Description: This is the second part of a 2 part series on Real options analysis (ROA). This article looks into the limitations of using financial option theory when doing real options analysis with projects that are long-dated and uncertain, such as: 1. First-degree homogeneity, 2. Uncertainty must derive from Brownian motion, and 3. Risk neutrality.

Description: Actuary Dave Dillon describes his role volunteering his time as a teacher in higher education, including the rewards and challenges that teaching offers. He discusses the importance of being attentive to his audience’s pre-existing knowledge and adapting his presentations accordingly. His work as a teacher typically encompasses three distinct domains: 1) acquainting young students with the actuarial profession, 2) educating non-actuaries about public policy issues related to health insurance (including the Affordable Care Act), and 3) instructing current actuaries on advanced methodologies and principles within the field. Recently he taught a health insurance course for actuarial science graduate students at Georgia State University and lectured at Boise State University’s master's program in Population & Health Systems Management. In every teaching and mentoring opportunity, actuaries can contribute to the expansion and prosperity of the profession and are encouraged to pursue these endeavors.

Description: How does mortality experience impact earnings under the new GAAP financial framework? This article discusses how to isolate key components from financial models related to decrements, as well as how to handle the changes in the financial reporting landscape including: the aggregation of insurance policies into cohorts, dynamic reserving, and the limitations imposed by caps and floors. Looking at the components of earnings, such as the present value of benefits, expenses, and premiums, and how these elements interact is critical to form a comprehensive earnings story.

Description: Actuarial work in the life and health insurance industry is highly data-driven and complex. Actuaries perform a wide range of tasks such as experience studies, valuation, reserving, pricing, and risk modeling, all of which require vast amounts of data and sophisticated analytics. Traditionally, many of these tasks have been carried out using Excel and other legacy tools, but as data volumes grow and the need for more accurate predictions intensifies, actuaries are turning to more robust platforms. Cloud Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platforms, such as t Databricks offer a unified platform that integrates data management, analytics, and machine learning, making it a powerful tool for actuaries. In this article, we’ll explore how Cloud Data & AI platforms can be used as an actuarial workbench, enabling actuaries in the life and health sector to streamline critical tasks like experience studies, valuation, and reserving.

Description: The Society of Actuaries (“SOA”) Research Institute is the research arm of the SOA, providing objective, data-driven research that brings together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and business needs. The Institute provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks.

Description: During the2019 InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and Plug and Play today announced the two organizations are nearing an agreement on professional development offerings and learning opportunities. The SOA and Plug and Play plan to work together on a variety of InsurTech-focused events and projects for the SOA membership, insurance industry and technology sector.

Description: Actuarial Perspectives on COVID-19: June 10 Twitter Chat with the Society of Actuaries

Description: The Research Executive Committee (REC) of the SOA Research Institute oversees the funding of the Emerging Issues Pool. This key source of research funding is used to sponsor projects that are beneficial to the entire profession, across practice area boundaries that may require funding levels beyond the normal annual funding budgets of research committees and sections. The REC is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to fulfill the strategic goals of the organization through the use of this pool for funding new projects.

Description: We explore the question of how an actuary–artificial intelligence collaboration might look in the future and how actuaries should be trained to best leverage this technology. It felt fitting to accomplish this through a conversation with an AI system, as AI involvement is warranted to ground the analysis in the technology’s true capabilities.