Description: Discusses cost-benefit decision-making for acquiring electronic data-processing equipment and installation issues, ability of small companies to compete in pension trust arena, effectiveness of various agency compensation programs in stimulating sales and improving persistency, success of sales to substandard risks and rating methods, and pricing, reinsurance and experience with individual hospital and medical policies.

Description: The panel discusses the cost feasibility of a large scale computer being shared by a group of smaller companies, applications found for medium sized computers and the extent companies are using deck size electronic computers. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.

Description: This session discussion is about the pricing considerations for risk and measurement of the rate of return in light of unexpected contingencies including: defaults, economic downturns, change in bond ratings and market value changes. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 3B.

Description: This session from the 1983 SOA Hollywood, Florida Meeting reviews progress reports by the Committee on Valuation and Related Problems. It discusses statutory surplus, the contingency surplus needed for C-1, C-2, C-3 Risks, C-4 Risk and vitality surplus. From Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 9, No. 4.

Description: The author describes immunization with a simple illustration requiring only high school algebra rather than the ordinary and stochastic calculus that has been applied to this subject. It illustrates that if you have three invesmtents with different durations, we can take some combination of any two of them to get the same duration as the third.

Description: Discusses bond-default history in the United States, implications for insurance-company asset determination, regulatory concerns about recent investing by insurance companies in low-grade bonds, valuation-actuary needs to consider in these cases, and another suggested method for modeling the C-1 Risk in the context of the valuation actuary's cash flow review. From the 1987 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 13, No. 3.

Description: This article highlights the research projects under review by the Research Policy Committee. It also invites submission of other projects with the caveat that ideas submitted without an offer of partial or complete funding will have a lower priority level.

Description: Discusses investment strategies that can be used for various product-expense and policyholder-behavior patterns. These include buy/sell, hold, exchange, long-term, optimization, hedging of the business and investment risks, and immunizing strategies. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 4A.

Description: This panel at the 1982 Society of Actuaries Colorado Springs Spring Meeting focus on the balancing act between growth and sufficient surplus from both a stock and mutual company perspective.

Description: This article notes that the SOA has been accepted as an affiliate member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS. The author believes this affiliation helps support the concept of an actuary being both a business person and a scientist.