Description: This paper looks at the value of informal discussions at Society meetings and if the value of these discussions can be increased. presentation. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.

Description: This is an article about mathematical observations from children of actuaries. The article begins: In our January editorial we mentioned,just as a curiosity, that the first of all actuarial examinations London, 1850 asked candidates to find the fractional value of the recurring decimal, x = .27272727. A member’s 7th grade grandson B. MacKinnon then told us February issue that you just eliminate the recurring element by subtracting the value of x from the value of 100x.

Description: The scientific form of insurance was made possible by the emergence of probability in the 15th century. The first probability problem appeared in a book entitled Srunma de Arithmetica, Geornetrla, Proportloni et Probabilta 1494, written by Fra Luca Paccioli, a Franciscan monk.

Description: This is the second of two articles from The Actuary, April 1983, volume no. 17, issue no. 4, that discusses math exam prizewinners. The tabulation in our March issue summarized the experience from among 233 prizewinners of the 24-year period 1947-70. Forty-two of them became Fellows. In this article we examine these same 233 people in terms of the academic institutions from which they wrote the prizewinning examinations.

Description: This article describes the “Arithmeter”, invented by Elizur Wright, to expedite the calculations made necessary by the legislation that he himself had drafted that required the Massachusetts Insurance Department to compute net level premium reserves on all policies in force. One of the few Arithmeters in existence was donated to, and is now in the possession of, the SOA.

Description: An exciting array of reader responses has more than quadrupled our list of actuaries who practiced in North America too early in the nineteenth century to have become members of the Actuarial Society see May issue, page 6. Though still incomplete, the roster now contains 59 names. From The Actuary VOL. 16, No. 7

Description: A debate among industry giants of whether the life insurance industry in 1977 is entering a period of changes that will affect business in the most fundamental way or whether it's just experiencing normal trials and tribulations.

Description: This discussion seeks to determine if: 1. Is there justification for paying higher rates of commissions to experienced agents? 2. Is grading of commission rates by size of policy appropriate for Ordinary insurance? 3. In what ways have normal commission scales been modified in connection with the sale of permanent insurance on the minimum deposit plan? 4. What practical methods are available to maintain consistency between the levels of commission payments for pension plans funded by means of individual policies and group annuities?

Description: This is about The Federal Register of October 18, 1982 announcement by the Veterans Administration concerning USGLI premiums. The premiums were based on the American Experience Mortality Table at 3 /2% interest which overestimates mortality and underestimates the interest rate. This article discusses the ramifications of this.

Description: This article shows a comparison of the growth rates of the S&P 500 common stock index vs. the U.S. Consumer Price Index over various 5 and 10 year periods.