Description: This article focuses on one fundamental modeling assumption — the choice of a benchmark rate or risk-free rate. The author looks at this bond market assumption as a case study of how one needs to monitor fundamental market changes for their impact on assumptions.

Description: This paper is from Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955 Volume 7, Number 17. The author notes that recent advances in calculating equipment make possible producing graduations much more elaborate than any done previously. The paper confines itself to the problem of graduating a single column of rates, such as an ultimate column, using a Whittaker-Henderson B graduation of the fourth order. The author provides a detailed description of the process with significant mathematical theory.

Description: What is going on with the exchange rate, anyway? In 2002, $1 U.S. bought $C 1.60, and now in May 2005 you only get $C 1.25—that’s 20 percent less! Where’s it going next? One way to answer that question is with a time series model.

Description: There are two main techniques for evaluating the financial impact of interest rate movements on insurance companies: duration measures and computer simulations. In many ways these approaches provide complementary viewpoints.

Description: In this article about interest rate models, the author develops an empirical description of the term “interest rate regime,” and looks at the relationship between changes in yield curves and moving to a new interest rate regime.

Description: In this paper, chapter III of the 1987 Valuation Actuary Handbook, the authors discuss building a liability model to evaluate the C-3 risk. The article discusses the data and assumptions needed, and the importance of sensitivity testing given that the model results are very sensitive to the assumptions used.

Description: “It’s interesting to note that, given the past year’s reversal of fortunes in the stock markets, all the media rap about heated inquiries around back-dating options has stopped.”

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 In this session the panelists discussed the issues related to the actuarial aspects associated with the demutualization process. The issues discussed included: • Developing historical and prospective assumptions • Aligning the models used in the company’s philosophy regarding dividend determination and pricing • Creating experience assumptions when less-than-perfect data exist • Determining who gets what • Complying with actuarial and accounting standards

Description: Charts 1-5 to be attached to the 2000 Valuation Actuary session on demutualization issues.