Description: Life and annuity markets around the world have seen increasingly complex investment-combined products, including universal life, fixed indexed annuities, variable annuities with a wide variety of guaranteed benefits and indexed variable annuities. Insurance companies are facing unprecedented exposure to financial risks in addition to traditional mortality and longevity risks. The risk assessment and modeling for such complex designs by conventional methods often focus heavily on their market competitiveness and profitability. However, there seems to be a lack of quantifiable and systematic approaches to assess investment risks associated with investment combined products. The objective of the proposed work is to develop a framework for quantifying and analyzing various forms of contractual designs and showcase different techniques to assess the trade-off between competitive contractual designs and their practical implications regarding the difficulty of risk management.

Description: This paper applies the research in Prospect Theory of Kahneman and Tversky to explain why sales of annuities lag sales of life insurance products. The author theorizes that life insurance is easier to sell because customers perceive themselves to be in the domain of losses, while potential annuity customers perceive themselves to be in the domain of gains. Kahneman and Tversky showed us that people are mostly risk averse in the domain of gains and risk seeking in the domain of losses. Purchase of an annuity or life product is a risky investment. Customers will find it easier to take the risk in the life insurance domain of losses than the annuity domain of gains. The author then proposes a hybrid life annuity product that might address both mortality and longevity risk in one product that would allow both products to be more competitive than stand-alone products.

Description: Joint Risk Management Section chairperson's corner, June 2023

Description: Chairperson's summary of Joint Risk Management Section (JRMS) Council accomplishments during the 2021-2022 Section Council year, as part of the December 2022 Risk Management newsletter. Includes an introduction to new council members, appreciation to those departing the Council, and introduces the new JRMS Council Leadership. Discusses the accomplishments made, areas of focus and activities underway which benefit JRMS Section members.

Description: Letter from the chairperson of the section recapping 2020 accomplishments and stating 2021 goals.

Description: it discusses the framework and modeling of the market consistent valuation of fixed indexed annuity, against the backdrop of the convergence of accounting standards and internal risk management.

Description: An update on the activities of the JRMS Council.

Description: An update to the risk management readers on what the JRMS is planning to do over 2023 to serve its membership.

Description: Review and Preview of this year's Continuing Ed opportunities via the webinar medium for risk practitioners

Description: An update on the activities of the JRMS