Description: This article highlights some of the results from the Society of Actuaries SOA 2010 update to the 2005 Reflecting Risk in Pricing Survey. The survey focused on how companies are trying to price for and understand the risks inherent in the products they sell in various product lines—life and annuity, health, and property and casualty P&C insurance—and showed results for various countries of location and business focus.

Description: A critical step in valuing a company for the purpose of financial reporting is the computation of the market value of economic surplus (MVES). This article provides a novel approach to the valuation of MVES that is stable and reasonably immune to “market noise.” Current approaches to the calculation of economic surplus of an insurance company generally define such surplus as the market value of the assets (MVA) supporting the liabilities less the market value of liabilities (MVL). While MVA is observable in the market, MVL is typically computed directly, without regard to the underlying supporting assets. Subtracting MVL from any value of assets that changes with market movements results in an unstable surplus. Consequently, a surplus that is not fully reflective of market sentiment has been rejected by many. This same approach is further used in the calculation of market consistent embedded value (MCEV) when a balance sheet approach is used .

Description: Read the September 2019 issue of Risk Management, published by the Joint Risk Management Section. Newsletters provide practical information for the working actuary, articles on trends that impact sections and news about section activities.

Description: As one highly rated financial firm after another blows up, what is the right conclusion to draw about enterprise risk management ERM? Does the financial crisis of 2008-09 demonstrate its criticality, or does it bring the whole concept into disrepute?

Description: The ongoing financial meltdown has cast a shadow over the entire economy, and caused some to question whether the much-hyped movement of enterprise risk management ERM has failed. My answer is, yes, an overarching theme of the credit crisis is a failure of risk management.

Description: This article summarizes an emerging risk research project completed by the Joint Risk Management Section. The major categories of risks in the survey were 1. Economic, 2. Environmental, 3. Geopolitical, 4. societal and 5. Technological.

Description: In this article the author compares ERM issues, strategies and scenarios to the process of driving to work on a four-lane highway.

Description: The editor introduces the articles in this issue. Articles that include topics on systemic risk, economic capital, variable annuties, etc.

Description: On behalf of the Society of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, we are pleased to provide a series of essays on Risk Management: The Current Financial Crisis, Lessons Learned and Future Implications. This e-book is the result of a call for essays on the subject coordinated by a variety of actuarial groups. This is the introduction to the book of Essays. See the SOA web site for the full series of essays.

Description: The Federal funds rate increased by 4.25% in 2022 with further increases in 2023, which have already resulted in a liquidity crisis for a few banks. As the rapid increase of the interest rates pushed the new money rates above the yields of many life insurers’ investment portfolios, insurance companies are facing a dilemma between compressed margins from peer pressure and the concern with liquidity shortfalls and realized capital losses should mass surrenders happen. This paper discussed main emerging risks under rising interest rate environment, and several ways to mitigate these risks.