Description: This article addresses the difficulties of risk modeling in a poor economic environment. The problems include imperfect vendors of data, facing events that have never occurred before, unpredictable consumer behavior, conflicting data sources, and AAA credit doesn't always mean AAA.

Description: 1993 SOA Meeting, Quebec. This session was about the impact of low interest rates. In 1993 the Moody's Aaa Corporate yields were near 8%. Topics included: 1. The effect by product line on different kinds of business. 2. The effect on merger and acquisition activity. 3. The interaction with tax 4. The interaction with regulatory changes.

Description: This session at the SOA 1990 Annual Meeting looks at global investing. Areas discussed include rationale for investing globally, fixed income opportunities, a model for active global investing, and other issues.

Description: 1993 SOA Meeting, Quebec. This session is about life company solvency. The speakers discussed whether they believe the industry has stabilized and gave us their perceptions on what the future holds and what companies can do to remain solvent. Topics included: 1. A quick solvency review. 2. Summary of the Duff & Phelps rating process. 3. The key issue facing the life insurance industry today - real estate. 4. How a rating agency views and uses RBC. 5. How to use ratings or, basically, what ratings are and what they aren't. 6. The future of the life, health, and annuity industry with respect to solvency. 7. The capital markets generally and their view of the life sector specifically.

Description: Discussion of the diversification activities of a number of life insurance companies. This includes the formation of, or acquisition of, property and casualty insurers, variable annuity companies, mutual fund management companies, banks, finance companies, leasing companies, real estate development companies, televisions and radio stations, newspapers, software consultants and other corporate enterprises. Discussion includes: 1. Activities really compatible with the llfe insurance product. 2. Activities otherwise compatible with corporate objectives or offering potentially large profit centers. 3. Activities which can be an excessive drain on corporate earnings and executive manpower 4. The actuary's role in these diversification activities. Then the discussion goes into a discussion of corporate planning models

Description: This presentation is an open forum, session 58OF, from the 2004 Spring Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held June 14-15 in San Antonio, TX. The panelists present both theoretical and practical perspectives of the role of assumed asset returns and credit spreads in determining the fair value of policyholder liabilities. They cover financial economics, how other financial service companies value liabilities, what factors go into determining an appropriate discount rate for insurance liabilities, and issues currently being debated by the International Accounting Standards Board [IASB], and the Financial Accounting Standards Board [FASB]. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 30, No. 2.