Description: A new reason for the inherent instability of the insurance business can be found in the literature of anthropology. The theory of plural rationalities, also known as Cultural Theory of Risk or simply Cultural Theory, posits that the world is populated by people with four fundamentally different attitudes toward risk. Presented at 2010 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, Society of Actuaries, April 12-15, 2010.

Description: This is the Introductory Study Note for the Society of Actuaries Advanced Finance/Enterprise Risk Management examination for Spring 2012 that will be given on Friday, April 27th, from 8:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Description: In the copula literature there are many bivariate distribution families but very few higher dimensional ones. Moreover, most of these are difficult to work with. Some of the bivariate families can be extended to more dimensions but in general the construction of distribution functions with more than two variables is a difficult problem. This paper introduces a construction method that is straightforward to implement and can produce multivariate distribution functions of any dimension.

Description: There appears to be many similarities between enterprise risk management techniques and the theory underlying the unified valuation system UVS. What are the challenges of each, and can the methods learn from each other? From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 27, No. 2: Toronto Spring Meeting.June 20–22, 2001, Session 58PD.

Description: Actuaries are trained to measure and manage risks, for example, mortality, morbidity, interest rate, and asset default risks. However, the range of risks to which companies are exposed is wider than is sometimes considered. This complex array of risks needs to be managed holistically in concert and not in isolation. The actuary is increasingly called upon to assist in this process and needs a broader perspective and more powerful toolkit. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 26, No. 3: Chicago Annual Meeting, October 15-18, 2000, Session 54PD.

Description: This article is an overview of the Financial Risk Managment of Insurance Enterprises course. The course incorporates financial risk management, asset pricing models and all risks facing an insurance company. The basics are then applied to asset-liability management and valuation.