Description: Product complexity, the services provided by distributors, their method of obtaining clients, and their relationship to insurers all affect the characteristics of in force membership. Selecting the distribution channel(s) for a product can have a significant effect on overall profitability. Total sales, acquisition costs, anti-selection/quality of business, persistency, control over market targeting, etc., will vary based on the initial strategy decisions and future adjustments. Gaining a high-level understanding of distribution channels will help develop an appreciation for the importance of these decisions.

Description: Life insurance products have evolved over time from the early mutual aid societies paying benefits when members died to comprehensive products covering a range of financial needs over an individual’s lifecycle. While some life insurance benefit riders have been offered for decades and are well-established, recent years have seen a number of accelerated benefit riders being introduced by carriers for a growing range of covered triggers. Join us as we discuss these acceleration and extended benefit riders, trends and innovations in the space, and discuss challenges and actuarial considerations in designing, pricing, and modelling them. We will also explore issues carriers have experienced, how to consider the interactions between these benefits and the underlying mortality coverage, reinsurance considerations, and more!

Description: Discover the essentials of health reserving in the bustling city of Chicago. This introductory session is designed to demystify the fundamentals of health reserving for actuaries. Explore key concepts such as reserve calculations, methodologies, and regulatory requirements.Led by experienced professionals, this session will equip you with the practical skills and knowledge needed to perform health valuation. Engage with fellow participants and immerse yourself in the vibrant energy of the Windy City as you build a solid foundation in health reserving. Whether you're new to the field or seeking to refresh your understanding, this session is your gateway to mastering health reserving basics in Chicago's dynamic environment.

Description: Life insurance with LTC features is exciting business to produce, but the complex for a valuation actuary at year-end. This session will discuss setting morbidity and policyholder behavior assumptions for principles-based reserving and cash flow testing more generally. We will review considerations for GAAP reserving for hybrid products. We will highlight the interaction of assumptions whose risks offset (mortality, morbidity, lapse, and more) and how the valuation actuary may think of these in sensitivity testing and setting prudent estimates. Panelists will draw from the 2022 Academy of Actuaries Combination Product Valuation Practice Note.Finally, we will discuss reserve assumption setting in light of public-private LTC legislation (e.g. Washington Cares), which inspired sales of hybrid life and LTC products in the individual and worksite markets.

Description: According to Oliver Wyman's 2023 Asset-Liability Management (ALM) survey, long-term care (LTC), universal life, and whole life insurance products have among the longest liability duration profiles, often with material asset-liability duration mismatches. Deploying an optimal strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework for these products is particularly challenging due to their: - Long-tail profile. Liability cashflows for long-duration insurance products often extend beyond the investment horizon of currently available assets (e.g., 30-year U.S. Treasuries) - Liquidity needs. Depending on the type and age of the insurance product, achieving your desired levels of projected liquidity becomes instrumental Solution: A robust liability-driven SAA framework with an emphasis on minimizing cashflow mismatch while considering a company's risk appetite and investment guidelines aims to reduce interest rate and liquidity risks. Case studies: LTC and life-focused case studies will provide insights into hypothetical SAA frameworks, including ways companies optimize their fixed-income assets. We will also explore techniques used to extend asset duration beyond a typical fixed-income portfolio, using derivatives and alternative assets.

Description: LDTI's roll forward disclosure requirements include line items for the impact of actual variances from expected experience (A/E) for both net premiums and benefits. These aggregate A/E amounts provide some insight into how actual experience is emerging relative to expectations, but they do not provide insight into either the drivers of the deviations or their significance.

Description: Life insurance products have evolved over time from the early mutual aid societies paying benefits when members died to comprehensive products covering a range of financial needs over an individual’s lifecycle. While some life insurance benefit riders have been offered for decades and are well-established, recent years have seen a number of accelerated benefit riders being introduced by carriers for a growing range of covered triggers. Join us as we discuss these acceleration and extended benefit riders, trends and innovations in the space, and discuss challenges and actuarial considerations in designing, pricing, and modelling them. We will also explore issues carriers have experienced, how to consider the interactions between these benefits and the underlying mortality coverage, reinsurance considerations, and more!

Description: Long Duration Targeting Improvement's (LDTI's) roll-forward disclosure requirements include line items for the impact of actual variances from expected experience (A/E) for both net premiums and benefits. These aggregate A/E amounts provide some insight into how actual experience is emerging relative to expectations, but they do not provide insight into either the drivers of the deviations or their significance.

Description: Come hear from a panel focused on hot topics in the life/LTC combination product market. The presenters will look at regulatory developments, evolution of the risk selection process, and provide an update to the assumption of natural risk hedging in hybrid products.

Description: The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Society of Insurance Research (SIR) started developing research addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) topics. Join panelists as they briefly present an overview of their organization's DEI research and share their perspectives on common challenges facing all the stages of this research: - Planning relevant and timely research with a long timeline. - Getting appropriate data and resources to support your research. - Communicating research on topics that may be controversial.