Description: The industry sees extreme value in predictive modeling and its ability to help us meet customer demands and remain profitable, but do customers and regulators look at this as a favorable addition to our process? Hear from a dynamic panel of industry experts who will tackle a variety of issues and questions from the state of the regulatory environment to the responsibilities of the carrier.

Description: As accelerated underwriting continues to evolve, it is a delicate balance to ensure these programs are managed effectively for both short- and long-term results. And there's debate about whether these programs are getting too aggressive. Join panelists as they share their viewpoints on the state of accelerated underwriting, the data sources, models, tools and techniques commonly used, how the landscape is destined to change with more dynamic approaches in underwriting, and how best to monitor these programs, and the impacts of these programs to carriers and the industry as a whole.

Description: The old adage 'insurance is sold not bought' has been used to dismiss digital insurance and support the old agent model of distribution. However, modern distribution systems address this with personalization. This is not simply a customized application form based on age or gender. Personalization is much more dynamic and happens in real-time. It's about tailoring the end-to-end experience to meet the needs and expectations of the specific applicant. The core tools to achieve this are AI learning and nudges from behavioral science.

Description: With long duration targeted improvements in the U.S., and IFRS 17 in other countries, the insurance industry is currently undergoing the adoption of two of the most significant accounting changes in recent history. While the scale of these specific events are infrequent, change is the norm in the world of insurance and life of an actuary. We live in a dynamic environment that will continue to bring challenges in how companies make decisions in order maximize their value and return on capital. Capital management requires an ability for insurance companies to take corporate actions and understand the impact this will have on both the current and future available capital. Being able to make optimal decisions when the goal posts are subject to frequent and material shifts in accounting regulation is a difficult process. It requires holistic consideration of all tools available to manage capital and how KPIs can shift in their measurement under new regimes. By attending the session, you will: Discuss the challenges that companies have in managing capital in an ever evolving environment, what steps they have taken in managing the current scope of accounting change, and how they can be prepared for adjustments in the future.

Description: As results emerged showing the influence of COVID-19 on recent mortality, the Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program Steering Committee (MLPSC) began to ponder what it means for the future. Was the coronavirus pandemic just a temporary shock to U.S. mortality with mortality quickly returning to prepandemic levels upon its conclusion or a lingering factor in future U.S. mortality from the potential occurrence of new coronavirus variants, post-COVID-19 conditions (“long COVID”), deferral of needed health care treatment, a fatigued health care system and other elements? Only time will provide the answers to these questions.

Description: Read the April 2020 issue of Product Matters! published by the Product Development Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: Since the outbreak began in January, numerous research groups throughout the world have developed models to forecast the number of deaths that could result from COVID-19.

Description: The Smaller Insurance Company Section, the Committee on Life Insurance Research and the Product Development Section announce the release of a new report on the impact mortality credibility has on principle-based reserves.

Description: The Society of Actuaries are once again offering a seminar that investigates all aspects of life insurance, annuity and long term care product tax compliance. Developed by the Taxation Section, participants will be brought up-to-date on recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and learn about the newest tax issues related to product design and administration. Legal, IRS and product development experts will provide vital insights into the challenges of developing and administering products within the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), and allow ample opportunities for networking, questions and information exchange.

Description: This SOA research report produced by Kamakura Corporation helps illuminate credit risk modeling techniques within the life insurance industry. It includes a review of available research on the subject from academic and industry sources, the development and distribution of a survey on actual techniques used within the industry, and all associated analysis. The finance and economics literature review provides a historical review of academic research on credit modeling with Altman Z-scores, Merton’s structural model and more recent “reduced form models” The industry literature includes discussions of the various credit modeling techniques, factor-based approaches, credit migration models, structural models, reduced form models, hybrid models, actuarial models and credit scoring models. As credit risk modeling is an extremely broad topic, the scope of the survey is narrowed to particular asset classes and functions. There were 22 responses in total to the survey from locations in Canada, Europe and the United states.

Description: This report explains the concept and construction of the Market Consistent Embedded Value (MCEV) measure, as well as its usefulness as a profit/risk measure relative to other profit/risk measures currently used by insurance companies for various products. The knowledge from this research will assist actuaries, corporate leadaers, risk management professionals and others in understanding, implementing and comparing MCEV to current risk assessment tools utilized by insurance companies.

Description: The following topics were discussed at concurrent sessions: 1. Personal Security in the 1970's- United States and Canada, 2. Adjusted earnings for life companies, 3. Pension funding, 4. What about these younger actuaries?, 5. Sources of statistical information for actuaries, 6. Variable life insurance, 7. Models and decision techniques, and 8. Role of the actuary in expense control. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1970, Vol 22, Pt. 2, No. 63.