Description: A discussion of pension reform in China at the time of the July 1997 introduction of a new unified pension system.

Description: Identifying and submitting all appropriate ICD-9 diagnosis codes to CMS will result in a higher risk score for the member and increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Milliman's HCC prevalence study illustrates the significant variations in HCC prevalence rates by age/gender, geography, and population type and will assist plans in benchmarking the effectiveness of their own diagnosis code capture efforts.

Description: Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States and the only one of those causes that is trending in the wrong direction over the last 15 years. This article examines several aspects of suicide in the United States with a focus on its impact on the insurance industry. The findings were compiled from publicly available data through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from internal RGA data, and also from interviews with topic experts. The article highlights the difference in suicide rates between the general population and the insured population, the proportion of claims from suicide, the spike in suicide rates at the end of the contestability (or exemption period), and current thoughts from counseling experts on prevention. It also demonstrates an increase in suicide rates during times of economic turmoil.

Description: Part One of a three part discussion of A Social Security System for the 21st Century, this part focuses the broader international, social, political, cultural and economic trends that will govern the viability and sustainability of a social security system in the 21st century.

Description: This paper discusses the marketing implications of the baby boom generation and the aging of the Canadian population in general. From the Actuarial Research Clearing House 1991, Vol.1.

Description: The influenza pandemic of 1918-20 is recognized as having generally taken place in three waves, starting in the northern spring and summer of 1918. This pattern of three waves, however, was not universal: in some locations influenza seems to have persisted into or returned in 1920. The recorded statistics of influenza morbidity and mortality are likely to be a significant understatement. Limitations of these data can include nonregistration, missing records, misdiagnosis, and nonmedical certification, and may also vary greatly between locations. Further research has seen the consistent upward revision of the estimated global mortality of the pandemic, which a 1920s calculation put in the vicinity of 21.5 million. A 1991 paper revised the mortality as being in the range 24.7-39.3 million. This paper suggests that it was of the order of 50 million. However, it must be acknowledged that even this vast figure may be substantially lower than the real toll, perhaps as much as 100 percent understated.

Description: This is a summary of topics discussed at the 1996 Bowles Symposium: “The Old Age Crisis: Actuarial Opportunities,” September 26-27, 1996, at Georgia State University, Atlanta.

Description: Imagine that the insurance purchase process is a bridge. The customer is coming from one direction and crossing the bridge and the insurer is coming from the other side. The point at which they meet is the transaction point. At one time, customers were willing to completely cross the bridge to get to the insurer. They knew that they needed insurance, and like any retail purchase, they would “travel” to make it happen. Today, the insurers are normally the ones “journeying” across the bridge. This is the future of insurance — useful, convenient, intelligent protection that does its best analytic and protective work on the client-side of the bridge.

Description: Excellent big picture view for planning a social insurance system with pay-as-you-go, required self-funded, and voluntary plans.

Description: This article contains reviews of the following books published in 1959: 1. 'Pension Funds and Economic Power' by P. P. Harbrecht, 2. 'Retirement and Insurance Plans in American Colleges' by W. C. Greenough and F. P. King, 3. 'Elements of Vital Statistics' by B. Benjamin, and 4. 'Demography' by P. R. Cox. Notices of other articles and publications are also included. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1960, Vol. 12, No. 32.