Description: This article, an Honorable Mention Essay for the Society of Actuaries' Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section 2010 Papers Competition, is a discussion of the various issues relating to measurement of data in healthcare. The author presents “a light hearted & tongue-in-cheek take on how healthcare is typically measured, and an entrepreneurial vision for a better world.” Noting that typically data is summarized in deterministic models that produce point estimates for analysis and decision making, the author’s vision presented in the paper “is that of a central repository of actuarially modeled distributions that can either be used as benchmarks or adapted to an organization's experience.”

Description: This article discusses how employers and employees often misunderstand the types of coverage they own, and argues that customizing insurance solutions can be a pragmatic solution. The authors note that typically an employer will provide a basic group insurance plan for all employees, and then discuss the advantages of customizing voluntary benefits to supplement core benefits, and how they can be targeted to specific groups.

Description: In this article the author provides guidance to owners of their own actuarial consulting firms, with respect to addressing issues around succession, control and ownership, and planning for retirement.

Description: Innovation has become a fashionable concept, but what does it really mean? Are the concepts of innovation and invention synonyms? Is innovation a good thing? If so, why so many oppose it? If we want to become innovators, what considerations should be kept in mind? Are there examples of innovative thought in the actuarial field? If so, can you think of some of them? If you want answers to these questions please read Jay Jaffe’s article, Becoming a More Effective Innovator. Innovation is a big idea in the business education, so much so that many MBA programs are including courses on the subject, so much so that, as we know, our Section is called Entrepreneurial & Innovation.