Description: How insurers can include a liquidity score and liquidity stress scenarios as part of their asset liability management (ALM) protocol.

Description: The Federal funds rate increased by 4.25% in 2022 with further increases in 2023, which have already resulted in a liquidity crisis for a few banks. As the rapid increase of the interest rates pushed the new money rates above the yields of many life insurers’ investment portfolios, insurance companies are facing a dilemma between compressed margins from peer pressure and the concern with liquidity shortfalls and realized capital losses should mass surrenders happen. This paper discussed main emerging risks under rising interest rate environment, and several ways to mitigate these risks.

Description: In this article, we summarize inflationary factors that may result in a sharp increase in interest rates and implications for life insurer convexity risk exposure, most notably to dynamic policyholder lapsation. We further provide insights into potential ALM strategies to mitigate this convexity risk. Due to the prolonged low-interest rate environment and low minimum interest rate guarantees offered to policyholders, liability convexity is higher than prior historical periods, which results in life insurers’ ALM positions being extremely vulnerable to short-term interest rate spikes. Convexity mismatches cause issues for life insurers under both rising and declining interest rate scenarios. This means that life insurers are not compensated for taking convexity risk and, therefore, convexity matching should always be considered in the asset optimization process. There are mixed signals from policymakers and financial markets regarding potential inflationary and sharply rising interest rate scenarios. The key takeaway is that life insurers are not compensated for taking convexity risk and it is the right time for insurers to review convexity exposure. There are different approaches available to mitigate convexity exposure through rebalancing of asset positions and hedges within each life insurer’s risk limits.

Description: In this article, we summarize inflationary factors that may result in a sharp increase in interest rates and implications for life insurer convexity risk exposure, most notably to dynamic policyholder lapsation. We further provide insights into potential ALM strategies to mitigate this convexity risk. Due to the prolonged low-interest rate environment and low minimum interest rate guarantees offered to policyholders, liability convexity is higher than prior historical periods, which results in life insurers’ ALM positions being extremely vulnerable to short-term interest rate spikes. Convexity mismatches cause issues for life insurers under both rising and declining interest rate scenarios. This means that life insurers are not compensated for taking convexity risk and, therefore, convexity matching should always be considered in the asset optimization process. There are mixed signals from policymakers and financial markets regarding potential inflationary and sharply rising interest rate scenarios. The key takeaway is that life insurers are not compensated for taking convexity risk and it is the right time for insurers to review convexity exposure. There are different approaches available to mitigate convexity exposure through rebalancing of asset positions and hedges within each life insurer’s risk limits.

Description: This report introduces actuaries and risk managers in the insurance and pension industries to current literature discussing growth rates in the past and future expectations.

Description: This study is intended to educate insurance professionals on historical insurer impairments and insolvencies and possible future prevention indicators.

Description: Reviews basic desirable features in an economic scenario generator. Discusses basics of model structure and validation process

Description: This article delves into the challenges and opportunities of the Asian insurance market, focusing on insurance investment management.

Description: New Zealand is about to launch its first variable annuity with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits. The product design is mindful of the lessons from the financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Description: The article explores the use of economic capital modeling to deliver value to clients by improving the financial security of many individual lives around the world in a cost-effective way.

Description: Decomposes guaranteed minimum maturity benefit option into a basket of components, and values each component with both a Black-Scholes model and a regime-switching GARCH model. Performs sensitivity analysis on dynamic lapse assumption.

Description: This study aimed to study primarily the impact of market performance on a pension plan’s ability to meet its obligations.

Description: ERM and Investment strategies for healthcare companies

Description: Regime switching models have become a popular tool in econometric time series modeling since their introduction in Hamilton [1989].These models have been widely applied for equity-returns for investment guarantees. A prominent risk management challenge is hedging these guarantees, given the equity regime switching process. This presentation develops some methodologies for regime-switching portfolio replication and use real world data to demonstrate and evaluate their effects. A Bayesian approach for regime switching model fitting is used, which allows for the examination of the robustness of each of the optimization methods when parameter uncertainty is present.

Description: This paper looks at the problem of valuing and managing the ALM risks associated with insurance liabilities that are too long to be matched by available investments. Two options were explored and the paper concludes by arguing that the Static Control Model leads to more useful ALM strategies for long liabilities.

