Description: Read the Q&A with an Experienced Insurance Professional New to Long-Term Care: An Interview with Sean Pena.

Description: Read the October 2019 issue of Long-Term Care News published by the Long Term Care Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Column from the SOA staff actuary for the Long-Term Care Section.

Description: This research paper studies catastrophe insurance pools covering losses caused by extreme weather events.

Description: An interview of Matthew Bond focusing on pension liabilities.

Description: Techniques that have gained some traction in general (property/casualty) insurance will be highlighted with a particular focus on the linear mixed model. This model adds random effects to the more commonly seen fixed effects (for example, as used in GLMs).

Description: As any international traveler who has tried to plug in an electronic device knows, the human race is great at devising many different ways to accomplish the same task. Predictive modeling is no different. Data scientists can choose from a wide variety of languages to prepare data, fit models, and verify results. The Rosetta Stone, which showed writing composed in three languages side by side, was instrumental in translating unfamiliar Egyptian hieroglyphics into the more common Greek language. This presentation follows a similar approach by showing the same predictive model implemented in the following languages: R, Python, Spark, MatLab, and SAS. Participants will compare and contrast each of these languages and, by doing so, build a greater understanding of those languages less familiar to them.

Description: Unmet needs and implications for long-term care financing in Singapore.

Description: What pain points of customer experiences those startup companies address? How did they address? How they compete with bigger insurers? Their vision of future insurance

Description: The scope of this paper is to provide a technical overview of the tools and disciplines currently in AI as well as the forces at work that financial institutions such as insurance companies are using to modernize their analytical processes.

Description: Read the September 2019 issue of Retirement Section News published by the Retirement Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: This seminar is designed to give life and annuity practitioners an in-depth view of the important topics and fundamentals of reinsurance, from the perspective of a U.S. life insurance company. Reinsurance industry experts will present on the various types of reinsurance, contract issues, financial implications and other considerations. Attendees will leave this seminar with a stronger understanding of life and annuity reinsurance, and current topics. Keep in mind this seminar is designed for participants with a moderate level of experience. Educational Objectives • Provide attendees with a stronger understanding of life and annuity reinsurance, and current topics • Give attendees an in-depth view of important topics and fundamentals of reinsurance

Description: The NAIC has adopted revisions on Actuarial Guidelines 43 and C3 Phase II for Variable Annuities ("NAIC VA Reform"), effective January 1, 2020. The panel of presenters will provide background and overview of the Reform, and discuss detailed aspects of the new CTE Amount, Standard Projection and Withdrawal Delay Cohort Method. The panelists will share implementation considerations and the Reform's implications to hedging.

Description: With the halfway point of the transition period in the rear view mirror, many companies are well underway with their VM-20 implementation and analysis efforts. Beyond attempting to master the new rules of the road, actuaries have discovered new effects of product design and assumption setting. Panelists in this session will discuss their experiences with VM-20 reserves for various products and designs, their applications of actuarial judgement and the areas where even they don’t have all the answers. The audience is encouraged to bring their questions and also to share their insights.

Description: In this workshop format session, attendees will discuss the issues encountered when calculating principle-based reserves for life insurance products. At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to describe issues encountered when calculating principle-based reserves for life insurance products and discover potential solutions.

Description: Feature article describing a framework for the computation of credit capital requirements under the constant position paradigm, taking into account recovery rates.

Description: Read the August 2019 issue of Risks & Rewards published by the Investment Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Feature article discussing the number of challenges associated with ASU 2018-12 related to the measurement of market risk benefits.

Description: The article highlights the key components of the PBR resource manual and analyze its implications for companies' assumption management practice.

Description: Read the September 2019 issue of The Financial Reporter published by the Financial Reporting Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Feature article discussing how the insurance industry can become more data driven.

Description: This article lays conceptual foundations associated with projecting investment-related discretionary elements of various life insurance and annuity products. It outlines potential implementation approaches that may be appropriate when calculations are performed in a risk-neutral setting. The article concludes that crediting rates in risk-neutral models can be projected as in real-world models, except that the modeled provision for expected credit losses should be modified to equal real-world expected losses initially, but over the projection reflect management’s evolving expectation, moving ultimately to risk neutral expected losses.

Description: View the Quantitative Finance and Investment Portfolio Management Formula Sheet.

Description: Read about the 2019 Call for Essays: Actuarial Practice Innovation.

Description: Read the August 2019 issue of Predictive Analytics and Futurism published by the Predictive Analytics and Futurism Section. Newsletter provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: The Future of Insurance is described, as seen by some heads of start-up FinTech companies.

Description: Certain valuation assumptions are difficult to set with a high degree of accuracy, whether because the underlying experience is in different economic or interest rate environments, in addition to other reasons. Examples include assumptions for long-term care insurance, annuity options, lapsation and premium persistency on ULSG. This session will share how the actuary can use predictive analytics to augment the assumption-setting process. Some of the benefits to the actuary (along with the company and the regulator) include more accurate assumptions with lower margins for adverse deviations. Of possible interest as well is that applications go beyond valuation and include acquisitions, reinsurance and pricing.

