Description: Research report describing the results of an Emerging Risks Survey conducted in 2010. This survey attempts to track the thoughts of risk managers about emerging risks across time. The new top five are: 1. Fall in value of US Dollar. 2. International terrorism. 3. Chinese economic hard landing. 4. Oil price shock. 5. Failed and failing states.

Description: Update on Health Section research projects and topics, including health care reform, complexity science, and strategic planning.

Description: The author offers three determining questions to identify your obstacles to success.

Description: This research report analyzed the effects of different types of informational interventions on annuity-related behavioral intentions and beliefs, such as estimated retirement age and life expectancy.

Description: This survey of emerging risks attempts to track the risk manager population‘s thoughts about emerging risks across time. The top 4 emerging risks from this third iteration of the survey are: 1. US current account deficit/fall in US dollar. 2. Blow up in asset prices/excessive indebtedness. 3. Oil price shock/energy supply interruptions. 4. Chinese economic hard landing.

Description: This is an article that has excerpts from each of the four winning papers of a contest sponsored by the Society of Actuaries on the subject of visions of the life insurance industry in 2020.

Description: This paper offers a decision making procedure for solving complex problems step by step. It presents the decision analysis process for both public and private decision making, using different decision criteria, different types of information, and information of varying quality.

Description: An executive perspective on strategy and risk in reinsurance.

Description: The thrust of this article is that while ERM starts out as a compliance and corporate governance tool, well managed companies use ERM as a strategic tool that will help them increase shareholder value. To do so requires a synthesis of the actuarial techniques of insurance and the capital markets perspectives of corporate finance.

Description: This article describes an initiative of the Chief Risk Officer Forum to perform a study to benchmark internal models, so as to discuss the admissibility of these models for regulatory purposes in the context of Solvency II. The results of and reactions to that study are discussed.

Description: This paper examines the Australian actuarial qualification process from the perspective of what makes a good education system, and notes that there are a number of constraints imposed by the profession that impair the quality of students’ learning outcomes. The paper goes on to suggest how these pitfalls might be avoided in the interests of providing future actuaries with an opportunity to develop the attributes they will need for their professional careers. From Actuarial Research Clearing House, 2006.

Description: In this article, the author describes the skills needed for the Chief Risk Officer and he offers why actuaries may, or may not, be best suited to fill the role.

Description: This is one of a series of SOA-sponsored papers on the subject of Evaluating the Results of Care Management Interventions. This paper addresses the theory of measurement design and provides a practical evaluation of the most common designs for the practitioner.

Description: Discusses the role of the Board of Governors of a typical corporation, and how an actuary can be well suited to contribute as a Board member.

Description: Discusses a major campaign to change the image of the actuary.

Description: This article discusses the impact of rising interest rates on annuity writers and life insurers and the risk management challenges it presents. Falling interest rates were addressed as well.

Description: 2004 SOA Annual Meeting and Exhibit, New York. The panelists discussed methods of assessing catastrophic risk, offered insights into how reinsurers evaluate it, and discussed tools that assist in quantifying and evaluating the risk.

Description: An Overview of Stochastic Simulation modeling techniques and usages

Description: The author makes 10 predictions of how risk management will change over the next decade.

Description: This article discusses the attributes of a unified Operational Risk Management framework and how those attributes can underpin a seven-factor economic capital model.

Description: The objective of this presentation was to evaluate the different pricing techniques as to their effectiveness in capturing and quantifying the varied risks associated with the sale and administration of life insurance and annuity products. The results of a 2002 company survey about pricing were presented in support of this objective.

Description: Discussion of the investigation of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries in the United Kingdom relating to the events surrounding the closure to new business on December 8, 2000 of the UK’s Equitable Life Assurance Society.

Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2000 The panelists discuss distribution systems that are viable in the future with emphasis on the middle markets.

Description: This article presents a summary of ideas discussed in a 1999 symposium on the subject of the pros and cons of privatization as an element of the U.S. Social Security system. The four main topics addressed were: 1. Overview of Social Security reform. 2. Pros and cons of privatization. 3. Impact of privatization. 4. Practical issues of privatization. From: The Actuary, September 1999 – volume 33 - Issue 7.

Description: This overview of the pros and cons of individual accounts and the paygo system was offered by two speakers at the 1999 symposium, “Impact of Social Security Privatization on Retirement Income. From: The Actuary, September 1999 – volume 33 - Issue 7.

Description: 1999 SOA Regional Meeting, Atlanta. In this session experts from the regulatory environment and from the insurance industry discussed whether the public interest is best served by the states or the federal government being the primary regulators of insurance or some system of bifurcated regulatory authority shared between the states and the federal government.

Description: This article from SOA president David Holland, speaks to the need of the actuarial profession to consistently evolve with the needs of the 21st century.

Description: 1994 SOA Spring Meeting, San Francisco. This session about fluctuation in interest rates covered: 1. The impact of increasing interest rates on liabilities. 2. Whether insurance companies are prepared for movements in interest rates. 3. The effects that rising interest rates have on the asset side of the balance sheet and some of the associated risks. 4. Investment strategy and asset-liability strategy, using the SPDA product as example.

