Description: Future mortality improvement has been a common assumption in life insurance and annuity pricing and forecasting for many years. However, experience over the last decade suggests this might be an assumption that merits reconsideration in the United States. This article will take a closer look at factors that impact mortality improvement trends and discuss why insurers may want to reevaluate product designs to better manage the associated mortality risk. We then introduce a product idea with this in mind, where premiums are based on a life expectancy index and insurers share the risk (and opportunity) or mortality improvement with policyholders.

Description: This article details different methods for calculating mortality impact associated with new underwriting programs. A common simplified calculation is compared and contrasted with two first principles approaches. The strengths and weaknesses of both approaches are discussed.

Description: This article delves into the transformative realm of Business Intelligence (BI) tools. We explore the fundamental functionality and structure of these tools, and through case studies illustrate how they offer valuable insights into carrier experience and underwriting dynamics. From real-time data visualization to in-depth data analysis, discover the essential features that empower businesses to make better informed decisions.

Description: On October 30, 2015, the SOA Assumption Development and Governance Group, an informal discussion group consisting of nearly 200 interested actuaries with topics pertaining to actuarial assumption development and governance, organized an industry discussion call on end-to-end assumption documentation practices. The purpose of this call was to generate a large list of ideas for best-practice assumption documentation. More than thirty companies were represented in the call, including direct insurers, reinsurers and consulting firms. This article is the work product of the discussion written by Laurie Li and Alex Zaidlin.

Description: Milliman, Inc. recently conducted a survey of leading variable annuity insurers to better quantify the current dynamics of the GLB market. The scope of the Milliman survey included variable annuities that offered any type of GLB during calendar year 2004 and during the first quarter of 2005.

Description: Highlights from the 2002 Inter-Company Expense Study of U.S. Individual Life Insurance and Annuities.

Description: The SOA has developed a new “tool” using Microsoft Access/Excel for international actuaries to conduct mortality and persistency studies in conjunction with the SOA’s international experience study initiative. Professionally programmed, this new tool facilitates the work of international actuaries.

Description: The purpose of this survey is to provide international actuaries with benchmark assumption data.

Description: A summary of the 2001 Individual Life and Annuity Expense Study

Description: Article discusses the findings of the SOA International Experience Survey on embedded-value financial assumptions. It is intended to provide international actuaries with benchmark assumption data.