Description: This is an interview with Prakash Shimpi who talks about enterprise risk management, research and development. From News Direct, September 2005, Issue No. 51.

Description: This specialty guide is a background reading list reference for the practice of asset-liability management 'ALM'. It is intended to provide guidance to anyone seeking to gain knowledge regarding ALM, especially with respect to its application to financial security systems such as life or health insurance, property and casualty insurance and pensions.

Description: The creation of the short/long portfolio is the essence of the intermediation business. The result is that the efficiency of use of capital in the economy is improved, and economic growth is facilitated. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.

Description: This monograph strives to define a mission for the modern insurance industry, its place in the financial intermediation network, and the role of Asset/Liability Management in that mission from the perspective of what is known about capital markets and practiced in financial engineering.

Description: Discussion of Human capital and its implicit asset and liability cash flows how insurance companies could help measure and provide products to help match up the timing of those cash flows. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.

Description: An overview of the principles, underlying theories, and the various strategies employed in Asset/Liability management. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.

Description: Discussion of the insurance purchase decision for corporations, using an ALM perspective of utilizing insurance to maximize the net present value of cash inflows minus out flows. Also discusses how ALM concepts can be used to value a corporation, using discounted values of cash inflows minus outflows and the risks the corporation faces with respect to the amounts or timing of those cash flows. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.

Description: Generally, the assets acquired by financial institutions have their values determined by established capital markets. However, the firm's liabilities become customer's' private placement assets and their value must be calculated by the firm. This monograph discusses the theoretical bases for modeling the liabilities consistently with the assets. From Asset-Liability Integration, M-FI02-1.

Description: From a session at the 2001 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, November 29-30, 2001 Teaching session covering the development of realistic liability models for use in asset adequacy analysis, asset/liability management, pricing/repricing, financial reporting or other corporate purposes. The primary focus is modeling issues for variable product features, such as minimum living or death benefit guarantees on both variable life and annuities, annuity death benefit enhancements, and variable immediate annuities. Topics include: • Analysis of the special risks posed by these products • Selecting realistic dynamic assumptions • Techniques used in modeling these products • Scenario testing and result presentation to best communicate risks

Description: From a session at the annual meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Chicago, Illinois, October 15-18, 2000 Discussion of purposes and approaches for creating interest-rate scenarios.

Description: From a session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 Discussion of newer and more innovative investment structures and the modeling of these securities in cash-flowing testing and asset/liabilities management analysis.

Description: From an interactive forum session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 This interactive forum addressed the major financial reporting issues and concerns of senior actuaries in life insurance companies.

Description: From a teaching session at the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium held in Washington DC, September 14-15, 2000 Discussion of realistic liability models for use in asset adequacy analysis, asset/liability management, pricing/repricing, financial reporting, or other purposes.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion, session number 9PD, from the 2000 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 14-15 in Washington, DC. A fundamental assumption in stochastic asset/liability modeling is the underlying economic scenario generator. In this session the panelists discuss various scenario generation techniques, assumptions underlying bond and equity scenario generators, and choosing suitable economic scenario generators for different applications. Discussion from participants is included.

Description: This presentation is from session number 43, presented at the 1999 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held September 23-24 in Los Angeles. Increasingly, many insurance companies are enhancing the regulatory cash-flow testing for quantitative analysis of their operations. Enhancements include adding new business, extension of the New York 7 scenarios, and other ways of getting value in addition to compliance. Panelists discuss how widespread the practice of leveraging cash-flow testing is to create a strategic, quantitative tool to support management decision making.

Description: This literature guide is a background reading reference for the practice of asset-liability management 'ALM'. It is being published to offer guidance not only to actuaries seeking to gain knowledge on ALM as it relates primarily to life and health insurance, but also to practitioners in the property and casualty insurance and pension fields.

Description: 1998 Valuation Actuary Symposium. The panelists discussed how asset liability management is synonymous with a dynamic financial analysis and quantitative risk management. Topics covered were systems implementations including asset risk exposure optimization given a company-specific set of liabilities and total risk exposure optimization, which includes stochastic analysis of alternative asset and liability strategies.

Description: 1998 Valuation Actuary Symposium. The panelists discussed the keys to an effective Asset Liability Management process and the conceptual tools that they're using, including value-at-risk, optimization techniques, and holistic ALM.

