Description: In an age of accelerating transformation—technological, financial, and regulatory —reinsurance continues to be an important component of capital management strategy across the insurance industry. This is true in spite of, and sometimes because of, the evolving ecosystems of ceding companies and reinsurers. Direct writers and reinsurance carriers are coping with a number of critical challenges that are undermining growth potential and threatening profitability. Waning demand and increased capacity for traditional products have, in some instances, led companies to struggle to achieve traditional profit targets. An increase in commoditized pricing, internal expenses related to increased regulation, inefficiencies in internal infrastructure, and the sustained low interest rate environment are additional factors impacting the top and bottom lines of reinsurers and primary carriers alike. In this session we will explore these critical challenges and highlight prevailing practices that organizations are using to deal with the changing landscape.

Description: Investment Fallacies: The Best Model Doesn't Win

Description: This session features interviews with several authorities on the following current topics: How the rating agencies view capital management in determining company ratings How the rating agencies view the independent review process How capital management is addressed at a non-insurance company parent How financial reinsurance can be used to strengthen your capital. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 3. San Francisco Annual Meeting, October 17-20, 1999, Session 65OF.

Description: In session 38PD of the San Francisco Annual Meeting panelists discuss the pros and cons of the recent development of securitization in the U.K. life insurance industry, and the applicability of these issues to the North American life and health market. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 3.

Description: This article describes how there are many kinds of plans and arrangements under which qualified annuities are issued, and the rules governing them differ considerably.

Description: This is a discussion of the future of the life insurance business in the USA. Specifically, it discusses corporate structure, marketing strategies, distribution approaches, product design, mergers and acquisitions, federal income taxation and reinsurance.

Description: A number of insurance companies have recently implemented, or are in the process of implementing, economic risk capital. These programs are being implemented because of concerns with the existing regulatory and accounting frameworks and/or companies' desire to have a capital framework which is more consistent with their risk profile. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 2, Spring Meeting, San Antonio, TX, June 14-15, 2004, Session 47PD.

Description: This session at the SOA 1990 Hartford Spring Meeting is about surplus management from both a stock and mutual company standpoint. Methods of raising capital, such as financial reinsurance and levelized commission financing, are discussed.

Description: Panel discussion focused on the Effective Use of Capital. Topics included: 1. Definition of capital 2. Appropriate level of capital and surplus in a life insurance company 3. Alternatives for deploying capital 4. Returns a life company should demand on invested capital 5. How much a company should charge for lending its capital in reinsurance transactions

Description: This presentation was session number 31PD at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 15-18 in Chicago. As opposed to reserves, benchmark surplus, and its supporting assets, relatively little attention is paid to free surplus and its supporting assets. The panelists approach these assets “as a portfolio to be managed with its own set of performance goals, risk tolerances, and characteristics, including issues and alternatives for managing unallocated free surplus.” Topics include diversification, setting asset and liability risk tolerances and adjusting risk in the portfolio, performance goals for the portfolio, impact of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, and the use of internal capital formulas to drive growth. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 26, No. 3.