Description: Baseline and what-if/stressed projections of cash flows, financial statements and capital requirements are critical inputs to a range of business purposes, including forecasts, risk management, liquidity management, strategic decision making, etc. Forward looking projections have historically been inefficient and performed in silos making it difficult to scale the process as CFOs and CROs ask for more. In this session we discuss challenges of the forecast process and opportunities to meet desired future capabilities. We will also discuss “what-if” analysis and ways to support production of forward looking projections for “what-if” analysis in an efficient way.

Description: Modeling methods and assumptions can be simple, complex, or somewhere between. This session will explore considerations and tradeoffs when determining approaches to different apsects of asset modeling in the context of ALM projection. Examples of advanced ALM applications to be discussed include credit risk modeling and duration/convexity management in ALM investment strategies.

Description: The arrival of ASU 2018-12 (a.k.a Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts or GAAP Targeted Improvements) presents insurers with augmented financial reporting risk across all areas of the valuation process. Naturally, the internal control frameworks that serve to mitigate these risks must evolve and expand. Valuation actuaries should view this transformative event as an opportunity to take an active role in developing new and improved controls that are both effective and sustainable.

Description: A session detailing how to calculate, understand and explain reserve movements in a PBR world. The session will illustrate how to: Calculate expected and actual reserve movements Analyze the results (SOE/GBS/EBS)Explain the results to a range of audience members, including a non-actuarial focus At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to evaluate reserve calculation, explain reserve movements and explain PBR earnings.

Description: While most actuaries work for companies and have as a primary objective the financial success of their employers, regulatory actuaries primarily serve the public interest. In part one of this presentation, we will explore the role of actuaries whose priority is to serve the public interest. Regulation is developed by a deliberative process that includes regulators, the American Academy of Actuaries, trade associations and the companies that will be affected by the regulation. In part two of this session, we will present a series of vignettes each focusing on recent updates to the Valuation Manual. At the conclusion of the session, attendees will have a deeper appreciation of what goes on behind the scenes in the development of regulation.

Description: The first of two reports focused on how families cope with the final years of life. This report summarizes 40 interviews with children of recently deceased parents.

Description: Read the July 2019 issue of Reinsurance News published by the Reinsurance Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about the section activities.

Description: An interview with Tony Laudato, VP, Partnership Solutions for Hannover Re US, discussing the benefits of digital distribution.

Description: The collective investment in transforming the life insurance proposition exceeds anything seen in the last thirty years — a working lifetime. As one would expect, reinsurers are playing a major role. The past five years have seen global reinsurers raise the bar on client experience to new levels, while also investing, expanding and re-organizing to support the transformation of the primary insurance industry, and in so doing also their own.

Description: Review the fall 2019 case study for the Enterprise Risk Management Exam.

Description: The SOA's Aging & Retirement Strategic Research Program and Financial Finesse are pleased to make available a series of briefs focused on retirement literacy issues. The Retirement Planning Tools brief provides a resource for better understanding retirement tools.

Description: Career changes typically follow a major milestone—a promotion, a job offer, a new degree, maybe a cross-country move. For Patrick Getzen, exposure to some new perspectives ignited a shift.

Description: Wavelet models are used to analyze risk by time and frequency and provide richer information than time series models.

Description: In this report, we will try to provide an in-depth review of current Machine Learning and Deep Learning models and will explain how those models works and their possible applications in the actuarial field. The recent studies and successes from the industry will also be discussed. We intend to bring more actuaries onboard about those technologies and start to think about how to bring them into our daily work.

Description: Critical Illness Insurance is one of the fastest growing insurance products available today. Carriers continue to introduce innovative approaches in second, third, and fourth generation products while refining their pricing, underwriting, and claims adjudication processes. This session will look back at historical trends using Gen Re's longstanding, comprehensive Critical Illness Market Survey, and look forward to potential market changes to occur in the next 18 months.

Description: Fact sheet about the monograph on Managing the Impact of Long-Term Care Needs and Expenses on Retirement Security.

Description: July 2019 issue of The Stepping Stone by Leadership & Development Section. practical information for actuaries, trends that impact section, section activities.

Description: View the 2019 President-Elect Candidate page for Jim Toole for the 2019 SOA Elections.

Description: View the 2019 Section Election Candidates - INTERNATIONAL.

Description: View the 2019 Section Election Candidates - ACTUARY OF THE FUTURE.

Description: View the 2019 Section Election Candidates - HEALTH.

Description: View the 2019 Section Election Candidates - FINANCIAL REPORTING.

Description: View the 2019 Section Election Candidates - Modeling.

Description: View the Candidate Questionnaire for William B. Fornia for the 2019 SOA Elections.

