Description: Summary of recent surveys to life actuaries regarding assumptions surrounding policyholder behavior in the tail for universal life with secondary guarantees and minimum guarantees on variable annuities. This information is intended to examine and ultimately give guidance to actuaries on how to set policyholder assumptions in extreme scenarios.

Description: As sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), and Society of Actuaries (SOA), the study looks at causes of insolvency and decisions made by management, regulators, and policyholders over the life cycle of the insolvency. Further, this study considers ways the profession can be equipped to prevent or mitigate future insolvencies. In addition to directly benefitting the profession, the work is also intended to assist other insurance industry practitioners in understanding the complexities of insurance company solvency and the benefit of keeping the actuarial profession in the forefront of company management, operations, and regulatory communication

Description: Commentary on practical observations resulting from constructing and running Economic Capital models. Possible standardization of assumptions and result interpretation are morphing even though use of E.C. models has now been around for years.

Description: A brief introduction to a new SOA research on liability-driven investment benchmark model.

Description: This article provides a retrospective on investment risk management while highlighting actuarial tools used by portfolio risk managers.

Description: The April/May 2013 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: The February/March 2014 edition of The Actuary magazine—the Society of Actuaries’ flagship publication.

Description: This article discusses important implications of the upcoming Long-Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) accounting change for the modeling actuary. We discuss the modeling implications of new GAAP standards for Market Risk Benefit (MRB), including identification of MRBs, implementation of fair valuation in actuarial systems and retroactive determination of at-issue valuation inputs for transition. We also examine the modeling implications of the other aspects of the accounting change, including Liability for Future Policy Benefit (LFPB), Deferred Acquisition Cost (DAC), and other transition and disclosure requirements

Description: This article is the first installment of a three-part series that aims to provide an overview of ESGs and will focus on the general motivation for stochastic modeling, its advantages and its limitations. Future articles will further break down the key factors of ESGs and the application of these factors to better understand the Academy Interest Rate Generator (AIRG).

Description: On July 17, FASB announced a deferral of the compliance deadline for the new Long Duration Targeted Improvements (LDTI) guidance: “a one year deferral for larger SEC filers and a two or three year deferral for all other entities.” This article highlights the opportunity for companies striving to comply to modernize in light of this deferral, and it provides a few specific suggestions to companies who pursue this path.