Description: Letter from the editor, outlining the theme and providing a brief description of each article within this edition of NewsDirect.

Description: The journey for microinsurance, nowadays called inclusive insurance, started a long time ago and is not complete in the majority of the low-income and low middle-income markets. When seeking to enhance inclusive insurance markets, it is useful and necessary to have a good understanding because it entails a different treatment of customers, distribution, products, pricing, client management, premium collection, claims declaration and settlement, and reporting.

Description: Investigate the importance of collaboration with accounting, underwriting, sales, marketing and other professions as an actuary when you attend this webcast. Cross-functional positions can cause unique challenges to arise, like various experts attempting to balance growth and profitability. Discover an opportunity to learn about relevant ASOPs and dive deeper into contemporary examples that highlight specific professionalism issues that can develop.

Description: InsureTech Connect 2021, covered r emerging trends that were and future opportunities for insurance technology. In addition, Society of Actuaries (SOA) staff and key SOA volunteers who work in the insurtech industry interviewed a variety of attendees to gather further information on these trends.

Description: This document is from the March 2025 edition of the SOA Research Institute AI Bulletin, focusing on artificial intelligence initiatives within the actuarial community. It includes articles on strategic principles, professional development products, NAIC updates, and tips for prompting the language model.

Description: Web3, Crypto, and Generative AI are no longer just buzzwords as they reshape the tech landscape. Viewed by many as unconventional technologies, their potential to now revolutionize the insurance industry cannot be ignored. Join us for an enlightening session that delves into the transformative power of these technologies and their current applications within the insurance sector, as well as discover how forward-thinking insurance companies are embracing these tools to unlock innovation and challenge the insurance status quo.

Description: This project enhances the current understanding of cyber risks in the smart home ecosystem from the insurance industry's perspective. In particular, the quantitative framework and pricing strategies developed in this project can be immediately adopted/adapted by actuaries to price the cyber risks for smart homes, a fast-growing insurance market.

Description: The insurance industry is working rapidly to understand the potential for transformation as artificial intelligence reshapes how products are marketed and distributed. This webcast brings together founders and senior leaders at the forefront of this change to discuss how AI is being applied to better understand customer behavior, personalize outreach, streamline lead generation, and improve distribution efficiency. Discussion will focus on future use cases and how the use of AI in marketing could change product design and customer behavior.

Description: The Aging and Retirement and Actuarial Innovation and Technology Strategic Research Programs are pleased to make available a report that provides a sampling of new financial technologies (fintech) and their applications related to retirement savings systems affecting participants, plan sponsors and service providers.

Description: This session will include examples of healthcare claims and market data to be used for educational purposes to highlight trends in the insurance industry. It will also highlight opportunities to enforce existing laws around fraud and abuse, and areas for regulators and legislators to focus to address this growing problem. Finally, it will discuss recent law changes and highlight areas requiring additional regulatory intervention. Expect discussions of recent claim issues and laws in the healthcare market as well as emerging issues in healthcare. The presentation will be beneficial to healthcare professionals working for health insurers, healthcare providers, auditors, regulators and healthcare providers and will also cover professionalism related topics for actuaries.