Description: Combo long-term care insurance products provide a viable option for the insurance industry to offer a sufficient range and supply of private long-term care financing solutions.

Description: In this article the author asserts that issuers of credit default swaps should hold reserves for the liabilities associated with the derivative contracts. This would significantly reduce most of the major problems associated with the trading of these instruments.

Description: This article discusses the risk-sharing arrangements provided by a number of different types of hybrid pensions, focusing on hybrid designs in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, with particular emphasis on the New Brunswick (Canada) shared risk plan.

Description: Structured-note annuities provide a retirement solution for the masses while allowing effective hedging and balance sheet usage for the insurance complex.

Description: Insurance companies use derivatives to manage and mitigate risks that are inherent in their investment or liability portfolios, including traditional asset/liability matching, dynamic hedging and static hedging. The authors explore how Solvency II will influence life insurers’ hedging strategies.

Description: The author explores the issue of longevity risk with its implications for life insurers and society at large, and concludes that the actuarial profession is in a unique position to understand longevity risk and offer solutions.

Description: This article provides background on managed target volatility funds and how they can be used for variable annuities and the mitigation of gap risk.

Description: The University of Wisconsin–Madison used its Centers of Actuarial Excellence grant to develop technology enhanced learning (TEL) tools that would be distributed publicly to supplement the actuarial education classroom experience.

Description: John Naisbitt, in Megatrends, defined a megatrend as a general shift in thinking or approach affecting countries, industries and organizations. This article challenges actuaries to consider off-the-charts factors within their risk maps and consider their potential impact.

Description: The editorial explores opportunities for the actuarial profession that can be achieved through innovation.