Description: The key tasks of credit risk capital project under CROSS II mainly focus onL(1 )Adjustment of measurement framework; (2) Calibration of risk factors, including both credit spread risk and credit default risk;3)Introduction of concentration risk measurement; (4) Higher requirement on look-through rule.

Description: Underwriting is one of several areas in the insurance industry being impacted by insurtech. In this session, we will hear from experienced experts in underwriting transformation. Digitization, machine learning and other approaches are among topics to be discussed.

Description: Learn industry best practices including challenges faced by retirees, such as needing exposure to growth, most exposed to sequencing risk, and the need for smooth returns to avoid poor investor behavior caused by risk aversion. Other topics will include how to set investment objectives which consider the members’ real-world needs and how to build portfolios and implement risk management strategies to meet those objectives. The speaker will provide real-life examples/case studies.

Description: Actuarial modeling has gone through several distinct phases largely defined by the underlying technology platform. Today, cloud computing is again redefining the technology foundations of actuarial modeling and related processes.

Description: Read 2019 Elected Board Member candidate Xu (Vincent) Xuan's Questionnaire.

Description: View the Scenario Modeling Module Track Objectives.

Description: This report introduces actuaries and risk managers in the insurance and pension industries to current literature discussing growth rates in the past and future expectations.

Description: Read the Joint Risk Management Section, Issue 44, May 2019 in french.

Description: The Smaller Insurance Company Section, the Committee on Life Insurance Research and the Product Development Section announce the release of a new report on the impact mortality credibility has on principle-based reserves.

Description: The last three decades have witnessed an important rise in number of people with diabetes in Asia, especially Type 2 Diabetes. Like no other common condition, numerous innovations are currently entering the healthcare system that will soon have a significant impact on management of the condition. This presentation explores the role played by sensors/wearables, artificial intelligence, new drugs and diabetes apps. We assess the realistic potential of such advancements and give an outlook on medium-term pricing and product development.

Description: Maintaining solid financial performance is a KPI for senior management. With the advancement of technology, the management can leverage new techniques to improve their decision making and focus on higher value activities in a timely manner. This presentation sets out the use of 1. correlation analysis to draw relationship between financial metrics and 2. smart analytics techniques, including text mining and analytics, to identify trends and drivers that impact the valuation of a company. We will also assess how the results of a comprehensive financial analysis could influence risk management considerations, including business steering and risk strategy.

Description: Feature article discussing the usefulness of Lorenz and Lift curves.

Description: There is a growing amount of “off-balance sheet” talent in the US and Global workforce. This spans from consultants and contractors, to gig workers and the crowd (both curated crowd and open crowd). One such example is Uber and Lyft workers. Insurance companies and the Actuarial profession have started to experiment with platforms such as Kaggle and this will continue to grow and evolve. This article explores these new sources of talent for companies, the implications to the actuarial function, benefits and challenges of the evolving workforce.

Description: Read the April 2019 issue of Predictive Analytics & Futurism published by the Predictive Analytics & Futurism Section of the Society of Actuaries.

Description: Insight on SOA research.

Description: Summary of recent surveys to life actuaries regarding assumptions surrounding policyholder behavior in the tail for universal life with secondary guarantees and minimum guarantees on variable annuities. This information is intended to examine and ultimately give guidance to actuaries on how to set policyholder assumptions in extreme scenarios.

Description: Read the Joint Risk Management Section, Issue 44, May 2019.

Description: As sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and Society of Actuaries (SOA), the study looks at causes of insolvency and decisions made by management, regulators, and policyholders over the life cycle of the insolvency. Further, this study considers ways the profession can be equipped to prevent or mitigate future insolvencies. In addition to directly benefitting the profession, the work is also intended to assist other insurance industry practitioners in understanding the complexities of insurance company solvency and the benefit of keeping the actuarial profession in the forefront of company management, operations, and regulatory communication

Description: The academy generator is now a staple for actuarial practice. Initially confined to regulatory reserving, increasingly companies are using the AAA/SoA generator for a wider and wider range of applications which in some cases may be at the limits of what it was designed for. How is the AAA/SoA generator being applied in reserving, risk management and variable annuity lines of business? What are some of the challenges actuaries face in using this framework and what are the options for addressing them.

Description: Hear an update on the Product Development Section's initiatives over the past year while enjoying a hot breakfast.

Description: Multiple perspectives will be provided on the factors that are driving global interest rates in today's economic environment. Presenters will discuss the historical evolution of interest rates in developed markets, the shifting landscape in the current environment and what savers (particularly insurers and annuity providers) can do with this information. There will also be some discussion on the general macroeconomic environment and credit condition

Description: The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently introduced the Target Improvements for Long-Duration insurance Contracts (ASU 2018-12), including creation of the market risk benefits product category. The presenters will review and summarize the FASB target improvements and discuss its impact on variable annuities and fixed indexed annuity in-force management and product development.

Description: View the 2020 Retirement Industry Conference Conference Program.