Description: This article discusses the risk management approaches of insurers. The author described some of the current practices of the total return approach, how the total return approach is used in managing risks as a process, and a model that takes future sales into consideration and determines the appropriate fair valuation method of an ongoing business.

Description: This article serves as a Solvency II primer by first introducing the Solvency II framework and then identifying several implementation issues that are still being resolved.

Description: This article from The Actuary Magazine discusses the paper issued by the Emerging Issues Advisory Group on fair value liabilities. A change in the method used for financial reporting is on the way. The questions, what are the changes and what they mean to you are answered here.

Description: This paper attempts to advance practice and methodology with respect to life insurance company valuation. From Society of Actuaries Financial Reporting Monograph, M-AS99-1.

Description: The author notes that “current market value is highly relevant, but its accuracy is limited. Historical accounting, on the other hand, is highly accurate, but is of little relevance.” The article then goes on to discuss two leading methods for performing fair valuation of liabilities: the actuarial appraisal method and the option pricing method, and how they can be reconciled.

Description: An update on the SOA's financial reporting research projects.

Description: This article discusses fair value reporting for insurance companies and how to get fair value in the real world.

Description: Insurance company financial reporting and performance measurement are going through a significant transformation. Insurers are beginning to look at their business based on what many refer to as the “economic value framework.” Under this framework insurance companies determine the economic value of the capital invested in their business and the economic value of earnings to derive a risk-adjusted return on capital. Standard setters, primarily European insurance regulators through Solvency II and the International Accounting Standards Board through IFRS Phase II, propose adopting many of these concepts for solvency and performance reporting.

Description: Article discussing recent developments in financial reporting research by the Section: 3 new PBA projects, stochastic pricing of embedded options, and comparison of results under IFRS and GAAP.

Description: 2003 Valuation Actuary Symposium, San Diego, CA. Panelists in this session discussed embedded-value and fair-value practices, similarities and differences between EV and fair value, and whether embedded value and fair value are evolving into a single, principles-based measure of value.