Description: Future mortality improvement has been a common assumption in life insurance and annuity pricing and forecasting for many years. However, experience over the last decade suggests this might be an assumption that merits reconsideration in the United States. This article will take a closer look at factors that impact mortality improvement trends and discuss why insurers may want to reevaluate product designs to better manage the associated mortality risk. We then introduce a product idea with this in mind, where premiums are based on a life expectancy index and insurers share the risk (and opportunity) or mortality improvement with policyholders.

Description: This article analyzes, understands, and discusses the impact of the upcoming Principle-Based Reserving (PBR) on non-variable deferred annuities.

Description: Actuaries can leverage cluster modeling to reduce model runtime and cloud compute costs, which can be a real concern as companies transition from an on-premise grid to a scalable cloud solution. We consider practical considerations associated with clustering, through both US statutory and US GAAP lenses. Lastly, the results from a variable annuity liability clustering case study are presented.

Description: Cluster modeling is emerging as a powerful technique to manage cloud costs and run time. It also enables quick responses to "what if" scenarios, and aids in attributing results between reporting cycles. In this webcast, we provide insight into cluster modeling, present case studies that focus on various key performance indicators and discuss the benefits and challenges to cluster modeling from an insurer’s perspective. We also discuss the considerations associated with moving from an on-prem based computing solution to a cloud-based approach.

Description: The objective of this article is to help indexed annuity writers understand the pricing practices and ALM strategies used by their peers in the industry, especially in light of the prevailing low interest rate environment and a possible rise in interest rates.