AI Solutioning for Management Reporting

Background and Purpose

One of the most fundamental needs in operating a business is to measure and present a company’s profitability and other performance measures. Insurance business creates its own challenge such as long-term nature of the business, exposure to different risk factors and considerations for data privacy management. Companies usually have very large teams performing analysis and presenting results in various views. At the same time, it is vital to be able to translate analysis to insights and to tell the financial story. Above and beyond, management reporting requirements can extend to asking hypothetical and/or scenario-based questions for planning purposes. The challenges often come from volume of data, differences from interpretation by inter-related departments, and operationally duplicative or even contradicting information from poor version control.

The Actuarial Innovation and Technology Steering Committee (AITSC) envisages an AI-empowered (such as predictive analytics, machine-learning, and GenAI) solution can be transformative in this space but do recognize the complexity and involvement there is to implement one. The AITSC is interested in a practical case study to outline steps to bridge an insurance company’s current management reporting capability to a journey of adopting an AI-empowered solution.

The AITSC encourages researchers to respond to this RFP even if their bid does not perfectly match the purpose above. The AITSC is eager to see innovative proposals and collaborate with researchers on a mutually agreed scope of research.

Scope of Work

The proposal expects, but is not limited to, insights into the following considerations:

1. Approach to streamline data sources
2. Connection to actuarial and/or other models and processes
3. End-to-end process integration
4. Model training requirements, if any
5. Deployment procedures and requirements
6. Results validation and performance review, especially in comparison to existing approaches, both from the volume and quality of the outputs
7. Practical guide on producing different types of analysis
8. Governance and ethics considerations
9. Estimate of implementation effort and investment

Note that the list above is not meant to be exhaustive but merely examples of proposed topics that may be explored.

Proposal Requirements

To facilitate the evaluation of proposals, the following information should be submitted:

1. Resumes of the researcher(s), including any graduate student(s) expected to participate, indicating how their background, education and experience bear on their qualifications to undertake the research. If more than one researcher is involved, a single individual should be designated as the lead researcher and primary contact. The person submitting the proposal must be authorized to speak on behalf of all the researchers as well as for the firm or institution on whose behalf the proposal is submitted.
2. An outline of the approach to be used (e.g., literature search, model, etc.), emphasizing issues that require special consideration. Details should be given regarding the techniques to be used, collateral material to be consulted, and limitations of the analysis.
3. A description of the expected deliverables and any supporting data, tools or other resources.
4. Cost estimates for the research, including computer time, salaries, report preparation, material costs, etc. Such estimates can be in the form of hourly rates, but in such cases, time estimates should also be included. Any guarantees as to total cost should be given and will be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. While cost will be a factor in the evaluation of the proposal, it will not necessarily be the decisive factor.

Please note that as a policy, the SOA Research Institute generally does not provide funding to cover academic institution overhead expenses.

As a guide for developing the project budget, please review the Historical Project Cost Guide (see Appendix)

1. A schedule for completion of the research, identifying key dates or time frames for research completion and report submissions. The AITSC is interested in completing this project in a timely manner. Suggestions in the proposal for ensuring timely delivery, such as fee adjustments, are encouraged.
2. Other related factors that give evidence of a proposer's capabilities to perform in a superior fashion should be detailed.

Selection Process

The AITSC will appoint a Project Oversight Group (POG) to oversee the project. The AITSC is responsible for recommending the proposal to be funded. Input from other knowledgeable individuals also may be sought, but the AITSC will make the final recommendation, subject to Society of Actuaries Research Institute (SOA) leadership approval. An SOA staff research actuary will provide staff actuarial support.

Questions

Any questions regarding this RFP should be directed to Research-AIT@soa.org.

Notification of Intent to submit Proposal

If you intend to submit a proposal, please email written notification by June 20, 2025, to Research-AIT@soa.org.

Submission of Proposal

Please email your proposal to Research-AIT@soa.org; proposals must be received no later than July 18, 2025. It is anticipated that all proposers will be informed of the status of their proposal by the end of August 2025.

Conditions

The selection of a proposal is conditioned upon and not considered final until a Letter of Agreement is executed by both the Society of Actuaries Research Institute and the researcher.

The AITSC reserves the right to not award a contract for this research. Reasons for not awarding a contract could include, but are not limited to, a lack of acceptable proposals or a finding that insufficient funds are available. The AITSC also reserves the right to redirect the project as is deemed advisable.

The AITSC plans to hold the copyright to the research and to publish the results with appropriate credit given to the researcher(s).

The Society of Actuaries Research Institute and AITSC may choose to seek public exposure or media attention for the research. By submitting a proposal, you agree to cooperate with the [Society of Actuaries/sponsoring entity] in publicizing or promoting the research and responding to media requests.

The Society of Actuaries and AITSC may also choose to market and promote the research to members, candidates and other interested parties. You agree to perform promotional communication requested by the Society of Actuaries Research Institute and AITSC, which may include, but is not limited to, leading a webcast on the research, presenting the research at an SOA meeting, and/or writing an article on the research for an SOA newsletter.

Conflict of Interest

You agree to disclose any of your material business, financial and organizational interests and affiliations which are or may be construed to be reasonably related to the interest, activities and programs of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute and AITSC.

Appendix

The cost ranges below are intended as a guide for budgeting project costs for proposals in response to SOA Research Institute Request for Proposals (RFP). Please note these figures span the 33rd to 66th percentiles for all projects as well as projects that involve a specific approach (lit review, survey, etc.). They are based on historical costs over several recent years. Expected costs for some RFPs may fall outside these ranges depending on the nature of the work and resources required for completion.

All Contracted Projects

This category includes all contracted projects that the Institute has undertaken within the last several years. The 33rd-66th percentile project costs range is $25,000 - $50,000.

Literature Reviews

This category includes projects that involved only a literature review or the cost for the portion of a larger project that included a literature review. The 33rd-66th percentile project costs range is $15,000 - $20,000.

Surveys

This category includes all projects that had a survey as their primary component. The 33rd-66th percentile project costs range is $28,000 - $55,000.