Description: Gearing up-- exploring the rewards for completing the SoA Competency Framework tools of Self-Assessment and Personal Development Plan.

Description: LDTI’s introduction has forced many insurers to examine their existing operations and technologies. They must determine how to optimize compliance efforts while balancing data, analytics and system modernization considerations to achieve maximum value. This article will examine the four key facets—the data, technology, processes, and people—essential to any successful LDTI exercise. It will also touch on the various approaches for tackling LDTI and how a modernization mindset can help insurers realize much greater transformation for the business.

Description: As a dynamic entrepreneur, the question is not if you’ll need to prepare for high-stakes, emotionally charged conversations, but when you will have them. If you’re looking toward a business conversation where you want the outcome to be positive-oriented and forward-looking, there is some risk involved. It is worth your time to prepare and differentiate yourself before any words are spoken. Risk, in this situation, means that it could negatively or positively impact one or more of the following: Relationships, business outcomes, timing/efficiency, quality metrics, performance, or more. There is a literal cost to this kind of conversation going wrong! In this article, Libby Wagner shows actuarial entrepreneurs how to hold tough conversations that demonstrate respect and bring about the results they want.

Description: The SOA, in collaboration with CSU-Fullerton, hosted the first event combining local high school students and community college and university students for a day of learning and networking.

Description: Chairperson's update on the International Section.

Description: In this issue, Actuary of the Future editor Yuan Yuan invites Doug French, the managing principal of the Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services practice of Ernst & Young LLP’s Financial Services Organization, to share about his experiences and views on the actuarial profession.

Description: Writing articles is not as hard as most people think, but it does take some thought and planning. This article gives practical tips about how to put "pen to paper" and write an effective article.

Description: With the rapid development of the Insurance market, insurance technology—including online insurance--continues to mature. Zhongan Online invests heavily in fintechand Zhongan Answer, an insurance robo-advisor, launched in 2018, could improve transaction efficiency by using artificial intelligence to communicate in a timely manner and solve the pain point of the perplexed insurance clause. Under a different consumption scenario, Zhongan Answer could reply to users in a timely manner, while also implementing private customized products and services by providing users with personal risk management and insurance assessment solutions so that users could easily and conveniently select the most suitable insurance plan. The intelligent shopping guide system of Zhongan Answer could improve transaction efficiency by analyzing the personal insurance intention and providing the humanized interpretation of insurance clause. Zhongan Answer has served millions of users and supported more than 100,000 insurance-related knowledge points with an accuracy rate over 90%. Zhongan Answer has provided more than four million Q&A services, and its intelligent shopping guide system covers more than 90% of insurance products.

Description: The April/May 2016 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: The article is a memorial to the life, work and accomplishments of the influential actuary Jeremy Gold. It describes his career and education in finance and how he used his background to fight for better risk management of pension plans especially those sponsored by state and local governments. It describes his research and important published papers, along with his involvement in the effort to educate the actuarial profession about financial economics. Some personal anecdotes are also included.