Description: Presented at October 1996 Annual Meeting. Recent surveys on asset/liability management 'ALM' practices provide the basis for this discussion of ALM practices in the insurance industry. Participants discuss the tools and techniques used by their companies.

Description: Presented at 1995 Valuation Actuary Symposium. Discusses the evolving nature of the work of the valuation actuary, including asset liability management, cash flow testing and the responsibilities of the valuation actuary in management decisions.

Description: This article announces the release of a handbook written by the DFCA Task Force for assisting actuaries who are doing Dynamic Financial Condition Analysis.

Description: 1995 Valuation Actuary Symposium. In this session panelists discussed how cash-flow testing models can be used to provide significant Asset/Liability Management information, making the transition from cash-flow testing to ALM, definitions of ALM, the key assumptions in ALM, and evaluating results.

Description: This guide lists literature sources that an actuary can use to gain knowledge on investments and asset/liability management. It can be viewed as a preliminary road map for the actuary seeking direction to enhance his or her knowledge in these areas. The emphasis of this guide is on fixed-income securities.

Description: 1994 SOA Spring Meeting, Orlando. This session is about Asset/Liability Management from property and casualty and life insurance perspectives in Europe and North America.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The panelists discuss the duties and responsibilities of appointed actuaries, including compliance with qualification standards and actuarial standards of practice. They discuss the United States, where new regulations were recently adopted by the National Association of insurance Commissioners [NAIC], developments in Canada, where new legislation is expected to pass, and also world practice, looking at Europe and the U.K. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: This presentation is a panel discussion from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The panelists discuss the obligations and requirements with respect to cash flow testing for yearend 1991, at that time contained in Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 14. Topics include difficulties in the cash-flow testing process, such as asset and liability construction and assumptions, and strategy. Other topics are interpretation of results, how to cost-justify cash-flow testing, Canadian cash-flow techniques and issues, and asset liquidation versus borrowing. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4A.

Description: Discusses asset and liability modeling for collateralized mortgage obligations [CMOs]. Assumes knowledge from previous Session 3. Session 8 of the 1991 Valuation Actuary Symposium.

Description: The excess spread approach introduced in this paper addresses the true economic profitability of investment oriented products by looking at the spread between the earnings rate on the assets and the rate required to be earned on the assets to satisfy the liabilities. For many products, an important part of the liability cost is the value of interest rate options embedded in the policies. The excess spread approach incorporates an option-pricing technique that is sufficiently flexible to handle different interest rate environments.

Description: This session at the SOA 1990 Hartford Spring Meeting is about asset segmentation, i.e. segmenting assets among lines of business or liabilities, and how this enhances asset/liability mangement.

Description: This session discussion is about synchronization of crediting rates and investment strategies. What are the mechanisms for achieving coordination? How is the process affected by the insurance market? By the capital market? What is the effect of policy design? From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 3B.

Description: This session discussion is about various asset related items that are needed to perform necessary projections. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 15, No. 2.

Description: Panelists – including a New York state insurance regulator, an insurance-company qualified actuary, and a consulting actuary – discuss initial results from the NY filings for 1986 and 1987, the challenges complying with Reg 126, and what companies have learned so far from it. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 3.

Description: Panelists discuss: [1] a way to study interest-rate risk using stochastic methods, [2] a conceptual framework needed to evaluate the suitability of an investment strategy for insurance liabilities, and [3] how one company [Capital Holding] develops investment strategies and asset/liability management policies. From the 1988 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 14, No. 2.

Description: Panelists discussed: [1] investment products oriented toward asset/liability matching, [2] asset/liability management [ALM] including the C-1 and C-3 Risks, [3] current ALM practices among life insurance companies, and [4] regulatory developments in this area. From the 1987 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 13, No. 4B.

Description: This presentation made up Sessions 1 and 2 at the 1987 Valuation Actuary Symposium. The presenters discuss cash flow analysis in light of the valuation actuary concept. Asset and liability cash flows are looked at under different economic scenarios. Future interest rates, investment and reinvestment strategy are included in the discussion of scenario generation. Stochastic scenarios and the number of scenarios are discussed.

