Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2000 A discussion of liquidity management for life insurance companies marketing institutional clients, in particular with respect to GIC contracts and Funding agreements. Topics included: · What happened at General American with their defaults on funding agreements. Why did the regulators and rating agencies miss the problems? · What was the impact of reinsurance? · What is the effect of adding institutional business such as putable funding agreements on liquidity management? · Are there prudent levels of this business that can be beneficial? · What is the effect of funding agreements with downgrade provisions on liquidity risks, and do such provisions create a preference for sophisticated institutional contract holders?

Description: From a session at a meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Diego, CA, June 22-23, 2000 Topics in this discussion include: 1 An overview of the municipal reinvestment market—size, current players, and historical development, 2 A comparison of muni-guaranteed investment contracts to stable value guaranteed investment contacts 3 Types of funds and contracts issued in this market, including contract provisions and risks 4 Roles that life insurers currently play in this market and 5 Use of structured companies or parent-supported subsidiaries.

Description: Highlights a new research paper on determining discount rates for pension plans, by John Turner. The paper breaks new ground on deciding on the appropriate discount rate for untradeable benefit obligations, with a comprehensive summary of the field.