Description: The article explores impact of resetting cap vs static cap choice for the GLWB rider for a Fixed Index Annuity for a Point to Point. Moreover, analysis of a Monthly Sum Cap is provided showing impacts of particular choices of market models (e.g. Black, Heston, Bates) used to price this deal.

Description: Summary of recent surveys to life actuaries regarding assumptions surrounding policyholder behavior in the tail for universal life with secondary guarantees and minimum guarantees on variable annuities. This information is intended to examine and ultimately give guidance to actuaries on how to set policyholder assumptions in extreme scenarios.

Description: Insurance companies are not immune to liquidity risks.

Description: This article provides an excerpt of the results of a survey on policyholder behavior in the tail with respect to variable annuity guaranteed benefits. GMIB is specifically addressed.

Description: This article departs from the usual GMWB pricing approach by assuming that the policyholder is always smart enough to act in his/her own best interest.

Description: This article provides some insights in how to bring risk management into product development for VA guarantees.

Description: How can actuaries innovate solutions to the challenges posed by policyholder behavior risks?

Description: Life and annuity markets around the world have seen increasingly complex investment-combined products, including universal life, fixed indexed annuities, variable annuities with a wide variety of guaranteed benefits and indexed variable annuities. Insurance companies are facing unprecedented exposure to financial risks in addition to traditional mortality and longevity risks. The risk assessment and modeling for such complex designs by conventional methods often focus heavily on their market competitiveness and profitability. However, there seems to be a lack of quantifiable and systematic approaches to assess investment risks associated with investment combined products. The objective of the proposed work is to develop a framework for quantifying and analyzing various forms of contractual designs and showcase different techniques to assess the trade-off between competitive contractual designs and their practical implications regarding the difficulty of risk management.

Description: This article discusses the problems created by the options in unit-linked annuities in the UK, variable annuities in the US and segregated fund contracts in Canada. Methodology for valuing the guaranteed annuity option is presented.

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.