Description: This SOA research report produced by Kamakura Corporation helps illuminate credit risk modeling techniques within the life insurance industry. It includes a review of available research on the subject from academic and industry sources, the development and distribution of a survey on actual techniques used within the industry, and all associated analysis. The finance and economics literature review provides a historical review of academic research on credit modeling with Altman Z-scores, Merton’s structural model and more recent “reduced form models” The industry literature includes discussions of the various credit modeling techniques, factor-based approaches, credit migration models, structural models, reduced form models, hybrid models, actuarial models and credit scoring models. As credit risk modeling is an extremely broad topic, the scope of the survey is narrowed to particular asset classes and functions. There were 22 responses in total to the survey from locations in Canada, Europe and the United states.

Description: Authored by a MIB Solutions team of Tom Rhodes, Stuart Klugman, Marianne Purushotham and Stacy Gill, the report summarizes the results of a study on the application and adoption of credibility theory within the life insurance and annuity industry. This excel spreadsheet is a numerical example relating to the application of Credibility for lapses. Please see the SOA website research section for the complete research report on Credibility Theory Practices.

Description: In this study, a network approach is taken to characterize the systemic risk of two nontraditional insurance industries: the bond insurer industry and the CDS market. These industries were chosen since traditional insurance industries do not generate significant systemic risk.

Description: This is Appendix B to the research report measuring the annual frequency of medical errors in the United States and the total measurable cost to the United States economy of these errors. See the SOA web site research section for the full report.

Description: The Committee on Finance Research makes available a research report exploring the mechanics and implementation of economic capital programs for life insurance companies. Discussion items include common methods for calculating economic capital advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Description: The Committee on Finance Research makes available a research report exploring the mechanics and implementation of economic capital programs for life insurance companies. Discussion items include common methods for calculating economic capital advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Description: This report highlights findings from the 2011 Retirement Risks Survey related to working in retirement, with additional sources for commentary.

Description: These are the appendices to the research report entitled Longevity Risk Quantification and Management.

Description: This is the Questionnaire used for the research study, 'Will Retirement Assets Last a Lifetime?'. That study, sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks, LIMRA, and the International Foundation for Retirement Education, surveyed approximately 1,500 retirees with $100,000 or more of investable financial assets. The survey questions explored how retirees make decisions about investing their assets and purchasing financial products

Description: The Joint Risk Management Section is trying to develop better estimates of policyholder behavior in the tail [PBITT]. The mission of the PBITT working group is to examine and ultimately give guidance to actuaries on how to set policyholder assumptions in extreme scenarios. As part of its work, the PBITT working group issued its sixth survey to gather the range of assumptions actuaries use in pricing, reserving, and risk management of minimum guarantees on Variable Annuity products, such as death benefits, income benefits, withdrawal benefits and maturity benefits. This document contains the results of that survey.