Description: The article argues that effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) should be tailored to fit a company’s unique characteristics rather than forcing a standardized "best practice" approach. Drawing from decades of experience, the author explains that companies often reject rigid ERM frameworks that don’t align with their business culture, risk philosophy, or strategic priorities. Key challenges include resistance to aggregate risk tolerance, formal governance structures, emerging risk management, and capital models that expose underperforming business units. The article suggests four steps for aligning ERM to a company: clarifying ERM objectives, understanding risk culture, leveraging existing risk management strengths, and committing to an iterative improvement process. A well-aligned ERM program can enhance strategic decision-making and resilience by being embraced rather than resisted.

Description: Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, is plagued with poverty, political unrest, and natural disasters. The latest disaster was a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck the town of Les Cayes and surrounding communities on August 14, 2021. Only three days later tropical storm Grace brought devastating flooding to the very same region along the southern peninsula of Haiti. Over 2,200 were killed and many thousands more injured, homeless, or missing. Food and drinking water were scarce. Relief from the capital in Port-au-Prince was limited due to structural damages to bridges and landslides on roads. Outside aid took days to arrive. Spontaneously, Pierre-moise Louis of Jérémie Bakery sprang into action. He donated his entire stock of konparèts (a dry biscuit baked from breadfruit flour) to affected families in the area. With additional support from Trees That Feed Foundation, over 80,000 meals were provided by local Haitians to victims of the disaster. Since its inception in 2008, Trees That Feed Foundation has received financial and operational support from my fellow actuaries in several countries.

Description: To understand the relationship between lifestyle behaviors and mortality, RGA investigated a national, health-related, mortality-linked data set provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). RGA Strategic Research Actuary Julianne Callaway discusses the company's findings.

Description: Tracy Choka is managing director and regional head business management at Swiss Re. Tracy has spent her career in L&H reinsurance, working across multiple areas that include pricing, valuation, operations, client solutions, deal development, and mortality and underwriting research. In her tenure, Tracy has headed Applied Research and Development, Products, and since 2014, Business Management for U.S., Canada and Latin America.Tracy shares her thoughts on how the pandemic has accelerated trends in underwriting and the challenges - and the silver lining- in managing professional relationships during COVID-19

Description: This article gives examples of good and bad prompts for actuaries to use when using large language models.

Description: Highlights the key takeaways from the 2021 published SOA PLT study on lapse and mortality experience of US term plans in the post level term period. This article explains the new insights in the latest study including a comparison of PLT experience between Jump to ART and Graded structures. The important variables driving PLT experience and the relationship between lapse and mortality experience are also discussed.

Description: The life insurance industry has experienced dramatic changes since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020. Growing competition, a rise in online shopping, and the impact of COVID-19 have all led to an increase in contactless and completely digitized life insurance options. At Policygenius, we wanted to dig deeper into these big industry changes and better understand how they affect life insurance buyers. What our 2022 life insurance trend report found was a changing industry, making tremendous strides, and creating even better pricing and policy options for customers.

Description: Summary of the results from the SOA Reinsurance Section's survey of individual and group life reinsurance business assumed in 2023.

Description: The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. mortality trends, noting that despite a decrease in COVID-19 deaths due to better treatments and vaccinations, excess mortality persists, especially among younger adults due to accidental causes. It discusses the challenges of predicting future mortality trends, considering factors like medical advancements and societal changes. The article also highlights the potential of new medical technologies and AI to significantly improve health outcomes in the future. Overall, it underscores the complex interplay of various factors influencing mortality in the post-pandemic era.

Description: In collaboration with the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, RGA’s Behavioral Science team designed two experiments with U.S.-based participants to explore how behavioral science techniques can improve comprehension in life insurance purchasing journeys. The first experiment aimed to increase understanding of term life insurance via simulated online digital journeys. Building on the findings of the first, the second experiment investigated the effects of using both human and AI-generated videos. While the research focused on digital delivery of term life insurance, the relevance of tested techniques extends further, providing insights for improving information presentation for other insurance products and in non-digital formats.