Description: The SOA’s Professional Development Committee and its five areas of interest this year.

Description: This article discusses the most common methods for studying for exams and what techniques are most effective when using each.

Description: This article describes how actuaries can get involved in section research including participation on a Project Oversight Group (POG).

Description: This article provides a brief description of this special edition of Reinsurance News.

Description: Letter from the Editor

Description: Reasons to work abroad.

Description: A summary of the background, features, and potential pitfalls of the new LTC Experience Reporting Forms, which will soon be required. The new forms are designed to better inform investors, competitors, and regulators about financial performance, reserve adequacy, and relationship between assumptions and experience. Companies are advised to start preparing for the change to the new forms.

Description: For policies with and without the resotoration of benefits feature, compares incurred claims and statutory ALR for various benefit periods.

Description: Appendix 3 for The United States Mortality DataBase Research Report.

Description: Many top-performing businesses aren’t just risk aware, but rather risk intelligent. Such a posture helps prepare companies for a major event and can demonstrate to a regulator or auditor that an appropriately strong control framework is in place. Better still, companies gain real strategic value from a “risk adjusted” understanding not only of their threats and vulnerabilities, but also the upside opportunities associated with various risks. It starts with having both qualitative and quantitative information to identify, assess and manage risks. Strategic risk management, at its core, is about creating value by increasing transparency and accountability, and quality of information. More than a mere compliance exercise, effective risk management enables more informed strategic decision making, increased accountability and transparency, a greater likelihood of organizational success, and – ultimately – competitive advantage, as borne out by many studies that correlate risk management and financial results.