Description: There are growing concerns that the Asian bird flu virus will evolve into a form that can be transmitted from human to human, thus unleashing a new global flu pandemic. This article uses the Spanish flu epidemic and the German life insurance portfolio to analyze the additional claims expenditure due to a pandemic.

Description: The book, 'Individual Accounts for Social Perspectives on the U.S. Debate' by John Turner, is reviewed in light of recent congressional failure to reform Social Security and in light of a survey of actuaries that produced divergent views on the subject [link to survey included].

Description: Who are the members of the Society of Actuaries? What sections do they belong to? Do most reside within the United States? Just what are some of the population characteristics of the more than 18,000 actuaries who belong to our organization? The areas covered here include section affiliation, countries represented, ages of FSA's and more.

Description: This article is an interview with ‘pioneer’ Nooruddin [Rudy] S. Karsan, FSA, one of the co–founders of Kenexa® Corp., a leading end–to–end provider of software, proprietary content, services and process outsourcing, that enable organizations to more effectively recruit and retain employees. The company was founded in 1987 and started with two employees. Today Kenexa has 1,600 employees. Karsan discusses his life and entrepreneurial career. He enjoys managing and building businesses, and the challenging opportunities, but that's just one part of his life the other is focusing on serving humanity—the two basic words, he says, that define Kenexa. From ‘The Actuary Magazine’ Volume 5 Issue 4.

Description: This article introduces the reader to probabilistic methods used to model interactions in the financial market place. Three topics are specifically discussed, two concern modeling methods and the other concerns data analysis methods.

Description: Feature article announcing the original 13 universities named as centers of actuarial excellence. From the Actuary Magazine, April/May 2010 Vol. 7 Issue 2

Description: This article describes how the Estonian Actuarial Association got started. In 2011, the EAS has 26 members of them, of which eight are fully qualified.

Description: The author explores the implications of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), both for companies that will need to report under this standard and for companies that will not need to report but will still be affected by its implementation.

Description: This is a synopsis of a report that actuaries have been participating in regarding insurer risk assessment for solvency purposes.

Description: Tom Terry, FSA, FCA, MAAA, EA, who founded Chicago Consulting Actuaries in 1991, is interviewed by Sam Phillips in this article. The discussion explores how and why Terry started his own business, the opportunities and risks involved, innovations his firm has come up with, and the future of pension consulting. The article includes advice for those interested in starting their own business.