Description: The article details the history and educational requirements of the Swiss Association of Actuaries (SAA). The actuarial profession in Switzerland is well-positioned to meet the challenges of regulation, economic capital and insurance financial reporting.

Description: The author describes a course he and his colleague designed and taught at Columbia University called "A Global Perspective of the Health Insurance Market."

Description: Insight into activities of Actuaries Without Borders (AWB), a section of the International Actuarial Association, and SOA involvement in the section. AWB’s mandate is to provide volunteers for projects in countries where the actuarial profession is at an early level of development.

Description: Describes Standard Life's business model transformation.

Description: It is, without doubt, the poorest people in the world who are most in need of the security that insurance brings. Renata De Leers and Queenie Chow discuss why the micro-insurance market has low penetration, and why actuaries are so well placed to assist insurers in understanding their clients' needs.

Description: Highlights of the 1997 International Underwriting Congress with an in depth discussion of 1 critical illness policies and 2 Use of population data where little insurance data exists.

Description: In this article, the author talks about how the actuarial profession can position itself as the natural choice for complex risk management work.

Description: The pension and longevity risk transfer market is growing rapidly, with British-pioneered pension and longevity de-risking emerging outside of the UK and US, with over $270bn in transactions completed globally since 2007. Emerging markets include the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Australia. This article describes the solutions available to plan sponsors who are looking to secure member benefits and achieve a lower risk future, and provides real-world examples of companies who have used innovative solutions to meet their unique needs.

Description: Microinsurance mechanisms provide coverage to low income earners, but a growing middle class is often lacking adequate access to insurance services. The author explores ways in which insurance may be more accessible.

Description: The editor discusses editorial board changes, welcomes new section council members, and mentions highlighted articles in this issue.