Description: Book review of: Social Science from the Bottom Up, by Joshua M. Epstein and Robert Axtell

Description: This paper presents a methodology of pricing the guaranteed minimum death benefit of a variable annuity in a market model with jumps. Recent developments in the stock market make variable annuities very attractive products from the insured point of view, but less attractive for insurers. The insured still has the possibility of investment benefits, while avoiding the risk of a stock market collapse. The insurer wants to minimize its risk and yet sell a competitive product. The financial market model consists of one riskless asset and one risky asset whose price jumps in proportions J at some random times T which correspond to the jump times of a Poisson process. The model describes incomplete markets and there is no perfect hedging. In the second part of the paper, we describe a possible method of risk analysis for binomial tree models.

Description: In a stochastic world consideration of only a few deterministic scenarios can potentially be dangerous. The aim of the present research is to study the computation of the cost of mismatch using stochastic interest rate models instead of scenario testing. In this paper, two commonly used Stochastic interest rate models are considered: the one introduced by Vasicek 1977 and the one proposed by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross 1985.

Description: This is the abstract of the article 'A Proposed Unified Valuation System'. This article will briefly describe some analytical examples of a stochastic modeling of risk use to illustrate the S-curve approach to valuation, but more importantly describe key additional area of research and theory, which need to be developed. The focus of this presentation is an invitation for additional research to support a new approach to statutory valuation of life and health risk that can result in better management and regulatory information.

Description: Charts 1-5 to be attached to the 2000 Valuation Actuary session on demutualization issues.

Description: The article discusses that drawbacks of the HJM Heath-Jarrow-Morton class of stochastic interest models and suggests the use of the Longstaff-Schwartz string model. It describes the use and benefits of the Lonstaff-Schwartz string model.

Description: This paper attempts a model for a mix of DB and DC retirement plans that meets the dual objectives of predictability of employer cash contributions, and sufficient employee retirement benefit. From Current Pension Actuarial Practice in Light of Financial Economics Symposium, M-RS04-1.

Description: Examination of how mean reserve factors can best be calculated in light of the new accounting reporting requirements for the earnings of stock life insurance companies. Also examines some methods of expense amortization, including the reserve factor method, and also attempt to show an informative comparison of how reported calendar-year earnings can be expected to emerge with statutory mean reserve factors, natural mean reserve factors, and assorted expense amortization methods. Followed by several submitted discussion papers

Description: Panelists discuss the process and challenges presented by mergers or acquisitions. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: In a series papers by Willmot and Lin, both exponential and non-exponential bounds for the tail probability of various compound distributions have been derived. In Wilmot, it was suggested that non-exponential bounds for the ruin probability were difficult to obtain using martingale arguments. In this note, we show how to use martingale inequalities to obtain some upper bounds for the ruin probability.