Description: This article contains excerpts from the first three articles that were released through the strategic initiative - Commercial Health Care: What’s Next?

Description: Discusses effect of allowing companies to sell health insurance policy in any state, if approved in one state, without requiring approval in any other state.

Description: Frequently risk is portrayed as something to be avoided, especially in public retirement plans. This paper argues taking risk is likely the prudent choice.

Description: In 2007 the International Accounting Standards Board IASB released a discussion paper proposing a new accounting model for insurance contracts, known as the current exit value model. One aspect of the proposed accounting model is that claim liabilities would need to include explicit margins satisfying certain criteria. Currently it is common for U.S. medical insurers to include explicit margins in their claim liabilities. However, we demonstrate that the margin approach most commonly used today by U.S. medical insurers does not satisfy the objectives articulated in the IASB discussion paper regarding the role of margins. We then propose a new formula for including explicit margins in U.S. medical insurance claim liabilities in a manner that is more compatible with the principles articulated in the IASB discussion paper. Finally, we illustrate our proposed claim liability formula using an example drawn from real-life data.

Description: Insurance company financial reporting and performance measurement are going through a significant transformation. Insurers are beginning to look at their business based on what many refer to as the “economic value framework.” Under this framework insurance companies determine the economic value of the capital invested in their business and the economic value of earnings to derive a risk-adjusted return on capital. Standard setters, primarily European insurance regulators through Solvency II and the International Accounting Standards Board through IFRS Phase II, propose adopting many of these concepts for solvency and performance reporting.

Description: This paper illustrates the calculation of embedded value of an insurance company. The principles should be applicable to similar calculations for other companies.

Description: This paper introduces a single measure combining cost and quality of healthcare. This is used to demonstrate the magnitude of the challenge of the increasing dependency rate. It is then used in assessing a number of alternative financing models, including user fees and alternative compensation methods for physicians. The paper documents implementation issues and evaluates the desirability of implementing these approaches in Canada.

Description: This article discusses fair value reporting for insurance companies and how to get fair value in the real world.

Description: This article summarizes the results of the survey covering industry practices relating to the valuation of variable annuities under FAS 133/157 including implied volatility parameters used in the FAS 133/157 liability scenario generator, non-performance risk and liquidity premium adjustments to discount rates, as well as the determination of risk margins.

Description: This paper focuses on when and how we retire.