Description: An article from The Actuary that highlights the strategic importance of inter-company mortality studies. Broad-based mortality studies form the backbone of the life actuarial profession. However, few companies have sufficient exposure or deaths to construct their own mortality table. Even is some large companies have enough data, there is still a vast majority of companies that do not. Historically, the void has been filled by means of inter-company studies.

Description: This article discusses David Garrick Halmstad and his ten volumes from the Skandia Insurance Group's International Symposia on various medical impairments. While many of the papers in the volumes are of interest primarily to medical directors, there are some in each volume dealing with epidemiology and statistics that could be of interest to actuaries. As an example there are papers on alcohol consumption which are discussed in detail in this article.

Description: This article is a book review of “Medical Risks: Patterns of Mortality and Survival,” by Richard B. Singer, MD, and Louis Levenson, FSA. The author of this review notes “monumental is an adjective one hears in reference to this book and it certainly seems apt both in regard to the tremendous amount of work in its preparation and, more importantly, its value to those to whom it is directed. The book contains a mine of information in the form of mortality indices relating to a large number of risk factors, mainly specific diseases, abnormal physical findings, or abnormal findings on medical tests.”

Description: This article describes the activities and results of an SOA Task Force on Expansion of Mortality and Morbidity Statistics which was formed to review the mortality and morbidity research undertaken and the statistics published outside the recognized actuarial organizations.

Description: This article is an introduction to the topic of mortality projections and their impact on social security systems. The article reviews two life expectancy graphs and overall trends in life expectancy by gender at birth and age 65 in the United States, Canada and the UK.

Description: Summary of the recently constructed 1967 Canadian Ordinary experience tables which, for the first time, were constructed separately for males and females.

Description: This article reviews the various functions and current activities of the The Society's Committee on Mortality under Ordinary Insurances and Annuities and summarizes the latest mortality experience study.

Description: The last of three articles on the 1983 Table a. The first two articles described the steps in contructing the 1973 Experience Table and the 1983 Table a. This article compares the reserves from the 1983 Table a to the 1971 IAM Table at various ages and by gender.

Description: This is the second of three articles. The first April issue told how the 1973 Experience Table was constructed. Outlined here are two steps: i projecting the values in the 1973 Experience Table to produce the 1983 Basic Table, and ii reducing the 1983 Basic Table q's to arrive at the recommended annuity valuation table called the 1983 Table a.

Description: This article summarizes two special mortality and lapse studies - experience on Term Conversions and Guaranteed Insurability Options between 1961 and 1966 policy anniversaries.