Description: The problem of estimation of a tabular survival model from complete samples is considered from a Bayesian approach. If a life test involves a large cohort group, then data is typically given as a grouped data set. The survival function St is usually estimated by the moment estimator. We approximate the joint prior distribution of the unknown unconditional failure probabilities by a Dirichlet distribution, and then use a linear relationship between St and the conditional survival probabilities to obtain a Bayes estimator of St.

Description: This paper is written totally under present Indian conditions, but keeping an eye on the future, when there will be number of insurers, and this model can be applied to any condition where a number of insurers already exist. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to measure, from the point of view of a potential life insurance policyholder, the quality of the insurers and the variability between them so that it will be helpful for potential policyholders to choose their insurers according to their requirements.

Description: An updated and expanded translation of the 1863 Theory of Life Insurance Premium Reserves by Dr. August Zillmer, Stettin, Prussia. This is a seminal paper for the life insurance reserve method used extensively in Europe.

Description: This paper develops a theory for the valuation of some kinds of interest sensitive cash flows. A process is derived which takes as input, assumptions about the capital markets and policy holder behaviour, and produces as output interest and decrement assumptions which can be used for conventional actuarial discounting. The methodology is illustrated using some idealized, but tractable, models of conventional non-par whole life insurance. The method is also applied to a simple Universal Life plan. The paper concludes by considering some of the problems encountered when applying the ideas to more practical problems.

Description: The following problem is from the 1968 Society of Actuaries Part 4 Examination on Life Contingencies. It is an instructive problem because it interweaves joint-life functions with single-life reserves.

Description: Mr. Robert L. Brown's response to previously published solutions 14.6 and 15.3 of the New Life Contingencies. Also mentioned is the new Canadian reserve standard.

Description: This paper is about an actuarial curiosity which arose as part of a larger study exemplified by a two year term life insurance policy. The curiosity is the relationship between the additional premium requirement for a substandard policy and the interest rate assumption.

Description: We present a method to calculate the percentile of the distribution of the present value of the death benefit for a continuous deferred whole life Insurance.

Description: The analytical laws of mortality such as Gompertz and Makeham are often used by actuaries to describe the survival distributions. Numerical approaches to evaluate features such as mean and variance of these distributions may be very difficult not to mention the characteristics of their life contingent functions.

Description: This paper uses a hypothetical game to illustrate issues facing the life insurance industry, specifically distribution costs.