Description: Discusses some of the financial implications of the recently issued IASB Discussion Paper on Insurance Contracts which presents the preliminary view that GAAP insurance liabilities should be valued at current exit value.

Description: A discussion of some of the challenges the insurance industry will face as we move towards fair value and a comparison of the pros and cons of rules based vs. principles based reserves.

Description: Discusses Solvency II, the new solvency regime for all EU insurers, and what it means to US insurers.

Description: Discusses several possible developments on the financial front, each of which could have important implications for a company’s business plan.

Description: Discussion of AICPA Statement of Position 05-1: Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection With Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts.

Description: I attended the NAIC Winter Meeting held December 1-5, 2005, in Chicago, including meetings of the Life and Health Actuarial Task Force (LHATF) and selected meetings of the NAIC. Summarized here are the activities, which took place at these meetings.

Description: The nature of life is one large balancing act. The act of leading any institution requires one to find the right balance of things to leave alone and things to change. My survey of the section’s current situation shows that things are humming along pretty smoothly. This is my way of saying, “Don’t expect dramatic changes.” I anticipate that we will continue the section’s mission of delivering a host of educational opportunities and funding research.

Description: Feature article about the transitioning of life insurance products to RBC C3 Phase III.

Description: Feature article discussing quantitative impact studies, QIS5, on Solvency II.

Description: Feature article discussing the International Accounting Standards Board’s insurance contracts project.