Description: Performance measurement is not the primary purpose of either GAAP or statutory accounting. This article discusses alternative methods of reporting used by life insurance companies to better measure financial performance.

Description: Summary of the NAIC and SOA's PBR Survey.

Description: In May of 2001 the Credit Insurance Experience Committee was asked to respond to the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s request to the Society of Actuaries to develop a recommendation for a uniform national valuation standard for credit life insurance policy reserves. This document contains the recommendation along with supporting material.

Description: Written from a regulatory perspective, the article covers the purpose of regulation and some regulatory expectations. The topics include the appointed actuary's involvement in corporate governance, reasonability of results when compared to prior results, data quality, familiarity with the company's annual statement and applicable statutes, and areas where appointed actuaries can add value though services provided to smaller life insurance companies.

Description: A change in the way in which statutory life insurance and annuity reserves are determined in the United States is heading toward adoption. Currently, the Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum Regulation AOMR combines formulaic factor-based minimum reserves with reserve adequacy testing. The American Academy of Actuaries Academy is working with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC to finalize the basic framework of a principles-based reserve PBR methodology, based on a gross premium valuation, for life insurance products. The NAIC Life and Health Actuarial Task Force LHATF has also been considering Actuarial Guideline VACARVM that would introduce a PBR method for the valuation of variable annuity contracts.

Description: update on regulatory issues focusing on PBR

Description: Under non-Aristotelian logic, there are multiple values, or shades of gray. Indeed, there may even be unexpected results from logical combinations, like “both” and “neither.” This article discusses how this insight should be applied to the current debate between formula-driven reserves with limited assumption flexibility and the reserve principles approach. For reserve standards, we do need both actuarial judgment grounded in reserving principles and restrictive formula methods or safe harbors.

Description: A discussion of the possible effort required and impacts resulting from the implementation of C3 Phase II for establishing risk-based capital for variable annuities. This article will describe practical considerations gleaned from actual valuation calculations recently performed by a consulting firm.

Description: Discussion of asset adequacy analysis: various ways to comply with requirements

Description: A description of how auditors or examiners can evaluate whether PBR reserves are adequate and reasonable.