Description: This presentation is from the Digest of Informal Discussion, Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955 Volume 7, Number 17. This discussion on technology reviews recent [as of 1955] uses of electronic data processing equipment and major computer installations. The speakers also look at the prospects of joint use of large-scale installations by two or more companies, and discuss specific actuarial activities that can be accommodated by electronic data processing machinery, such as calculation of dividends, cash values, and policy reserves.

Description: This general discussion focused on: A. The increase on maximum limits on single premiums accepted based on investment conditions, B. Steps a smaller company might take to meet the current demand for pension plans, C. The extent to which companies have: 1. Transferred to their field or district offices functions which had previously been performed in the home office 2. Transferred to the home office or to central collection offices functions which had previously been performed in agency offices D. Steps taken to revise or supplement company retirement plan benefits to recognize higher salary scales and the possibility of still further inflation, E. The advantages and disadvantages of the Bank Loan Plan under which a policyholder purchases a limited payment life policy and borrows part of the premium from a bank, and F. Changes which have been made in War Exclusion Riders, Disability and Double Indemnity provisions.

Description: The topic of this discussion focused on the new methods of calculation, processing, and valuation using electronic equipment. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1955, Vol. 7, No. 19.