Description: Empirical evidence of reported losses suggests that insurance firms are interconnected in a nontrivial way, making them prone to systemic risk. Systemic risk can be viewed as the result of a cascading process, as it unravels throughout a network structure. In response, this work presents a simple analytical model that can simulate this process. The model is subsequently tested upon an empirical dataset via the means of numerical simulations. This work makes three main contributions. First, it provides a novel methodology for quantitatively and objectively assessing the systemic role of individual firms within the insurance domain. Second, it exemplifies the inability of traditional, firm-based information in serving as proxies for mapping these systemic effects. Third, it provides a practical example where network-based information (e.g., Criticality IDX, Sensitivity IDX) can outperform firm-based information (e.g., admissible assets, excess c apital) resulting in increased efficiency in the decision-making process. These findings strengthen the need to account for the interconnected nature of the domain while showcasing some of the potential benefits that can be harvested by doing so.

Description: This is a discussion about how actuaries have become more and more involved in work outside what may be considered traditional actuarial functions. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1969, Vol. 21 Pt. 2, No. 59.

Description: This paper examines concepts from both financial economic and actuarial science as applied to defined benefit schemes using a simple discounted cash-flow framework as a reference point. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: This is a concluding and encompassing part of our research on the project entitled \Weighted Premium Calculation Principles and Risk Capital Allocations, which has been supported by the Actuarial Education and Research Fund AERF and the Society of Actuaries Committee on Knowledge Extension Research CKER. We explore the concept of weighted distributions and their role in various phenomena occurring in insurance and finance. In particular, we relate weighted distributions to actuarial and economic premium calculation principles, and also to the capital asset pricing model CAPM. Imitating the latter, we propose a weighted insurance pricing model WIPM. Although general in formulation, we show that the WIPM can successfully be evaluated in a variety of situations, which we illustrate with a number of examples.

Description: This paper explores the range of contribution policies allowable under various sets of rules, and then proposes that plan sponsors be allowed to contribute the normal cost as a deductible contribution each year. From The Future of Pension Plan Funding and Disclosure Monograph, M-RS05-1.

Description: The paper argues that Risks Evaluation at its core is a psychological process that can lead to the special type of chaos described in modern Chaos Theory. It will argue that quantification and scientific modeling does not exempt risk assessment from the potential for deep biases. Presented at 2010 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, Society of Actuaries, April 12-15, 2010.

Description: This teaching session was presented as Session 6B at the 1987 Valuation Actuary Symposium. The subject was modeling techniques for use in testing the scenarios being developed by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, ‘CIA,’ Solvency Standards Committee. The presenters, members of the Committee, have been working on developing a generic modeling approach. Their presentation is limited to the first of three phases of proposed CIA standards for solvency reporting dealing with scenario testing, namely the projection of surplus under various prescribed and selected scenarios.

Description: Panelists discuss trends for the group short-term disability STD industry, as well as issues of timely relevance to group STD actuaries. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: Users of statistical packages should be more aware of the influence that outlying data points can have on their statistical analyses. Robust procedures provide formal methods to spot these outliers and reduce their influence. While a few robust procedures are mentioned in this article, one is emphasized and it is motivated by maximum likelihood estimation to make it seem more natural. In this article, the author will try to provide some background, beginning with maximum likelihood estimation of one parameter, that will hopefully make robust estimation seem natural and rather easy.

Description: This session is about the Report on Actuarial Principles and Practical Problems with Regard to Nonforfeiture Requirements but it also includes a summary of written responses to the Report, developments on the regulatory scene, and recent work of other committees studying nonforfeiture or related areas. From the 1976 Record, Vol. 2, No. 3.