Description: The 1986-98 Credit Risk Loss Experience Study represents a continuation of the 1986-94 study analyzing credit loss experience by institutional investors on private placement bonds. The study measures incidence rates, loss severities and economic loss rates associated with credit risk events for privately placed debt during the years 1986-98.

Description: Why Write Variable Products When You Can Put the Money Directly into the Stock Market?

Description: The focus of this article is that while Economic Capital can be a valuable component of the ERM process for insurance companies, an over-emphasis on EC, to the point of neglect of other steps in the ERM process, can reduce the effectiveness of an ERM program.

Description: This paper presents an algorithm for valuing American options in a path simulation model. It demonstrates the accuracy by an example involving a put option on a non-dividend-paying stock for which the exact premium could be determined. It shows how the use of simulation models can be useful in valuing a broker-dealer's derivative book and analyzing the asset-liability condition of financial intermediaries.

Description: This session discussion is about various asset related items that are needed to perform necessary projections. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 2.

Description: This article describes the Investment Year Method for allocation of general portfolio investment income and demonstrates the equivalence of a fixed index or declining index system.

Description: 20 years ago the author suggested that insurers invest a substantial part of their reserves in equities as an inflation hedge. Article discusses how equities have performed relative to inflation, in retrospect, and contemplates the future.

Description: This study attempts to measure incidence rates, loss severity, and expected basis-point loss associated with credit risk events. The study identifies asset characteristics believed to influence credit risk and develops a process for gathering and evaluating intercompany credit risk data.

Description: We explore the considerations regarding discount rates in the new US GAAP Targeted Improvements, including selection of observable rates and methods for extrapolations rates where there is no observable data.

Description: This report studies the various benchmarks for analyzing the option-adjusted spreads of the major fixed income asset classes of life insurance companies. In addition, this report analyzes the historical benchmark performance against default rates for the asset class being benchmarked.