Description: Illustrates key differences, in earnings for a segment of term insurance, between current GAAP standards and GAAP targeted improvements (based on tentative board decisions preceding the release of an exposure draft).

Description: The September 2013 issue of the SOA Marketing and Distribution Section’s newsletter, NewsDirect

Description: The SOA released a report titled Massachusetts Health Insurance Reform, which looks at the impact on insurance markets, pricing and profitability.

Description: Many top-performing businesses aren’t just risk aware, but rather risk intelligent. Such a posture helps prepare companies for a major event and can demonstrate to a regulator or auditor that an appropriately strong control framework is in place. Better still, companies gain real strategic value from a “risk adjusted” understanding not only of their threats and vulnerabilities, but also the upside opportunities associated with various risks. It starts with having both qualitative and quantitative information to identify, assess and manage risks. Strategic risk management, at its core, is about creating value by increasing transparency and accountability, and quality of information. More than a mere compliance exercise, effective risk management enables more informed strategic decision making, increased accountability and transparency, a greater likelihood of organizational success, and – ultimately – competitive advantage, as borne out by many studies that correlate risk management and financial results.

Description: The article discusses the sustainability of the ACA individual market from a public entitlement standpoint. A key point of measuring sustainability is the reliance on market forces rather than federal budget constraints. The article explains why an actuarial viewpoint of sustainability is necessary to a greater extent than other public assistance and social insurance programs. The article challenges actuaries to be a bold, objective voice in a space that is full of opinionated but often uninformed viewpoints.

Description: Provides an overview of special characteristics of private equity and infrastructure asset classes, based on the perspective of experienced investors

Description: Provides a summary of investment sessions at the March 2015 Investment Symposium in Philadelphia

Description: Introduces terms and concepts of Takaful (Islamic) insurance and describes the processes, goals and constraints that apply to the investments of such insurers.

Description: An update on HMO market trends and reinsurance products, and services supporting them.