Description: Shareholders provide capital and receive the insurance profit. This paper demonstrates than an optimal capital level exists that generates the highest return for the shareholders of an insurance company. This result is derived using a risk capital model by Perold. The no-arbitrage argument, developed by Modigliani and Miller, is used throughout the paper and puts the discussion on a solid economic footing. From 2006 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, M-AS06-1.

Description: This paper gives two explicit formulae that estimate the yield of a portfolio of fixed income securities that are not interest-sensitive. The yield is explicitly estimated in terms of the discounting interest rates of the securities that comprise the portfolio. From 2006 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, M-AS06-1.

Description: This paper examines different objectives in managing credit concentration risk. The suitability of different measures and presentation techniques is discussed and illustrated in the context of a case study.

Description: 2011 SOA ERM Symposium, Chicago. This paper addresses the contradiction between the financial theory of hedging and management practice. It also examines how consistent hedging policy is incompatible with management’s competencies and role in the company, requiring management to form strong future price expectations. Finally, this paper describes a process that management actually follows when making decisions about hedging and stress the role of the expectations discrepancy in this process.

Description: Complete monograph: Actuarial Consideration in Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions, M-FI03-1. This paper presents a broad overview of the actuarial considerations of insurance company transactions in developing countries, identifying both theoretical and practical issues that need to be addressed when trying to assess the potential value of a multi-national insurance transaction.

Description: The sale process is a team effort. On the sell side, the team usually consists of the seller, their investment banker, the external actuaries and a legal team. On the buy side, the team consists of accounting and tax experts in addition to the previous disciplines. For a sale to be successful, the team on each side must be able to communicate the story of the company in a consistent, focused manner to their publics. From Actuarial Considerations in Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions, M-FI03-1.

Description: Title Page/Copyright. From Actuarial Considerations in Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions, M-FI03-1.

Description: This paper evaluates the current practice of operational risk management in the insurance sector. Operational risk is nothing new in insurance, but, because of regulatory requirements, companies have initiated computation of risk capital for their operational losses. The current effort to manage operational risk is not a naturally evolving phenomenon, and operational risk, in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s Basel II definition, is unlikely to be a significant cause of insurers’ failure. In addition, the current Basel II definition of operational risk is not suitable for the insurance sector. Consequently, the invention of models and tools based on the definition is incomplete and illusionary. My findings are based on the analysis of dozens of interviews with insurance industry professionals. I demonstrate the way operational risk is quantified in practice, show that the result obtained from this computation is of littl e use in managerial decision making and propose a set of policy recommendations illustrating the characteristics of operational risk in insurance. This study can be used as a platform for launching dialogues to initiate fresh thinking about operational risk in insurance beyond the current artificial and narrow boundaries.

Description: Essay suggests reforms of the U.S. health care system to promote financial soundness, broader access, and efficient operations. These reforms require that each participant in the system – individuals, employers, providers, insurers, and government – give a little.

Description: In developing the economic assumptions for use in an appraisal, a team approach must be used. The investment bankers, external actuaries, and the company's financial area research current and historic economic conditions to develop an internally consistent base scenario. To be successful all parties must be comfortable with this scenario and its implications on production, investment yields, and, ultimately, distributable earnings. From Actuarial Considerations in Insurance Mergers and Acquisitions, M-FI03-1.