Description: Discussion of leading edge companies. Topics included: 1. How they got there 2. Lessons to be learned 3. Financial reporting issues faced by actuaries and others involved with companies that have failed or are close to statutory insolvency 4. Turning it around- strategies for future success.

Description: This session discusses current federal proposals for health care reform, including the impact on traditional health insurance programs and the roles that actuaries can play. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 19, No. 4A

Description: This articles notes that there are fewer small insurance companies. It discusses how the impact of mergers and acquisitions and new regulations affect the declining number of small insurance companies.

Description: Legislation introduced in Florida senate to ban sale of Industrial Life and greatly restrict sales of other Small Face Amount Policies, SFAPs.

Description: Discussing how examinations of asset adequacy analysis, AAA, and risk-based capital, RBC, by state insurance department examiners can go much more smoothly with good preparation and documentation of both assumptions and derivation of assumptions.

Description: Article summarizing two conference calls from late 2011 on regulatory issues of interest to smaller insurance companies. From Small Talk Newsletter, Issue 37, January 2012.

Description: In February 2015, the Internal Revenue Service Chief Counsel appointed Alexis MacIvor as the chief of Branch 4 of the Office of the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions & Products). That branch (sometimes referred to by our readers as the “Insurance Branch”) has seven attorneys who work exclusively on issues concerning the taxation of insurance companies and the products those companies issue. Because of the importance of that branch’s work product to the issues that life actuaries must address every day, the Taxing Times Editorial Board and the Taxation Section Council thought our readers would appreciate the opportunity to meet Alexis and welcome her to the insurance tax actuarial community. Mark Smith of our editorial board recently met with Ms. MacIvor to talk about her background and her new role.

Description: How including the intent and rationale of the tax law in system specifications can lead to better software system designs.

Description: Part 3 of Gray's summary of the Canadian report on taxation by the Carter Commission. One of the provisions would impose a 50% insurance company tax rate on the excess of surplus earnings over policy dividends disbursed.

Description: Background of the Manhart case on sex discrimination in pension rates, summary of the brief prepared for the case by an SOA task force, and text of a letter submitted to the court by SOA members critical of the brief.