Description: On March 22, 2022, the Wall Street Journal hosted its annual Health Forum, a virtual all-day event which included several sessions. This session was attended by experts across the healthcare space and attendees included many from the healthcare technology companies. This report summarizes the event.

Description: A study of whether tobacco, area and industry rating in one state may be reflecting unintended factors such as race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. This study does not consider whether the rating factors accurately reflect underlying claims costs.

Description: Decentralized insurance alternatives is a rapidly expanding sector of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), an emerging and growing financial ecosystem powered by blockchain technologies. The purpose of this report is to review and discuss the business models and operating designs of decentralized insurance alternatives, which may have significant implications for traditional insurance businesses, as well as the actuarial profession.

Description: A literature review was performed on mortality improvement, socioeconomic differences in mortality and their links to specific causes of death, and methods for analysis. It highlighted the fact that socioeconomic status (e.g., income and education) is closely linked to differences in mortality and that the longevity gap between socioeconomic groups is growing over time. It also informed the selection of key variables and the need to view mortality improvement as a complex interaction between specific causes of death.

Description: This report examines a series of megatrends that can impact the future of retirement and retirement plans, as well as the macro forces that will shape those trends.

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic initially caused some health care services to shift away from in-person transactions to a digital form, including telehealth, e-mails, remote patient monitoring and other forms of communication. If sustained, numerous effects and counter-effects both in the cost and quality of care as well as long-term outcomes for patient health may emerge.

Description: This report explores AI bias in insurance and health data, highlighting the ethical role of actuaries and offering cross-disciplinary guidance for fairer decision-making systems.

Description: In today’s business world, many financial decisions undergo considerable analysis before the decision is made and the decision-maker is often held accountable for the outcomes. The purpose of this research is to introduce the concept of total risk analysis (TRA), which is designed to help the decision-maker answer key questions at the time the decision is made. This paper will focus on a specific example of a typical healthcare decision: setting a budget for claims in the upcoming year. In addition to explaining TRA and providing a case study, this paper presents quantitative research regarding cost distributions for health care costs.

Description: This report provides an overview of Takaful as an alternative approach to insurance, focusing on its ethical principles, historical background, operational framework, comparison with conventional insurance, and the potential growth and impact on society. It analyzes Takaful as a Shari’ah-compliant financial service and its potential in international markets.

Description: This report is about the implications for actuaries from the ISSB and global climate-related financial disclosure standards, addressing standards, regulations, and actuarial involvement. It discusses the new ISSB standards, their requirements, and the role of actuaries in climate risk management.