Description: This paper presents multiple book reviews: Reports from Staff of U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Reports in Connection with Social Security Legislation 1975-77, 'Statement on Cost Comparisons of Individual Life Insurance Policies', by Canadian Institute of Actuaries, 'Investment Activities of Life Insurance Companies' from Huebner Foundation Lectures, 'The Life Insurance Industry's Marketing Dilemma' by Johns, 'The Future of Social Security' by Munnell, 'Social Security - Today and Tomorrow' by Ball, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'The Crisis in Social Security - Problems and Prospects' by Boskin, 'A History of Interest Rates' by Homer, 'Indexation of Pensions and Other Benefits' by Robert Myers, 'Life Insurance Accounting' by Strain, '1978 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund...' by US Congress. Brief summaries of additional readings are also included.

Description: This paper describes a method of comparing net costs of dissimilar life insurance contracts. The principles are consistent with those of the interest-adjusted method recommended by the Moorhead committee. The significance of the results, possible applications of the method, and some concerns and conclusions are discussed.

Description: Gross premium calculation methods may be arbitrarily separated into: a- Type 1 methods those which initially have commissions and other per cent of premium expenses in the denominator and b- Type 2 methods those which initially have commissions and other per cent of premium expenses in the numerator. The traditional Type 1 methods directly calculate the gross premium. The purpose of this paper is: 1. to present a Type 1 method of gross premium calculation which does the following: a Incorporates the cost of reinsurance into the gross premium calculation and may be shown as a level annual cost over the gross premium calculation period. b Calculates the effect on profit margins of a change in the retention limit without redoing the original calculation. c Calculates the premiums needed to break even e.g., amortize the initial investment in surplus at the end of each policy year as a by-product. d Calculates the profit or loss generated in each policy year or over any number of policy years for any gross premium without redoing the original calculation or first using a trial gross premium. e Directly solves for the gross premium that will produce any specified profit over any number of policy years without redoing the original calculation or first using a trial gross premium. f Directly solves for the premium that will produce a specified yield on surplus invested in new business by a flexible technique not first involving the use of the renewal net premium or any other preliminary gross premium. 2. to provide a mathematical definition of a financially meaningful average policy size which recognizes the cost of reinsurance. 3. to provide for mathematical definitions of common measures of profit, and the mathematical relationships between them. 4. To establish formulas expressing the effect of changes in various assumptions used in the gross premium calculation as a lev

Description: This paper presents a short method of calculating, without approximation, substandard annual extra premiums based on the standard net amount at risk. The method proposed in this paper, is by means of specially constructed auxiliary commutation columns, eliminating the need for any summation, and producing exact values of any extra premiums by relatively simple formulas. A mathematical proof of the methodology is provided.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper, A General Method of Calculating Experience Net Extra Premiums Based on the Standard Net Amount at Risk by Walter Shur.

Description: In physics and engineering education, Fermi problems require solutions based on good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, involving making justified guesses and deducing bounds without using sophisticated tools. The idea of Fermi problems are of particular relevance to today's actuaries, as pricing, reserving, and financial reporting involve more and more complex stochastic components. The paper discusses some approximate solutions developed in academia in the spirit of Fermi problems.

Description: Presented at May 1986 Spring Meeting. This session discussion is about techniques companies are using to maintain compatibility between investment practices and pricing assumptions for interest-sensitive products: Segregated assets, Use of options/futures, Asset/liability matching, Market value adjustments.

Description: This is a discussion of the paper published by Charles A. Ormsby titled, 'The Cost to Reinsure Individual Life Insurance Policies'. Discussion includes: 1. Given that reinsured business has higher mortality than non-reinsured business, why would companies issue it, 2. Suggestion that when costs of reinsurance are considered, reserves should be substituted for cash values to determine the 'statement costs', 3. Cost of reinsurance for a mutual company.

Description: These are responses to Richard Ziock's work, Gross Premiums for Term Insurance with Varying Benefits and Premiums.

Description: Presented at April 1985 Spring Meeting. This session discussed traditional and modern approaches to actuarial pricing assumptions in a volatile environment.