Description: This Open Forum was Session 7A at the 1987 Valuation Actuary Symposium. In discussing taxes, it was noted that given that the valuation actuary concept has not been finalized, and that current tax reserves are formula driven, the ultimate tax implications are not known. The reinsurance discussion notes that “the most important reinsurance issue for the Valuation Actuary is the future collectability of reinsurance cash flows.” Discussion of asset/liability matching techniques from other industries included continuing care retirement facilities and the banking industry.

Description: Vendor representatives discuss their ALM systems, what they do and don't do, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Also includes a comparative survey of the capabilities of a number of the existing systems. From the 1987 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 13, No. 3.

Description: Discusses a case study based on an actual asset/liability management situation, and is reviewed by the consulting actuary, the chief executive officer and the investment officer involved. From the 1987 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 13, No. 3.

Description: In this paper, chapter III of the 1987 Valuation Actuary Handbook, the authors discuss building a liability model to evaluate the C-3 risk. The article discusses the data and assumptions needed, and the importance of sensitivity testing given that the model results are very sensitive to the assumptions used.

Description: This paper was published as chapter II of the 1987 Valuation Actuary Handbook. The authors discuss basic tools for analyzing cash flows, including duration, scenario testing and accumulation vs. present value approach. Discounting of cash flows is discussed including the limitations of using a level interest rate. The final section discusses discounting of interest sensitive cash flows, including a discussion of the disadvantages and advantages of duration analysis. The paper concludes that “duration analysis cannot replace traditional simulations analysis but should be seen by the valuation actuary as a valuable adjunct.”

Description: From the 1986 Valuation Actuary Symposium, held in Washington DC in October 1986 Examination of the nuts and bolts of cash flow testing analysis.

Description: Presented at May 1986 Spring Meeting. This session discussion is about the purposes, tools and methods available, scenario testing, updating, special issues and problems. This discussion anticipates the development of new Valuation Actuary reserve adequacy opinion requirements.

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium Demonstration of the usefulness of the concepts of duration, interest rate sensitivity and, in particular, market values in analyzing the ability of assets to meet future liability demands.

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium Discussion of techniques for determining capital requirements needed to support an insurance business, based on the nature of the assets and liabilities on the books and related investment strategies, using ALM modeling

Description: From the 1985 Valuation Actuary Symposium Discussion of the practical application of cash flow testing in the valuation process.

Description: This presentation from the 1983 SOA Vancouver Meeting covers the actuaries' role in matching assets and liabilities, hedging, disintermediation risk and determining the appropriate level of surplus, the future of products with market value cash out adjustments and indexation in the construction of long term debt instruments. From Record of Society Of Actuaries Vol. 9. No. 3

Description: This panel discussion, which occurred at the October 1982 Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting in Washington D.C., presented information on the management of assets in relationship to liabilities. The information was based on a report from the C-3 Risk Task Force. Topics included: 1. Design of investment strategies to develop cash flow patterns appropriate with the liabilities. 2. Structuring the company to assure that investment returns are channeled to appropriate lines of business. 3. Valuing liabilities to appropriately recognize the relationship between assets and liabilities. 4. Should the actuary be concerned with certification of assets as well as liabilities? 5. Equity among lines contributing to investable cash flow.

Description: The Society's Task Force to Study Risk of Loss from Changes in the Interest Rate Environment C-3 Risk Task Force was formed in March 1981 with the charge to quantify C-3 risk. The Task Force made a preliminary report as part of a panel discussion on C-3 risk at the Society's October 1981 meeting in Atlanta. This presentation provides an update on the progress to date and its future plans.

Description: Presentation of asset liability management techniques to better manage interest rate risk by matching the anticipated cash flows from assets with that of the companies liabilities. Some alternative perspectives/techniques from Canadian insurers are discussed. Article discusses the varying asset/liability management issues pertinent to life insurance companies and defined benefit plan sponsors

Description: This panel discussed studies of the risk of loss due to changes in the interest rate environment. It addressed why the C-3 risk is important and how inflation and stability in interest rates can affect the financial soundness of life insurance companies. There was also a discussion of the theoretical work being carried out to calibrate the C-3 risk of variation in interest rates and to what extent the valuation actuary can properly recognize the risk of loss from changes in the interest rate environment within the framework of valuations laws and regulations.