Description: There are many investigations probing the relationship between health outcomes [such as mortality rate, fertility rate] and economic variables [such as rise in income] and other variables [such as level of education, availability of clean water]. Usually, these results are demonstrated using data from countries where economic conditions are improving over time along with health outcomes. This paper studies the links between health risks and the current economic conditions in Mexico where general mortality conditions improved during the period 1980-2000 but income fell.

Description: This paper investigates the use of models of dependent mortality for determining annuity values. We discuss a broad class of parametric models using a bivariate survivorship function called a copula. Using data from a large insurance company to illustrate our methods, we calculate maximum likelihood estimates to calibrate the rnodel.

Description: Provides an in-depth review of Canadian occupational mortality and morbidity - disability - experience. This includes population and insured data up to 1981.

Description: What are the possible future implications to insurance companies of significant improvements in mortality? How can futurism techniques be used in research? The formation of the mortality improvement study group at the Principal Financial Group was the first step toward examining the issue of mortality improvement. In an interactive format, we will present what we learned about mortality and futurism techniques by participating in this group.

Description: Demography is a very exciting subject. With a simple mathematical model, students can project a country's population forward 25, 59, 75 even 100 years. This paper will focus on six ideas from demography. They all can be useful to an actuary, yet none of them would be considered at any length if the actuary didn’t study demography.

Description: The differences between select and ultimate insurance mortality are usually explained in terms of: 1. deterioration of a person's physical condition which occurs due to aging, and 2. anti-selection which occurs as some policyholders allow their coverage to lapse [i.e., those policyholders who find their health has become poor keep their coverage, while those who remain healthy discontinue their insurance]. This paper explores the differences in mortality between companies related to the differences in lapse rates of the companies.

Description: In this paper we shall present our results in terms of the estimation of human mortality rates, but the results carry over to other applications. We shall discuss a Bayesian model that encompasses both graduation [smoothing] and prediction.

Description: Series of letters discussing the controversial Gershenson formula for calculating exposures for mortality tables at the end of the observation period.

Description: This study provides statistical indications of trends in mortality at ages 10 through 34 for both males and females in Canada. Causes of death, with emphasis on suicide and accidental death rates, are explored.

Description: In this paper, we study a survival regression model known as Cox's proportional Hazards model. We assume that the data available are already grouped and develop a minimum distance estimation procedure that is also applicable when the data are also left or right censored. Asymptotic properties of the estimators are established and the numerical implementation of the method based on an iterated reweighted least squares algorithm is discussed.