Description: This paper addresses controversies related to Zillmer Reserves first proposed in the 1860's and discusses how actuaries can learn form these dilemmas and find a review of the controversy useful in more current practice. The paper was presented at the 25th Actuarial Research Conference held at the University of Western Ontario in 1990. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1991, VOL. 1.

Description: August Zilmer 1831-1893, a Prussian actuary best known for the development of preliminary term valuation, also made some observations on life insurance accounting that seem quite contemporary. Zillmer also wrote the first comprehensive German actuarial mathematics text in almost a century.