Description: The article provides an introduction to the Stock Value Approach to enterprise risk management (ERM). A clear path toward implementation of comprehensive and pragmatic ERM is shown. The framework is underpinned by a company's goals as they relate to growth of the value of the company stock price.

Description: The abstract for the paper New Retirement Plan Designs for the 21st Century.

Description: Article describing how the process and means for an actuarial education has changed over the years.

Description: The author shares the story of his actuarial career and provides insight into the development of retirement today and the past and future of the pension actuary.

Description: At its November meeting, the Society of Actuaries Board considered the report of the Accreditation Implementation Task Force and approved the Task Force's recommendations regarding accreditation and 'alternative route'.

Description: This is an abstract of presentation from 39th Actuarial Research Conference, 8/5-7/2004, University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. In this talk, we examine the modeling of insurance losses resulting from natural catastrophes, particularly losses to residential and commercial structures as a result of earthquakes. The model proposed can also be used for other types of natural catastrophes such as floods and hurricanes.

Description: Using data from 12,571 publicly traded U.S. industrial firms spanning 1980 to 2004 for which quarterly firm specific financial variables and macroeconomic variables are available, this is the abstract of a paper that estimates the probability of bankruptcy/merger for each company and hence a prediction of bankruptcy/merger in the next quarter.

Description: There is a large literature on claims reserving. However most of the stochastic models are too complex and end up being a black box for practitioners. They also tend to be over parameterized, which has the effect that they tend to model historical observations very accurately, but they do not necessarily perform well when predicting future claims. This paper applies a Bayesian method that was developed for forecasting very short series with stable [seasonal] patterns. It is constructed on basic Bayesian concepts and leads to very simple prediction formulas. It is then compared with several other methods as to their predictive effectiveness. In so doing, it departs from the traditional ‘triangle-shaped’ framework for development data.

Description: This is the abstract of a paper in which the authors develop sixteen separate mortality models based on the current SOA mortality data being used for the preferred life study. The models are constructed using projection pursuit regression. The sixteen models arise from all combinations of sex, smoker status, select and ultimate status, and per life vs. per dollar mortality rates. In general the models confirm the following four facts: 1 Mortality rates increase as attained age increases. 2 Mortality rates increase as duration increases. 3 Mortality rates decrease as Face Amount Bands increase. 4. Mortality rates decrease if preferred underwriting is present.

Description: Several authors have used Fourier inversion to compute prices of puts and calls, some using Parseval’s theorem. The expected value of max[S K,0] also arises in excess-of-loss of stop-loss insurance. This is the abstract of a paper that shows that Fourier methods may be used to compute them. The authors take the idea of using Parseval’s theorem further: 1. formulas requiring weaker assumptions, 2. relationship with classical inversion theorems for probability distributions, 3. formulas for pay-offs which occur in insurance. Numerical examples are provided.