Description: This article addresses the concern that while risk assessment models are supposed to help identify and reduce risk, they can be a source of risk themselves. A new report released by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in August 2008 helps address that potential problem by providing useful guidance to actuaries who are charged with designing, implementing and using advanced models.

Description: Feature article describing a new method of computing professional athletes’ salaries using actuarial skills/ the economic value concept. From The Actuary Magazine, Dec 2009

Description: Regime switching models have become a popular tool in econometric time series modeling since their introduction in Hamilton [1989].These models have been widely applied for equity-returns for investment guarantees. A prominent risk management challenge is hedging these guarantees, given the equity regime switching process. This presentation develops some methodologies for regime-switching portfolio replication and use real world data to demonstrate and evaluate their effects. A Bayesian approach for regime switching model fitting is used, which allows for the examination of the robustness of each of the optimization methods when parameter uncertainty is present.

Description: The theme of this presentation relates to solving portfolio selection problems using linear and fractional programming. Two key contributions: 1. Generalization of the CVaR linear optimization framework. 2. Equivalences among four formulations of Coherent Distortion Risk Mearures optimization problems. From Actuarial Research Clearing House, 2012, Vol. 1.

Description: Prepared for the Society of Actuaries by STATLAB at the University of Western Ontario, this report contains the results of a cash flow testing, ‘CFT,’ software survey performed in 2004. The results were based on the responses of 110 life insurance companies in the U.S. and Canada. The goal of the survey was to produce a report that will serve as a reference for comparing the available CFT packages and lead to better software and modeling techniques. CFT refers to analysis which is used to support both the Asset Adequacy Analysis for the Actuarial Opinion for U.S. companies, and the ALM Provision for Adverse Deviations in applying the Canadian Asset Liability Method to determine reserves for Canadian companies.

Description: There are two main techniques for evaluating the financial impact of interest rate movements on insurance companies: duration measures and computer simulations. In many ways these approaches provide complementary viewpoints.

Description: This paper presents best upper and lower bounds on the expected value of a reinsurance payment under the terms of a contract written on a random loss with known moments. Bounds on the expected exercise value of a financial option are considered also because the mathematical model used for valuing options is similar to that used in reinsurance net premium calculations. From the Actuarial Research Clearing House ARCH 1990 Vol. 1.

Description: Hear AM Best rating analysts discuss the rating process and the best capital adequacy ratio (BCAR), a quantitative foundation for AM Best’s assessment of carriers’ financial strength. The benchmarking of BCAR scores for various company types (national MCOs, BCBS plans, smaller regional plans) will be discussed. Look at how changes in investment and underwriting environment impacted the results over the past several years. Further, AM Best’s view of the quality of capital and various factors impacting the overall assessment of the balance sheet strength will be discussed.

Description: The surge in interest rates over the past few years presents opportunities for life insurers to enhance their Asset and Liability Management (ALM) positions. Learn about a robust liability-driven strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework and implementation considerations, including key objectives and practical considerations for a successful SAA.

Description: Economic Scenario Generator - Investment Section Web Series Session #2 - Real World This session will cover the following points: 1. NAIC ESG 2. Strategic Asset Allocation and Optimization Techniques 3. Covid-19 Postmortem: Modeling and calibration changes because of recent events