Description: 1998 SOA Spring Meeting, Maui. The panelists discussed the primary issues underlying market conduct concerns, as well as possible approaches to evaluating litigation from an actuarial and economists' perspective.

Description: 1999 SOA Regional Meeting, Atlanta. The stated objective of this session was to provide a good feel of what financial service convergence means. It included a legislative update of what was happening in Washington in 1999 and discussions on customer segmentation, on bancassurance products, and distribution channels within a bank.

Description: From a session at the annual meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Chicago, Illinois, October 15-18, 2000 Discussion of how products and services are tailored for in-bank insurance sales. Particular emphasis is placed on the middle-income market. Particular issues include product design, underwriting, policy issue, sales support, and field and customer access to the home office for service.

Description: Discusses role of actuaries in development of agency financing methods and establishment of agency performance standards.

Description: Among the most outspoken of the life insurance industry’s authorities is Ronald Butkiewicz, president and CEO, Irish Life of North America ILONA. In speeches to industry groups, including a 1995 presentation to the Actuarial Society of Greater New York, Butkiewicz makes the challenging statement, 'American society doesn’t need the life insurance industry. I am also quick to add that I don’t think American society needs banks, either.' However, said Butkiewicz in an interview for this article, 'It does need our products.' The article goes on to explain how Butkiewicz sees life insurance becoming part of one, big financial services industry.

Description: This meeting session provided insight and information related to field compensation and the issues affecting the level of compensation including inflation, competition, and productivity.

Description: This article offers ideas on how to simplify the sale of life insurance over the internet.

Description: Discussion of the findings of a survey conducted by Deloitte Consulting on the experience insurers were having with automated underwriting. This survey was solicited by the Society of Actuaries' Marketing and Distribution Section Council, the Product Development Section Council and the Committee on Life Insurance Research.

Description: This is an article that has excerpts from each of the four winning papers of a contest sponsored by the Society of Actuaries on the subject of visions of the life insurance industry in 2020.

Description: Editor's column discussing the contents of the January 2011 issue of NewsDirect.