Description: This article discusses the risk-sharing arrangements provided by a number of different types of hybrid pensions, focusing on hybrid designs in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, with particular emphasis on the New Brunswick (Canada) shared risk plan.

Description: Key findings from a market research study which the SOA undertook as part of their strategic initiative: Untapped Opportunities for Actuaries in Health.

Description: Panelists discuss different aspects of self-selection among Medicare options. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 24, No. 2.

Description: A new health insurance pricing model takes external market prices into account, as well as regulatory rate restrictions and other traditional pricing factors. Rather than being assumed at the outset, lapse rates emerge from the model, along with assessment spiral & loss ratio projections. Under the model optimal pricing strategy depends on whether the class being rated has a healthier than average mix of risks.

Description: In an effort to build a bridge between epidemiological and actuarial modeling, this paper analyzes possible financial arrangements made against expenses resulted from medical treatments given to insured patients. Based on classical compartment models, the first part of this paper designs insurance policies for susceptible participants facing the risk of infection and formulates the financial obligations of both parties using actuarial methodology. For practical purposes, the second part employs a variety of numerical methods for calculating premiums and reserves. The last part illustrates the methods by designing insurance products for the Great Plague in Eyam and the SARS Epidemic in Hong Kong.

Description: The selection of the economic capital calculation approach becomes more of a modeling decision. Now let us pause here and think about the arbitrage-free assumption at the beginning. At any time, there can be only one price on any asset. If the company considers the price calculated above as the fair price for its products, then it must hold true that the same price has to be arrived at if the company uses a real-world pricing approach instead of a risk-neutral approach. This gives us a very good basis to calibrate the appro- priate economic capital.

Description: This panel discussion session looked at recent and proposed regulation of life insurance underwriting. Specific topics included: i. Problems with traditional underwriting classifications: privacy, disclosure, anti-discrimination, etc. 2. New and acceptable classifications: smoking, lifestyle, build, blood pressure, finances, etc. 3. Possible transition problems: existing policies, persistency, coordination of previous data with newer classes, etc.

Description: Description of new regulatory risk disclosure for private fund advisers.

Description: Companies need to learn to plan for uncertainty by taking into consideration downturns, not just an environment of moderation and occasional booms.

Description: To deal with future correlation crises, the author suggests the implementation of ‘’quanlitative analysts’’ (‘Quanls’) in the enterprise risk management (ERM) process: risk managers who are able to lead interdisciplinary ERM studies from a jointly qualitative and quantitative point of view, with an emphasis on dynamics.