Description: As equity markets decline and become more volatile, the likelihood of significant guaranteed benefit claims increases, while increases from mortality and expense fees declines. The article illustrates how to use a derivative contract, a properly structured total return swap, to turn a company's uncertain M&E revenue patterns into predictable revenue.

Description: What Do You Mean You Are An FRM From GARP? by David N. Ingram from Risks and Rewards Newsletter, February 2002, Issue No. 38.

Description: A response to the comments on the paper.

Description: An Overview of Stochastic Simulation modeling techniques and usages

Description: The author discusses how China is poised for dramatic changes in its life insurance industry that will raise both opportunities and challenges. The author notes that China has particularly spectacular growth prospects, and given the nature of the business, the industry will have an almost insatiable appetite for capital. However, In order to accomplish this, China's insurance industry needs to advance its financial management and improve its ability to produce transparent financial information, in a timely and reliable manner. The author compares China’s current position in the life insurance compared to other Asian countries, and describes the steps needed to improve its financial management.

Description: In this article, the author discusses the new IAA strategic plan for dealing with global financial risk.

Description: An insurance company selling LTCI today would do far better to address some important financial needs by taking the aspirin of improving modeling and pricing, and not the morphine of shutting down the business line entirely. The aspirin can consist of two strategies: First, integrate the projections of the asset portfolio and the claims liabilities when testing the sensitivity of assumptions or stochastically modeling the product. Second, establish a separate asset portfolio for LTCI products, and make sure it has a strong, well-defined, well-documented Investment Policy Statement. An Investment Policy Statement will enable pricing actuaries and investment departments to work together with the same goals and objectives.

Description: The article summarizes implications of rising interest rates on U.S. GAAP and statutory financial reporting for life insurers, highlighting potential tailwinds from steady increases and headwinds from sharp increases. We further provide insights into how insurers can leverage ALM programs and interest rate risk hedging practices to favorably position themselves in a rising rate environment

Description: The mismatch between how interest rate impacts the value of assets and liabilities could have material negative impact to companies’ earnings and surplus. To quantify and mitigate the impact of such mismatches, companies have used matching a combination of duration and convexity. I will review these measurement techniques and their limitations.

Description: Many top-performing businesses aren’t just risk aware, but rather risk intelligent. Such a posture helps prepare companies for a major event and can demonstrate to a regulator or auditor that an appropriately strong control framework is in place. Better still, companies gain real strategic value from a “risk adjusted” understanding not only of their threats and vulnerabilities, but also the upside opportunities associated with various risks. It starts with having both qualitative and quantitative information to identify, assess and manage risks. Strategic risk management, at its core, is about creating value by increasing transparency and accountability, and quality of information. More than a mere compliance exercise, effective risk management enables more informed strategic decision making, increased accountability and transparency, a greater likelihood of organizational success, and – ultimately – competitive advantage, as borne out by many studies that correlate risk management and financial results.