Description: Explores the open vs. closed systems debate with regards to actuarial modeling and exposes the over-simplification. Valuable for anyone who uses models.

Description: From a session at the Spring regional meeting of the Society of Actuaries held in Atlanta, Georgia, May 24-25, 1999 Equity-indexed products require an asset strategy that matches the equity options embedded in the liability. The panel discusses the following: A. Two asset strategies 1. Purchasing equity options that match the liability options: Is this a perfect match or are there still unhedged risks? 2. Dynamic hedging using the mathematics of “the Greeks”: Is it self-insuring? B. Accounting issues with these strategies

Description: The April 2016 Issue of The Modeling Platform

Description: Summary of NAIC's Winter National Meeting

Description: Article Disparate Origins Of Life And Non-Life Insurances by Beard in The Actuary, February 1979, Volume 13, Number 2

Description: A discussion of the possible effort required and impacts resulting from the implementation of C3 Phase II for establishing risk-based capital for variable annuities. This article will describe practical considerations gleaned from actual valuation calculations recently performed by a consulting firm.

Description: In physics and engineering education, Fermi problems require solutions based on good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, involving making justified guesses and deducing bounds without using sophisticated tools. The idea of Fermi problems are of particular relevance to today's actuaries, as pricing, reserving, and financial reporting involve more and more complex stochastic components. The paper discusses some approximate solutions developed in academia in the spirit of Fermi problems.

Description: A paper entitled “A Regime-Switching Model of Long-Term Stock Returns” appears in the April 2001 issue of the North American Actuarial Journal. In it, Dr. Mary Hardy describes a model for future equity returns and some reasons why that model might better reflect real equity price movements than the often-used lognormal model. The purpose of this article is to apply a two-regime model to variable annnuity GMDB pricing and compare the results to those from a lognormal model.

Description: The article describes the key components of actuarial model, leading practices in designing them, and characteristics of well-built models.

Description: The article explores impact of resetting cap vs static cap choice for the GLWB rider for a Fixed Index Annuity for a Point to Point. Moreover, analysis of a Monthly Sum Cap is provided showing impacts of particular choices of market models (e.g. Black, Heston, Bates) used to price this deal.