Description: Although rate structures where low-cost cohorts subsidize high cost cohorts may be justified from a actuarial, marketing, or legal standpoint, the subsidization creates risks which must be understood and monitored. This article presents the concept of subsidization signature to measure and interpret the effects of rate subsidization, and to assess the sustainability of rating structures and the sensitivity of business mix assumptions.

Description: Description of results from a survey of 35 insurance companies on the impact of proposed principle-based reserves for life insurance products.

Description: The selection of the economic capital calculation approach becomes more of a modeling decision. Now let us pause here and think about the arbitrage-free assumption at the beginning. At any time, there can be only one price on any asset. If the company considers the price calculated above as the fair price for its products, then it must hold true that the same price has to be arrived at if the company uses a real-world pricing approach instead of a risk-neutral approach. This gives us a very good basis to calibrate the appro- priate economic capital.

Description: A study on stochastic simulation literature as it applies to a health actuary.

Description: New International Financial Reporting Standards promise to trigger fundamental changes in the role and significance of actuarial models for insurers.

Description: The article describes changes to the computation of tax reserves as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Description: Changes to AG 43 and what that might mean for tax purposes. Also, summary of IRS Notice 2016-63 (provides safe harbor tax guidance on use of 2017 CSO tables).

Description: Recent guidance in the form of Rev. Proc. 2006- 13 provides a general safe harbor for the fair market value of a deferred-annuity contract when determining the amount includible in income on conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

Description: Presents results of 2003-2012 cohorts of insurance company private placement bonds. Finds private bonds show a 15bp annual advantage relative to public bonds, due to lower loss severity.

Description: This is the first year for appointed actuaries in the United States ot review X factors and evaluate actual morality experience that is emerging. This article atempts to provide a simpified explanation of how Monte Carlo simulation can be used by a small company to evaluate its mortality experience.