Description: Indications of Pent-up demand research report from the SOA

Description: The Reinsurance Section, Product Development Section and the Committee on Life Insurance Research announce the release of a new report on term conversions. Lindsay Meisinger, Donna Megregian, and Derek Kueker conducted a survey of US life insurers on the assumptions and product features used for pricing and administering term conversions. For purposes of this study a term conversion is when an individual term insurance policyholder exercises the option to convert to a permanent plan without underwriting. This report summarizes the results of the survey.

Description: The US and EU are each pursuing modernization of their regulatory frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of the emerging developments, the historical contexts or drivers of each, and potential implications for insurers. The paper discusses some of the global, wider financial services, and insurance specific activities underway that are influencing solvency developments for life insurers. It provides an overview of the differences in the current US and EU regimes and the regulatory changes underway. The paper then identifies key valuation implications, the impact on pricing and product design, and risk management implications.

Description: This research study was designed to answer the following questions: 1. What are the most commonly occurring risk categories? 2. What are the most commonly occurring risk subcategories? 3. What are the most commonly occurring individual risks? 4. Which individual risks tend to make front-page news? 5. Which risks generate the most extensive coverage in the form of repeat articles? The scope was defined as significant downside risk events experienced by Canadian nongovernmental organizations as reported in the first 10 pages of either Section A (Front) or Section B (Report on Business) of The Globe and Mail in a 2012 weekday (Monday-Friday) edition, as recorded in their online archives (“GlobeArchives”).

Description: The authors of this report have identified three key corporate finance metrics and measures impacted by corporate pension plans that are increasingly being used by corporate decision-makers. The first is corporate leverage. The second is accounting adjustments made by rating agencies to income statements and cash flow statements. The third is the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) where it is felt that the calculation of the WACC from market data may be biased if corporate pension plans are ignored.

Description: The Casualty Actuarial Society, Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the Society of Actuaries' Joint Risk Management Section is pleased to make available a research report that investigates risk assessment applications of fuzzy logic. The report includes a literature search and documentation of fuzzy logic methodologies that can be implemented in an actuarial risk assessment context. The report was authored by Arnold Shapiro and Marie-Claire Koissi.

Description: Updated metrics for measuring financial stress among multiemployer pension plans in the United States.

Description: This research report sponsored by the SOA's Marketing and Distribution Section gives valuable insights from leaders in the middle income life insurance market.

Description: This PBA Implementation Guide provides verbal summaries and visual flow chart overviews of various VM-20 and PBA components and requirements, six Case Study Road Maps, and action items to bridge the gaps and implement PBA. During the Guide’s development these templates and exercises were vetted with more than 15 participants selected from a diverse group of companies

Description: This paper investigates techniques for the assessment of model error in the context of insurance risk analysis.