Description: This article enumerates many important considerations for a managing general underwriter(MGU) desiring to contract with an insurance carrier to issue and service provider excess of loss policies covering catastrophic medical risks assumed by accountable care organizations (ACOs).

Description: Vender Referral Program highlights Thomson-West, a provider of NAIC, state and federal regulations.

Description: New FSA Jordan Erp credits the restructured exam process with providing him with a borad view of the actuarial profession. This article is an overview Erp's experience and the restructured exam process.

Description: This article takes ideas from David Allen, a consultant, executive coach, educator and motivational speaker for methods for stress-free performance, mastering workflow and getting projects under control. He discusses getting organizing, setting priorities and other tips.

Description: This article summarizes statutory reporting and the Pinciple-Based Initiative that the Academy, the industry and the regulators have been working on in the U.S. It addresses whether a principles-based approach will simplify reporting regulations and make them more flexible.

Description: This article discusses the Halmstad prize, announces winners and asks for volunteers.

Description: Small insurance companies sometimes feel constrained to use Excel instead of a commercial actuarial system due to cost and inertia. This article provides multiple reasons why that decision leads to unintended risks for the actuarial department and the company as a whole.

Description: In November 2020 the Life Actuarial (A) Task Force unanimously passed APF 2020-08 which adds a third permissible method in the Valuation Manual to determine company experience mortality rates. This article describes the three methods

Description: This article highlights the fact that new requirements for disclosure of average liability duration and interest rates could lead to diversity in practice. It also recognizes that elements of the new disclosure requirements will enable financial statement users to perform their own crude estimates of these averages in ways that could help them to better understand the liabilities and to compare companies using consistent methods. Finally, the article describes how companies might also find value in such crude estimates.

Description: The article talks through my personal journey of passing actuarial exams during the pandemic. The purpose of the article is to provide readers a different perspective on how to successfully navigate and balance work-study commitments. The article provides 6 tips that helped me overcome exam challenges.