Description: Shapiro 1990 documented some of the criteria used by actuaries when selecting the assumptions for actuarial valuations. He noted, however, that many of these criteria are often were in conflict with one another. This paper uses expected utility theory to model this process of choosing actuarial assumption when faced with potentially conflicting criteria. The three criteria considered are prudence, best estimate and conservativeness.

Description: July 2017 issue of The Stepping Stone by Leadership & Development Section. practical information for actuaries, trends that impact section, section activities

Description: Informal commentary on the importance to the actuarial community of embracing enterprise risk management and ORSA. Part of the essay collection "Risk Metrics for Decision Making and ORSA"

Description: This session discussion is about tools, techniques, and methods used by the health valuation actuary HVA in dealing with business projections, cash-flow analysis, valuation on nonguaranteed premium business, target surplus analysis, reinsurance and claim reserves. From Record of Society of Actuaries Vol. 18, No. 1A.

Description: Preview of the LTC section's sessions at the SOA Annual Meeting in October 2008, including claims management, litigation and public relations, preparing for PBA and stochastic modeling, pricing, research studies, and securitizations and reinsurance.

Description: Although rate structures where low-cost cohorts subsidize high cost cohorts may be justified from a actuarial, marketing, or legal standpoint, the subsidization creates risks which must be understood and monitored. This article presents the concept of subsidization signature to measure and interpret the effects of rate subsidization, and to assess the sustainability of rating structures and the sensitivity of business mix assumptions.

Description: The author encourages the use of sound actuarial principles to develop reasonable retirement spending budgets instead of rule of thumb approaches commonly used.

Description: Discussion of recent Society of Actuaries sponsored research.

Description: The April 2016 Issue of The Modeling Platform

Description: We discuss the challenges of Excel usage in companies, and what needs to be considered in order to develop robust modeling governance.