Description: This article delves into a new line of statistical thinking of the author, that may be useful for product development actuaries. The key concept is how product design can produce products that diversify quickly, meaning that the company can be confident of a profitable product line, based on fewer sales than might be true for other designs.

Description: Mortality Table Slope and Future Improvements

Description: This article contains a summary of some of the presentations given at the May 2013 SOA Life & Annuity Symposium. This article does not cover all sessions that are related to product development, but shares observations that have been made by various members of the SOA Product Development Section Council.

Description: Article analyzes the value of a discounted accelerated benefit provision and suggests that it might be more generous than expected.

Description: This is an excel spreadsheet with some data pertaining to an article of the same name from the Product Development News

Description: This article gives an overview of the types of chronic illness acceleration riders that are now becoming prevalent in the US life insurance marketplace. The article discusses features that risk control measures that one may wish to consider when designing such an accleration rider.

Description: This article gives examples of how an actuary can live by the actuarial motto of substituting facts for appearances. The specific examples given are setting the mortality for table shaved individual life business and setting late duration lapse assumptions for level term business.

Description: discussion of arbitrage possibilities cause by inconsistent mortality pricing assumptions in annuity products vis. a vis. life insurance products

Description: It is worth the effort to obtain a pricing surface. It helps make an informed decision and facilitate the pricing conversation within and outside a company.