Description: The article gives specific information as to why insurance companies would want to participate in intercompany mortality studies. Product Development News, August 2000, Issue No. 50.

Description: Discussion of work site mortality— including risk classification and underwriting methodology decisions which affect the appropriate mortality assumptions

Description: An examination of the increase in mortality rate for Alzheimer's during the period 2000-2010

Description: This article details different methods for calculating mortality impact associated with new underwriting programs. A common simplified calculation is compared and contrasted with two first principles approaches. The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches are discussed.

Description: This article is a call to participate in industry mortality studies.

Description: There are certain occasions when the knowledge we have gained in our jobs carries over into our personal lives. For instance, developing insurance products certainly helps when it comes time to buy an insurance policy. Recently, one of the authors had the experience of giving his 91-year-old grandmother, Nanny as she is affectionately called, an Extended Delayed Word Recall DWR test. This article will show that DWR tests are a powerful predictor of mortality in the elderly. As the population ages and more and more life insurance is being applied for at the older ages, having a DWR test in an underwriting arsenal is like comfort food for an actuary.

Description: Discussion of the Society of Actuaries Report on Mortality Improvement Survey from March 2003 survey from the summer of 2000

Description: This article focuses on these Key Points - The Situation: Mortality Improvement assumption is not a simple equation. What Could Happen: Any mortality improvement assumption is a bit of a ‘bet’ relative to the ongoing penetration of known developments and the introduction of new developments, such as the appearance of the AIDS epidemic. What Needs to Happen: Better understanding of Mortality Improvement assumption, final assumption, and best estimate approach.

Description: In the June 2014 issue of Product Matters, Doug Robbins of Pacific Life authored a fascinating article entitled “Velocity of Diversification.” Therein, he proposed a pricing measure that describes the “…speed at which confidence in profitability is attained”. How can stochastic modeling of mortality be applied to analyze the velocity of diversification, and how would that measure be affected by volatility in the underlying assumptions?

Description: Originally featured as a breakout session at the 2015 CRC, this presentation discusses, from a North-American and non-actuarial perspective, how population growth and size have a major impact on socio-demographic needs in term of health care, social and old age security, education, transport and infrastructure. Their underlying components are two opposing forces, namely mortality and longevity. Understanding their past and possible future key drivers is not only important to the macro-economic planning of government agencies, but also to pension funds, insurance companies, and other stakeholders of the financial and insurance industries.