Description: In 2020, the Korean insurance regulator, Financial Services Commission (FSC), introduced a coinsurance structure allowing for full risk transfer—including investment risk, interest rate risk, insurance risk, and policyholder lapse risk—as a permitted practice. Expanding use of coinsurance in the Korean insurance market brings a suite of potential benefits to Korean insurance companies including increased financial flexibility, options to improve policyholder protection and shareholder value through optimization of business strategies. As such, FSC’s initiative and intention to introduce coinsurance opportunities to the market is commendable.

Description: Many countries have suffered the ups and downs of the COVID-19pandemic, and Mexico is no exception. Even worse, in contrast withEuropean countries that saw numbers dip during the summer of2020, Mexico did not. A first peak was reached at the end of July2020, then a slight decrease in the following two months. SinceOctober, Mexico has experienced the worst increasing trend of thewhole epidemic. In this article, Arturo Erdely, a professor of actuarialscience, explains this increase.

Description: Think of all the documentation you as an actuary are expected to write: emails, status reports, business plans, white papers, case studies, user guides, pricing and methodology manuals, policies, procedures, regulatory submissions, and more. But while you’ve been formally taught many skills to qualify as an actuary, how to write well is probably not one of them. Fortunately, writing well is not some esoteric skill only available to those with a gift for it. Sure, a little talent helps—but knowing and applying some tricks from professional writers will greatly enhance your ability to communicate even the most complex ideas clearly and simply.

Description: The Ecuadorian Actuarial Association (AEACT) was admitted, as a Full Member (FMA) of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in October 2021. This constitutes a great achievement for a small country like Ecuador with 17 million inhabitants, a GDP of 100 billion U.S. dollars, and no more than 20 professional and registered actuaries. This important goal was a challenge both personally and for the team that worked hard to achieve it. I remember that it all began 28 years ago, when I attended as a guest to present a summary about the actuarial profession in our country at the World Congress of Actuaries that was held in Montreal, Canada. This congress was the opportunity to learn about the functions and activities of the associations of more developed countries with a significant number of actuaries and whose profession already had an acceptance in professional societies such as the Society of Actuaries in the United States, the Faculty of Actuaries of the United Kingdom, or the Institut des Actuaries of France.

Description: This article highlights key regulatory and market developments in Bermuda and Cayman and the increasing role of actuaries in innovative structures like side cars and ISACs. With a focus on practical experiences and professional challenges, it offers a perspective on what these dynamic markets mean for the global actuarial community from someone working there.

Description: The article discusses the critical role of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) within insurance companies, particularly amidst changes in accounting regimes like USGAAP Long-Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) and International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 and implications of these changes on FP&A activities.

Description: Welcome to the third issue of International News of 2024.

Description: The importance and opportunity, globally, of inclusive insurance is identified. We review traditional actuarial approaches, recognize their underlying presumptions, and then manage the issues raised. We clarify the process distinctions between traditional and inclusive insurance.

Description: About a year ago we published our whitepaper “Insurance Innovation Opportunities Beyond COVID-19”. In the paperwe made some predictions on what innovation opportunities the pandemic would bring to the insurance space. It ishard to believe, but we’ve already had a year of living with the pandemic. In recognition of how much time haspassed, we want to look back at a few of our customer realities from last spring set against the innovations thathave been delivered in the market since.

Description: As diversity and inclusivity are now more prevalent in the global insurance industry, the gender inequality gap has been narrowed, but there is still much to do in advancing women’s roles in leadership positions—and pay equity—in the global insurance sector. This article features an initiative by the Geneva Association, an insurance research think tank: recognize outstanding women in insurance. The Geneva Association's Women in Insurance Award is shining a light on executive-level women and their contributions to making insurance a force for good.