Description: Background information on the calculation of the statutory valuation and nonforfeiture maximum interest rates and a brief discussion on the effect that changing interest rates will have on some typical life insurance products.

Description: The purpose of this article is twofold. Number one, to estimate the growing level of statutory reserves that are being reinsured offshore, supported by Letters of Credit, as well as by assets held within a trust. Number two, to quantify the redundancy in the reserves due to the conservative nature of the required methodology, combined with the utilization of an outdated mortality table.

Description: In physics and engineering education, Fermi problems require solutions based on good approximate calculations with little or no actual data, involving making justified guesses and deducing bounds without using sophisticated tools. The idea of Fermi problems are of particular relevance to today's actuaries, as pricing, reserving, and financial reporting involve more and more complex stochastic components. The paper discusses some approximate solutions developed in academia in the spirit of Fermi problems.

Description: This article summarizes the key changes to VM-31 requirements in the 2020 version of the Valuation Manual for both life and variable annuities, and compares and contrasts the requirements for each. In addition, the article offers insights into common issues and recommendations for VM-31 reports from the viewpoints of a regulator, consultant, and company actuary.

Description: An interview with Sheryl Flum, chief, Branch 4, IRS Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products) at the Internal Revenue Service, regarding her role at the IRS and current tax issues facing the life insurance industry.

Description: This article is aimed to cover the following: 1) Provides an assessment of income volatility under Long Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) for several key types of long duration contracts along with select illustrations, and compares against those under current GAAP, 2) Discuss areas where accounting policies or methodologies can influence income volatility, and 3) Show how a company's management reporting can be adapted to help explain income variances under LDTI.

Description: This article discusses XXX reserve financing, one of the most common life insurance industry capital markets funding transactions.

Description: Description of FASB redeliberations on targeted improvements for long duration contracts as of the end of 2017, including a summary of the anticipated impacts

Description: Mortality improvement rates for AG38 for 2017.

Description: Discusses some of the new and different ideas being considered by the Wilcox Committee that is working on the Unified Valuation System, UVS, especially as they relate to smaller companies.