Description: Discussion of AICPA Statement of Position 05-1: Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection With Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts.

Description: This article offers a possible resolution to certain circularity issues that may arise while implementing the SOP.

Description: Discussion of the existence of embedded derivatives and the consequent required accounting treatment in Modco and Similar Reinsurance Arrangements

Description: A discussion of alternative meanings to “Best” in best estimate. When one is trying to estimate a result that is normally distributed, the mean, median and mode will all equal one another. However if the results are not normally distributed, different variance metrics will result in different “best” estimates. When different parts of a financial statement use different criteria for measuring best estimates and different processes for handling variances, the results can be volatile, unpredictable and perhaps unreasonable.

Description: Implementation of Statement of Position 03-1 for Lapse Protected Life Products

Description: Discussions of alternative approaching to setting ascribed premiums for market risk benefits under FASB targeted improvements.

Description: Purchase GAAP for Equity-Indexed Annuities

Description: A review of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including a review of the need for life and health insurance actuaries to review and, in most cases, substantially strengthen their internal controls over financial reporting.

Description: A discussion of a possible replacement of FASB Statement No. 141 SFAS 141. The exposure draft was referred to in this article as “141R.” “141R” provides guidance for application of the acquisition method, which was previously called the purchase method in the case of business combinations. The draft requires that all business combinations including the merger of mutual insurance companies be accounted for by the acquisition method.

Description: Presents a practical solution to some of the distortion caused by a typical application of the retrospective assumption update (unlocking) method.