Description: This article is historical in nature and explores the impacts of traditional life insurance products offering cash surrender values. This article intended to show that by offering cash surrender value, insurance companies became less exposed to the risk of mis-estimated lapse assumptions. This article presents an illustrative case study to highlight this dynamic. This article also explores the issues with traditional life insurance products that arose in the 1970s and 1980 and led to the introduction of Universal Life in the U.S.

Description: Strategic Risk Management was given lower priority in a recent survey of ERM Objectives. This article tells how the author believes that recent events have caused many to shift to a more short term focus and in the future there will be a shift back to a priority for the longer term view that stands behind Strategic Risk Management when the environment settles down and things again seem to be more predictable.

Description: This article provides a perspective on the SOA’s Aging and Retirement research reports, and on the types of research that are included. The SOA does a lot of research on different retirement topics, and many people are not aware of the scope of this work. This article offers an overview of the big picture as we think about the future. The article describes longer-term challenges to the US retirement system and recent developments that have affected the system and created uncertainty. It provides an overview of what individuals have said about retirement and their view of post-retirement risks and planning in a variety of consumer research studies. It then reviews some of the research and provides information on summary reports which provide insight on the findings from multiple related research reports. It also provides information about consumer education and what is currently available and in process. It then focuses on how the SOA is helping retirement professionals understand current and expected change and discusses areas of uncertainty as we help those we serve deal with change.

Description: An overview of John Robinson's experience at the recently concluded annual meeting of the Caribbean Actuarial Association in Trinidad.

Description: A dinner speech at the Actuarial Research Conference at Drake University, Des Moines IA summer 2023. A ramble through 50 years of experience with actuarial research.

Description: This newsletter provides a regulation outlook for the use of AI/ML in insurance industry, interpretations of regulatory expectations and what insurers should consider when managing risks associated with the development, implementation and use of AI/ML models/tools.

Description: Even in published scientific research, we find fraudulent data. What is an actuary to do? Let's consider our actuarial principles and standards of practice to question our data quality and truthfulness. In specific, the article addresses ASOP 56 on Modeling and considerations of model risk as well as ASOP 23 on Data Quality. Recent examples are given from a Harvard research fraud controversy as well as questionable sumo statistics.

Description: In PLR 202109001, the IRS ruled that a proposed assumption reinsurance transaction between related foreign parties changing the counter party obligated to a domestic corporation (“Taxpayer”) under an existing agreement did not give rise to Taxpayer being treated as making a base erosion payment (“BEP”), as Taxpayer did not receive a deduction under §832(b)(4)(A) from the amount of gross premiums written on insurance contracts during the taxable year for premiums paid for reinsurance.

Description: This article provides a description of three factor updates for the NAIC Risk-Based Capital that will take effect in 2012.

Description: This article helps companies better understand the currently proposed upcoming VM-22 regulation by comparing the VM-22 measurement model to LDTI MRBs. The article highlights key considerations as companies plan for adoption of these two measurement models. These considerations should help inform a company’s strategy related to the business impacted by these standards.