with a benchmark to evaluate their practices relative to those prevalent in the industry.

Description: On October 30, 2015, the SOA Assumption Development and Governance Group, an informal discussion group consisting of nearly 200 interested actuaries with topics pertaining to actuarial assumption development and governance, organized an industry discussion call on end-to-end assumption documentation practices. The purpose of this call was to generate a large list of ideas for best-practice assumption documentation. More than thirty companies were represented in the call, including direct insurers, reinsurers and consulting firms. This article is the work product of the discussion written by Laurie Li and Alex Zaidlin.