Description: This presentation is a panel discussion, session number 44PD, from the 2002 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 19-20 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The panelists share their perspectives concerning the current economic environment. They address the impact on the valuation environment and the appointed actuary, statutory and GAAP implications, and the increasing value of actuarial expertise. Topics covered include demographic considerations, rising health-care expenditures, increased investor scrutiny, and the cost of regulation, NAIC developments, solvency and liquidity, and investment opportunities and challenges in the current economic environment. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: Investment opportunities are driven by events in the economy and how participants in the financial markets react to those events. This keynote address will highlight current economic themes and their impact on investment opportunities.

Description: This panel discussion session presents social indicators using a variety of statistical approaches and relates them to societal changes. The concept of using mortality data as a social indicator is also discussed.

Description: This session discussion is about the government fiscal policies and the budget deficit. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 2.

Description: The image campaign for the actuarial profession is described. From Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 30, No. 3.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting presents a political version of risk assessment and risk analysis. The presenter looks at the politics and the political economy in place, some of the trends, parallels and potential problems. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4a.

Description: This general session features the keynote speaker from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 16-17 in New York. The theme of the session looks to the future in addressing the issues facing the economy, the insurance industry, and actuaries. Discussion from the floor is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 2.

Description: Interest rates steadily declining ever since the Volcker Fed tackled inflation in the early eighties. Ten years of stimulating monetary policy brought new lows. We should have braced ourselves for a return to neutrality, but that concept remains elusive. We will explore structural issues that have brought rates to these low levels and the potential impacts on the insurance business.

Description: In this session, we will explore investment solutions that aim to maintain the long-term viability of a pension plan, with considerations on hedging interest rates, credit, inflation, longevity and other risks, while accounting for the many particularities associated with underlying liabilities and their corresponding ramifications.

Description: This presentation at the SOA 1990 Dallas Spring Meeting is about the importance of good customer service and how taking care of the customer leads to a good bottom line.