Description: Part II of a two-part series discussing individual market evolution from before the ACA through President Trump's first term.

Description: This article will focus on introducing where IFRS17 differs from US GAAP conceptually, and key aspects of this paradigm shift from actuaries’ perspective.

Description: This article examines the relationship, future and current, between insurance agents and technology and determines that technology can enhance/optimize agents.

Description: Recaps the evolution of VA products and hedging programs. Reflects on strategic considerations that contributed to relative performance in this market.

Description: Read the February 2017 issue of Taxing Times published by the The Taxation Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Up until recent past, the artificial intelligence portion of data science was looked upon cautiously due to its history of booms and flops . In the latest stream of events, major improvements have taken place in this field and now deep learning, the new leading front for Artificial Intelligence, presents a promising prospect for overcoming problems of big data.

Description: A discussion on how life insurers can improve the performance of their in-force portfolios.

Description: Metadata for entire issue

Description: Presents the results of the 2014 Life Reinsurance Survey - an annual survey showing new business writings and in force figures by reinsurance company for the North American life reinsurance industry (US and Canada)

Description: Essential Health Benefits and Actuarial Value

Description: Recaps April 2015 seminar on derivatives use for fund managers and insurers in China. Describes growth in Chinese derivatives market including CSI 300 futures

Description: This article summarizes the presentations by the Society of Actuaries and the Academy of Actuaries at the January 2015 National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) Roundtables in Washington DC. SOA presented on the 2014 SOA monograph series "The Link between Retirement Security and Long-Term Care."

Description: The author uses a reprint of an article from the very first edition of the “News from the Individual Life Insurance and Annuity Product Development Section” and assistance from the Taxation Section Council and Friends of that Council to decipher the changes between the life insurance tax environment back in the 1980s compared to today.

Description: The March 2013 issue of Reinsurance News

Description: This essay examines several key factors that have contributed to China’s success in the economic reform spanning the past three decades and the double-edged nature of these factors going forward.

Description: Excerpts of blast emails sent out by the SmallCo Section are highlighted, covering life insurance valuation, federal reserve action, and nonforfeiture interest rates.

Description: A discussion of the three kinds of reserve strengthening

Description: Feature article discussing guidelines for adopting ORSA.

Description: Feature article discussing how market interest rates and bond yields dropped in response to the global financial crisis in late 2008, and they have struggled to return to their prior levels, in part because the Federal Reserve has made efforts to spur growth and lending in a sluggish U.S. economy.

Description: Explanation of Medicare Advantage STAR rating program as it relates to payment rates for MA bids. Also describes important features of the program from an actuarial perspective, how the components of the STAR rating are calculated and implications and considerations for actuaries.

Description: Discusses the results of the SOA’s 2009 UL secondary guarantee study conducted by the Policy Behavior in the Tail PBITT working group.

Description: A discussion of insurance claims processing and payment systems, and how to achieve the minimum possible number of errors.

Description: Summary of recent SOA-sponsored research on Enterprise Risk Management practices as applied to health insurers, self-insured plans, and health finance professionals.

Description: NewsDirect article that discusses the benefits of automating the underwriting process. Underwriting speed, the east of case submission and sales support stand out as the most important factors.

Description: This article provides some insights into the creativity employed in cash flow testing to help ensure the sound survival of small companies that have limited means.

Description: Chairman’s corner addressing the many recent external events which have impacted the level of trust in the insurance industry and how this affects product and marketing success for the industry.

Description: This article discusses Variable Annuity products with significant guaranteed minimum benefits, and hedging strategies used by insurers due to the mark to market accounting requirements for these liabilities under GAAP. It focuses in particular on delta-hedging and the implications of the 2008 market volatility.

Description: Since the adoption of FAS 157, there has been much concern about the use of a company's own credit risk in the valuation of liabilities. To fully assess the implications of this requirement, the author argues that more research will be required.

Description: A study on stochastic simulation literature as it applies to a health actuary.

Description: This article discusses the implications of a principle-based reserve PBR system with respect to federal income taxation of life insurance companies, particularly with respect to tax reserves and their deductibility for tax purposes. The article discusses potential problems with existing tax rules for reserve deduction, what courses of action the IRS could take, and suggestions for design features of a PBR approach that would make it more consistent with current tax rules. Life insurance product tax implications are also discussed.

Description: Discussion of growth in popularity of UL products designed to focus on the guarantee of death benefit protection rather than cash value accumulation and some of the pricing and reserving issues with respect to those products

Description: Stochastic DAC Unlocking for Variable Annuity Products by Alastair Longley-Cook, Dick Shaw, Mike Sherrill, and Jay Vadiveloo from The Financial Reporter, March 2001, Issue No. 45.

Description: This analysis provides an overview of the functional components of the managed care system. It discusses the market forces underlying the United States’ system for health care financing and delivery and suggests how market forces impact the health care industry. The analysis focuses on societal goals for health care delivery and on managed care’s effectiveness in enabling achievement of those goals. The analysis develops and uses an innovative model developed to summarize the complex interplay among the many stakeholders, or participants, in the health care system. The model provides a framework for analysis of the many relationships among stakeholders. The analysis also highlights current issues in managed care, particularly the barriers that impede collaboration among stakeholders.

Description: Dynamically Hedging Insurance Product Risk by Marshall C. Greenbaum from Risks and Rewards Newsletter, April 2000, Issue No. 34. A dynamic hedging program cab be an effective solution to insurance company market risk management problems.

Description: A discussion of the causes of Jamaica’s Life Insurance and Financial Sector Crisis in the late 1990s and its impacts on the life insurance industry

Description: A discussion of where insurance companies and their products fit in the retirement asset market and trends over the past few decades. Some historical data on the insurance companies' share of retirement assets is included.

Description: Panelists discuss different aspects of self-selection among Medicare options. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: Discussion of Forecast 2000, the actuarial profession's public relations program.

Description: This article explores a study by the Actuarial Profile Research Project about personality differences between U.S. and Canadian actuaries.

Description: Discussion of the skills actuaries need going forward to be successful, and hence, incorporated into the new actuarial exam syllabus.

Description: A new mortality valuation standard, the 1994 Group Annuity Reserve Table, is being proposed for new group pension business. This article discusses the industry concerns with the change from a static table to a generational table based upon mortality improvement factors.

Description: Book review of a book on pensions written by Ralph Nader and Kate Blackwell. Review is relatively balanced, yet clearly points out the shortfalls of the analysis put together by Mr. Nader and Ms. Blackwell.