Description: Feature article discussing the possibility of the LIBOR rate ceasing to exist in 2021 at what that would mean for insurance companies.

Description: Feature article describing a framework for the computation of credit capital requirements under the constant position paradigm, taking into account recovery rates.

Description: Feature article provides a glimpse into recent changes to various standards of care owed to customers that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the products and services offered by many financial institutions.

Description: Read the August 2019 issue of Risks & Rewards published by the Investment Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Businesses across the board have been drastically impacted by the effects of COVID-19 over the course of 2020, and insurance was not immune. Perhaps most relevant to this industry’s current capital and liquidity concern is the prevailing low interest rate environment. This has been a global trend in the last decade, and treasury rates in much of the developed world are at or near zero. Reduced investment returns limit an insurer’s ability to achieve their desired return on equity, eliminating previously profitable strategies that depended on the leverage of life and annuity balance sheets. Focus and activity have instead shifted to other methods to counteract the low interest rate markets and accompanying capital strain. Examples include increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity within the insurance industry and an increasing focus by private equity firms in the insurance market for asset-intensive products, both of which reflect the goal of increasing yield rates on capital.

Description: This presentation is a concurrent session from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held April 18-19 in New Orleans. The panelists discuss securitization of assets as dividing future cash flows into tranches, which are then sold to insurance companies and pension funds. The cash flow traits of collateralized mortgage obligations, collateralized bond obligations, and asset backed securities based on automobile loans, credit cards, and receivables are discussed. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 1.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and its Financial Reporting Section (FRS) announce the launch of The International Financial Reporting for Insurers (IFRI) book. This resource is a collaborative effort between actuaries and accountants to help understand the concepts behind financial reporting under the International Financial Reporting Standards® (IFRS) issued in May 2017.

Description: We explore the considerations regarding discount rates in the new US GAAP Targeted Improvements, including selection of observable rates and methods for extrapolations rates where there is no observable data.

Description: This article briefly summarizes the history of the Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) tax regime. Then it provides a detailed description of the PFIC proposed regulations issued in July of 2019.

Description: "Hear AM Best rating analysts discuss the rating process and the best capital adequacy ratio (BCAR), a quantitative foundation for AM Best’s assessment of carriers’ financial strength. The benchmarking of BCAR scores for various company types (national MCOs, BCBS plans, smaller regional plans) will be discussed. Look at how changes in investment and underwriting environment impacted the results over the past several years. Further, AM Best’s view of the quality of capital and various factors impacting the overall assessment of the balance sheet strength will be discussed. By attending this session, you will: Gain an understanding of AM Best’s building block approach to ratings and how the BCAR results fit into the process. Learn the differences between RBC and BCAR models. Learn how various factors—e.g. liquidity, financial flexibility, financial leverage, the org structure—impact the final AM Best assessment of health companies' capital."