Description: In this article, we talk to Lei Rao-Knight, FSA, Vice President and Actuary at Prudential Financial. Lei discusses her model development experience in the Modeling Center of Excellence.

Description: Everyone loves efficiency. But what does it truly mean for something to be efficient? An actuary who has spent almost 20 years managing process improvements shares his experiences and the evolution of his views on efficiency. This parable highlights the broader aspects of efficiency that are often missed, and some of the challenges that can come from targeting a typical view of efficiency.

Description: This article discusses important implications of the upcoming Long-Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) accounting change for the modeling actuary. We discuss the modeling implications of new GAAP standards for Market Risk Benefit (MRB), including identification of MRBs, implementation of fair valuation in actuarial systems and retroactive determination of at-issue valuation inputs for transition. We also examine the modeling implications of the other aspects of the accounting change, including Liability for Future Policy Benefit (LFPB), Deferred Acquisition Cost (DAC), and other transition and disclosure requirements

Description: This article is the first installment of a three-part series that aims to provide an overview of ESGs and will focus on the general motivation for stochastic modeling, its advantages and its limitations. Future articles will further break down the key factors of ESGs and the application of these factors to better understand the Academy Interest Rate Generator (AIRG).

Description: On July 17, FASB announced a deferral of the compliance deadline for the new Long Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) guidance: “a one year deferral for larger SEC filers and a two or three year deferral for all other entities.” This article highlights the opportunity for companies striving to comply to modernize in light of this deferral, and it provides a few specific suggestions to companies who pursue this path.

Description: This article walks through the history of model efficiency in the U.S. life insurance industry, examines its current application, and looks ahead to what we might expect to see in the future.

Description: An outline of a formal framework for describing models, inspired by the operational context of governance, management, and use of models.

Description: A data format for mortality tables along with applications.

Description: This article is the second installment in a three-part series on economic scenario generators (“ESGs”). Part I was published in the November 2019 issue. Part II addresses critical considerations in selecting, building, using, and validating ESGs. The article discusses key criteria in understanding ESGs including: - Risk factors - Scenario type - Process and parameterization - Calibration - Number of scenarios - Timing considerations

Description: This article demonstrates how to implement DevOps for data using Moody's Axis. This was described as Model as Data (MAD). It described how extract turn-around documents from the model so they could be loaded back into the model. This feature allows continuous integration, continuous deployment and continuous testing of the model, which are important concepts in DevOps. This will allow the actuaries to speed up the model development cycle.