Description: The second part of a panel discussion on the changes ERM is creating in the actuarial and business worlds. This first part of this discussion appeared in the December/January issue of The Actuary. Topics covered included: the difference between ERM now and risk management of the past, the transformation of the CRO role due to ERM and more. You can find the first part of this series on the SOA Web site at: www. soa.org, Research & Publications, The Actuary Magazine, December 2005, ERM's Wave of Change: Part I.

Description: Bringing together industry experts spanning investment management and property/casualty insurance, this panel discussion will take the audience beyond spelling ESG correctly and will share their insights about what Environmental Social Governance is. Following is a sampling of the questions the panel will address: How did we get to the current economic state of ESG? Why is ESG controversial, and how has it become controversial? Does integrating ESG into the investment process enhance returns?

Description: In this session 36OF of the New York Annual Meeting panelists discuss and compare the risk management practices used by insurers and by banks. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 3.

Description: In session 128 OF of the Washington Annual Meeting panelists discuss the advantages available to and the challenges faced by chief or corporate actuaries of life insurance companies. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 3.

Description: At this time of economic distress, companies throughout the world are intensely focused on upgrading their risk management capabilities, as are their home country regulators. This article explores one example of how a part of this transformation was accomplished for several major Korean insurers.

Description: The Actuaries Climate Index has been updated with new quarterly data, revisions to initial data for previous periods, and annually updated values for the index’s drought and sea level components.

Description: This paper evaluates the current practice of operational risk management in the insurance sector. Operational risk is nothing new in insurance, but, because of regulatory requirements, companies have initiated computation of risk capital for their operational losses. The current effort to manage operational risk is not a naturally evolving phenomenon, and operational risk, in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Basel II definition, is unlikely to be a significant cause of insurers’ failure. In addition, the current Basel II definition of operational risk is not suitable for the insurance sector. Consequently, the invention of models and tools based on the definition is incomplete and illusionary. My findings are based on the analysis of dozens of interviews with insurance industry professionals. I demonstrate the way operational risk is quantified in practice, show that the result obtained from this computation is of littl e use in managerial decision making and propose a set of policy recommendations illustrating the characteristics of operational risk in insurance. This study can be used as a platform for launching dialogues to initiate fresh thinking about operational risk in insurance beyond the current artificial and narrow boundaries.

Description: The editor introduces the articles in this issue. Articles that include topics on systemic risk, economic capital, variable annuties, etc.

Description: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been our chosen metric for growth since the Great Depression, but expectations are for lower GDP growth going forward than we are accustomed to. Its two components, population and productivity, face headwinds—population from a declining birth rate and longevity, and productivity from increased climate events, energy costs, global conflict and raw materials shortages. Comparing demographic results from the U.S., China and Nigeria, representing countries with varying population growth rates, illustrates the potential economic growth issues of aging populations and high dependency ratios. The demographic challenges can be turned into opportunities to broaden prosperity; productivity can be improved by providing a level playing field and helping those in the lowest socioeconomic classes find opportunities. These topics and more will be discussed and enhance foresight about them.

Description: This is report summarizes the results of a Joint Risk Management Section sponsored study on negative interest rates and the insurance industry.