Description: 1994 SOA Spring Meeting, Orlando. This session is about identifying international opportunities, positioning yourself for those opportunities, determining skills needed, and comparing with skills you have.

Description: 1993 SOA Spring Meeting, San Diego. This session was about the Latin-American insurance market. Topics included: 1. Size, growth, regulations, products, distribution, marketing. 2. Market entry, business strategies, cultural issues, local staffing. 3. Level of activity for U.S. companies.

Description: This paper presents a new perspective on three basic financial quantities: assets, liabilities and surplus. The new perspective is developed through a re-examination of the fundamental concepts inherent in these quantities. This re-examination clarifies the difference between the concept and the various rules commonly used to establish their numerical value. With the benefit of this clarification, an alternate approach to the development of surplus is presented. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1993, VOL. 3.

Description: 1992 SOA Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. The stated purpose of this session was to discuss specifically how a company can manage and improve its financial performance as measured by the statutory financial statement. Eleven strategies to improve performance were addressed.

Description: 1992 SOA Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. This session addressed changes being seen and anticipated in the pension arena over the coming years. Topics discussed included: 1. An overview of some demographic and economic trends. 2. Cash-balance plans, and the trend from defined benefit to defined-contribution plans. 3. Nondiscrimination. 4. Canadian perspective.

Description: 1992 SOA Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. This session focused on international issues, examined the impact of changing globalization in the market place and discussed how we can relate to these changes and trends. The characteristics of companies that might benefit from going global were addressed.

Description: 1992 SOA Regional Meeting, Anaheim. This session addressed the product management actuary and the product management process. Topics discussed : 1. The monitoring of the environment and how that monitoring leads to the generation of ideas. 2. Consideration of how those ideas are affected by distribution, marketing, and organizational issues. 3. The setting of assumptions. 4. How to get different areas of your company to work together, and ways to bring the product to market as quickly as possible. 5. How to manage business once your company places it on the books.

Description: Discussion of various alternatives for financing health care.: It discussed providers,the uninsured employers of uninsured workers, employers through taxes , assessment on health insurance and general revenues.

Description: Panelists define and discuss futurism, discuss their proposed upcoming study note, 'Futurism for Actuaries,' and show how futurism can be – and has been – employed in an actuary's practice. Then, the audience is put in groups by practice area to discuss and develop actual futurism tasks – group reports are included here. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 4B.

Description: The optimal degree of integration and/or coordination of these two functions is examined by presentation of diverse opinions and actual experiences. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 3.

Description: This session from the 1983 Spring Meeting is a panel discussion presented by the SOA's Futurism Section. The theme of the meeting is Competitive Strategies and in particular forecasting and the use of strategic planning for resource allocation.

Description: Panel discussion from the April 1982 Society of Actuaries meeting in Houston on the topic of the financial services industry and its response to inflation and deregulation. Topics included: 1. Industry reconfiguration, relative competitiveness of various segments of the industry. 2. New products and technological advance 3. Impacts on the life insurance industry. a. Bank marketing of insurance products b. Investment and bank products marketed by insurers

Description: This panel discussion, from the April 1982 Society of Actuaries meeting in Orlando, presented a discussion on development as of 1982 in the education and exam system. Topics included: 1. Goals, purposes and objectives of actuarial examination and education. 2. Critique of the current system. 3. Role of the academic community in actuarial education. 4. Interrelationship of the Society's E&E structure with that of other actuarial bodies. 5. Plans and future directions.

Description: This is a discussion on individual life insurance market needs and product design under conditions of inflation. Specifically it highlights the needs and interests of potential customers during periods of inflation, what problems are created in traditional life insurance product design during inflation, what solutions are available to life insurance companies and what solutions may be available in the future.

Description: Presentation of asset liability management techniques to better manage interest rate risk by matching the anticipated cash flows from assets with that of the companies liabilities. Some alternative perspectives/techniques from Canadian insurers are discussed. Article discusses the varying asset/liability management issues pertinent to life insurance companies and defined benefit plan sponsors

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: 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: Discussion of the diversification activities of a number of life insurance companies. This includes the formation of, or acquisition of, property and casualty insurers, variable annuity companies, mutual fund management companies, banks, finance companies, leasing companies, real estate development companies, televisions and radio stations, newspapers, software consultants and other corporate enterprises. Discussion includes: 1. Activities really compatible with the llfe insurance product. 2. Activities otherwise compatible with corporate objectives or offering potentially large profit centers. 3. Activities which can be an excessive drain on corporate earnings and executive manpower 4. The actuary's role in these diversification activities. Then the discussion goes into a discussion of corporate planning models

Description: This article promotes the concept of long range planning for life insurance companies and notes that actuaries are well equiped for this activity.

Description: Presentation of some of the factors to be considered, and approaches which might be employed, in valuing a life insurance company.