Description: This panel discussion is from the 1991 Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held May 16-17 in New York. The panelists discuss emerging trends in the financial condition of the life insurance industry, how the financial condition of a company is determined by the rating agencies, and the value and reliability of ratings with respect to a company’s current and future financial condition. The potential role of actuaries, the value of the statutory financial statements, the users of the ratings, and how they affect the rated companies are discussed. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 2.

Description: We apply decision theory to develop a credibility formula that minimizes a loss function that is a linear combination of a squared-error term and a second-derivative term. The squared-error term measures the accuracy of the estimator, while the second-derivative term constrains the estimator to be close to linear.

Description: Asset cash flow modeling and asset assumptions are growing in importance with PBR especially considering the low interest rate environment. The Academy’s Life Practice Council and Life Valuation Committee have formed a Low Interest Rate Asset Adequacy Testing Task Force which has conducted an industry survey to raise awareness and summarize the actuarial best practices for financial reporting actuaries practicing in today’s very low interest rate environment. As the scrutiny on the asset side ratchets up, actuaries must consider how best to develop the asset assumptions as well as model the reinvestment and disinvestment strategies. Coherent assumptions and modeling practices across modeling exercises are expected while respecting the purpose of each calculation.

Description: 1994 SOA Spring Meeting, Orlando. This session on credit risk presented a comparative survey of recent and ongoing research related to asset credit risk, and it provided analysis of SOA 1986-89 credit risk data.

Description: From a session at the Spring meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Antonio, Texas, June 14-15, 2004 This session covers different methods for estimating future volatility of financial markets, how to predict the effect of volatility on insurance company results, alternative approaches to managing volatility and the impact on volatility management on the choice of modeling method.

Description: Panelists at this session of the SOA 1998 Maui I Spring Meeting presents their approach to an integrated risk management framework that assesses the level of risk in the organization and where it lies on the balance sheet.

Description: 1993 SOA Annual Meeting in New York. This session is about an intercompany study on credit risk of private placement bonds and commercial mortgages. The development of the study, results for the 1986-1989 period, ongoing nature of the study, and company leverage were discussed.

Description: From a session at the Spring meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in San Antonio, Texas, June 14-15, 2004 Speakers discuss the approaches to quantifying investment risk, including the credit risk subcomponent and mismatch risk sub-component in the three different types of risk-based capital RBC framework commonly used, such as regulatory, rating agency and company-specific economic-based formulas.

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: Presented at May 2005 Spring Meeting. This session examines financial, economic and traditional actuarial methodological approaches used for solving investment-risk problems.