Description: A summary recap of the recent SOA Health Conference held in Dallas, TX in June of 2025. With the intentional use of AI to assist with the summary, this article gives a good overview of the recent conference with personal commentary from one of the attendees.

Description: LTC insurers are beginning to implement population health programs to improve the lives of their policyholders before and during a claim. Measuring the financial impact of these programs can be difficult for a variety of reasons and multiple methodologies are used to evaluate treatments or programs. This article proposes two different methods of randomized control trials to evaluate the impact of these programs through a case study approach, along with additional potential considerations when evaluating effectiveness.

Description: Trends in mortality have a huge impact on the insurance industry and its products, risks and profitability. Worldwide, life expectancy has increased continuously over the past decades. However, this progress—even without considering the Covid-19 pandemic—has been subject to strong fluctuations. In recent years, an increase in volatility can be observed. Various aspects—medical science, environment, lifestyle—have influenced the trend in the past. How can the life and health industry move forward in these uncertain conditions? In this article, we examine what has gone before and what can be learned from a closer analysis. What are the main drivers of the historical increase in life expectancy? What characterizes the dynamics of the recent past? How can mortality be projected into the future? How good are our methods of prediction and what are the risks? What risk management options are available?

Description: In today’s market of post-pandemic consolidation and org chart streamlining, we’ve observed significant changes to actuarial career development and advancement opportunities. But, those changes aren’t occurring in equal measures across the arc of the actuarial career. Our focus is on the impact felt by experienced reinsurance actuaries.

Description: Six pointers about career advancement for actuaries, based on real life experiences from my 47 year career.

Description: To inform and educate stakeholders for health plans and insurers on novel ways to optimize reinsurance structures to meet capital related goals and boost RBC and liquidity ratios. In lieu of traditional market-based financial instruments involving equity and/or debt, a quota share transaction can be used with potentially far more attractive terms and achieving essentially the same result.

Description: Description of the mathematics involved when looking at low probability events within a company from the perspective of the C-Suite. The accumulation of small probability events leads to a much higher probability of at least one of them happening in a given period.

Description: There are two key trends in the preneed and final expense insurance market, the first being small independently held preneed insurance companies presenting attractive acquisitional benefits and secondly, changing consumer attitudes may drive increased final expense activity in the future.

Description: The article presents a retiree's perspective and personal experiences & considerations in managing risks & challenges in retirement distribution.

Description: Column that provides an overview of Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks call for essays on Financial Wellness.