Description: Large Language Models can help you write emails, code in SQL, R and Python, and be more efficient. But should you use it? Let's review the professional guidance available to actuaries, including the work from the Academy of Actuaries.

Description: In this topic call, we will focus on opportunities for actuaries to flex both their entrepreneurial and innovative muscles within a standard insurance / consulting environment, with a focus on how practitioners of all levels can influence a company’s products, processes, and more. We’ll touch on how to gain buy-in and momentum for innovative ideas and how to fold this into the fabric of your day-to-day work. A companion podcast Innovation in Insurance – A Conversation with Jason Hiquet is recommended listening prior to the topic call.

Description: The podcast features Jon Forster interviewing Aree Bly, founder of Alignment Ally and author of "The Sustainable Brain," focusing on the importance of developing comfort with ambiguity for actuaries and other professionals.

Description: The VM-22 standard provides critical guidance for the modeling of life insurance and annuity products, specifically in relation to the calculation of reserves and capital requirements. As insurance companies continue to adapt to emerging regulations and evolving market conditions, selecting the right assets to back insurance liabilities has become an increasingly important focus. VM-22 provides flexibility but also presents challenges in determining the optimal asset strategy. The goal is to support actuaries in navigating this complexity and ensuring sound financial decisions.Our proposed session will focus on the practical aspects of asset selection under VM-22. We will highlight key considerations for selecting the appropriate assets to match the liabilities of insurance products, and how this impacts reserve calculations and risk management. To provide real-world insight, we plan to invite one or two clients who have successfully implemented VM-22 asset selection strategies. Additionally, we will collaborate with a trusted technology partner that has helped at least one client with the field testing of asset selection strategies under VM-22. This will allow us to offer a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced in asset selection, the strategies employed, and the lessons learned through client case studies and technology integration.Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of asset selection, the tools available to support decision-making, and best practices to optimize outcomes under the VM-22 framework. We aim to provide actionable insights and foster discussion on how actuaries can use the latest tools and techniques to manage asset-liability matching effectively and efficiently.

Description: In 2021, the Actuarial Standards Board (“ASB”) of the American Academy of Actuaries approved the re-grouping of the Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) Committee of the ASB to review the existing Actuarial Standards of Practice (“ASOPs” ) as they related to ERM, and assess whether they were still appropriate and relevant in the light of developments and changes in practices over the years. Most notably ASOP 46, Risk Evaluation in Enterprise Risk Management, and ASOP 47, Risk Treatment in Enterprise Risk Management, were prepared at a time when ERM as a field of practice for actuaries was in fledgling form, with a relatively small number of actuaries having experience in the area. However, in the years since, actuarial practice in the field has evolved considerably. Moreover, ERM nomenclature has also evolved. Coming out of the work of the work of the regrouped ERM Committee of the ASB, ASOP 58, Enterprise Risk Management, has been developed. It was approved by the ASB in December 2024 to replace ASOP Nos. 46 and 47 to better reflect today's ERM practices and terminology, and to align with ASOP No. 55, Capital Adequacy Assessment. The new ASOP will be effective May 1, 2025.ASOP 58 applies to valuation actuaries subject to ASOPs as promulgated by the ASB when performing actuarial services with respect to developing, maintaining or reviewing all of part of an ERM framework.In this session, panelists will give an overview of the ASOP, and discuss its practical implications. Panelists will include one or two members from the drafting committee, plus one or two senior risk practitioners who will highlight how the ASOP has impacted their work.

Description: "This session will explore recent and historical advancements in computing relevant to actuarial analysis. We will provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape, tracing the journey of how we arrived here and how actuaries are already harnessing these innovations. This session will primarily be focused on hardware and as software programming interfaces - the latter, in effect, helps accelerate code and ease of access to specialized hardware. We will also examine optimization opportunities involving the intersection of the two. Hardware discussed may include CPUs, GPUs, memory, and motherboard architecture, as well as bottlenecks such as bandwidth, power and heat management, and input/output management. The session will also touch on quantum computing and what problems relevant to actuarial analysis may benefit from quantum algorithms. Coming out of this session, the audience will gain valuable insight into the forefront of technological advancements that are transforming computing efficiency in actuarial valuation and analysis. They will also learn about the key hardware and software optimization techniques that can enhance existing actuarial processes."

Description: Two recent SOA research reports on risk management will be presented by the authors. First, the 18th Emerging Risk survey collects the insights of risk managers on what risks could be on the horizon and how they have evolved from previous survey results. Do risk managers continue to highlight climate change, technology risks, and the resurgence of wars? In the second research report, we created a deterministic scenario script and asked insurance companies to play out a sequence of unfolding events, challenging the resistance of their risk management mechanisms. We will share insights on the scenario impact, with a focus on the process companies use to brainstorm a scenario. Learning Outcomes: Understand ways to create stress testing scenarios Understand how to evaluate the impact of stress testing scenarios Consider emerging risks for practitioners and understand the importance of what ifs

Description: Explore the intricate world of asset-intensive reinsurance in this session, designed to demystify the complexities and highlight the strategic importance of asset-intensive reinsurance in today's financial landscape. Delve into how insurers leverage asset-heavy portfolios to optimize risk management and enhance capital efficiency. We will discuss the latest innovations and practices that are shaping the industry, offering you a clearer understanding of the opportunities and challenges inherent in this approach. Whether navigating regulatory changes or seeking to optimize risks and return on capital, this session provides the essential knowledge needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving market. Join us for a deep dive into the strategies reinsuring the financial future.

Description: This session will explore the latest developments in the Bermudian market with a focus on investment risk managmenet, covering the landscape of Bermudian investment portfolios, investment risk management framework and the introduction of Recovery Plan Rules. This session will place a specific focus on changes to the BMA's investment management framework including enhancements to the asset approval processes as well as the application of the Prudent Person Principle. Coming out of this session, attendees will gain valuable insights into how these recent regulatory changes enhance the investment risk management framework in Bermuda and offer practical guidance on navigating this evolving environment.

Description: A deep dive into utilizing open-source tools for cash flow projection or valuation tasks when Excel and vendor software may not be the right fit. Speakers will cover common concerns about open-source tooling, a real-world example of Excel at its limits, a walkthrough of building a valuation engine in Python, performance comparisons of multiple languages and implementation approaches, and perspectives on using open-source tooling in the real world. Attendees will learn the pros and cons of open-source tools, when incorporating these tools might make sense, ways to get started, and gain exposure to advanced topics like profiling and optimization, concurrency, and adding a graphical user interface.