Chairperson’s Corner
By Tim Morant and Jinnah Cox
Reinsurance News, February 2024
As a long-time SOA member and volunteer, it is a privilege to serve as the incoming chair of the Reinsurance Section Council (RSC). With nearly 1,800 members, we have active participation from across the industry and across the globe! Such a large and diverse group will include a variety of perspectives and we have the opportunity to influence and collaborate with the industry through the research content and leadership that the section is known for.
If you already know me, you know I’m not an extremely formal person. So, I thought the best way to introduce myself and share my thoughts about the Reinsurance Section and this role is through an informal conversation. My colleague and chair of the Product Development Section, Jinnah Cox, was kind enough to help out by asking the questions.
Jinnah Cox (JC): Tell us a bit about your career and how you’ve been involved with the SOA over the years.
Tim Morant (TM): I started my career at a direct writer focused on asset-liability management of life and annuity business. After becoming an FSA, I moved into reinsurance. For the last 15 years, I’ve worked in the US and Latin America, focusing mostly on pricing, risk management, and underwriting of life insurance products for global reinsurance companies.
Throughout my career, I have found opportunities for professional growth through volunteering at the SOA. Examples include:
- Research Institute’s Mortality Expert Panel (2022+),
- chair of the Reinsurance Section Council (2023-2024),
- Reinsurance Section Council member (2021-2024 term),
- member of the Individual Life Experience Committee (ILEC) 2018-2020, and
- member of various Project Oversight Groups (POGs) and working groups.
JC: What are your priorities as chair of the Reinsurance Section?
TM: We’ll aim to offer perspective on how the industry is changing, including the use of new data sources, digital transformation, and other topics raised by section members themselves. We poll the membership then allocate resources to develop content on the topics of greatest interest. Issues highlighted by members in recent surveys include:
- Considerations on structuring and optimizing reinsurance transactions;
- side cars, segregated accounts, and captive reinsurers;
- asset-intensive reinsurance and alternatives to coinsurance;
- impact on reinsurers of private equity firms buying insurance companies;
- mortality improvement: Dealing with COVID and deaths of despair;
- Bermuda-domiciled reinsurers: Hedging strategies, ALM, new business financing;
- modelling reinsurance: Pricing, valuation, cash flow testing, capital planning, etc.;
- regulatory updates: Emerging concerns, use of permitted practices, state-specific considerations;
- mergers & acquisitions and large block transactions (VA, UL); and
- other uses for data science (outside of Accelerated UW).
This content will be created in several forms, including research papers, surveys, webinars, podcasts, and presentations.
JC: What unique perspective do you think you can bring to the role—both from a Munich Re and a personal perspective on the industry?
TM: I have extensive experience working for reinsurance companies as well as overseeing the contracting of reinsurance at direct companies. Many of my roles have been actuarial, but I have also managed underwriting departments. This experience has helped me understand the importance of the reinsurers’ relationships with carriers and see the value chain from many different angles. As a member of the senior leadership team at Munich Re I’m exposed to the industry at a high level, and seeing it from a bird’s eye view is what enables us to focus on solutions that are relevant across the industry. While carriers compete with each other, from my standpoint, the industry is more united than ever in ensuring we are finding solutions that leverage technology, expand insurability, and improve longevity.
I recently attended LIMRA’s annual conference where their 2023 Insurance Barometer Study results were presented, finding that just over half (52%) of Americans own a policy, and 21% of that 52% said they do not have sufficient coverage. The collective drive to close the life coverage gap is something that unites us all.
JC: What are some memorable highlights of your experience as an SOA member?
TM: One of the greatest benefits of volunteering with the SOA is reconnecting with colleagues with whom I’ve worked with in the past and meeting great people with whom I had not previously had the privilege to work. These strong industry connections, made possible by the SOA, make my career so much more rewarding.
Just the other day, a colleague of mine reached out to collaborate on a topic of mutual interest and I realized we know each other exclusively from service on SOA committees and POGs together.
JC: What’s the most helpful content that the SOA can produce right now to help the profession?
TM: The RSC has several areas of focus. I’ll list a few here, and to give you a more complete picture, I’m attaching a list of projects the RSC is funding or has previously funded.
- Statistical methods to impute race is a timely and important research project that the RSC is funding. As regulators address concerns about bias in modeling, carriers will look to third parties like the SOA and the RSC to provide guidance, assistance, and resources as they seek to address these concerns appropriately.
- We recently funded two projects related to incorporating behavioral science in underwriting. The teams are investigating some key questions that may be relevant to the sales and risk selection processes of life insurance.
- We are also funding several projects on non-traditional reinsurance topics such as asset-intensive, off-shore, and in-force transactions. Given the changing landscape and regulatory environment, these projects will be extremely valuable to our membership.
JC: How can SOA members become more involved in the reinsurance section?
TM: First, visit our microsite within the SOA website.
There you can access the section’s:
- Leadership list: Feel free to reach out to us with suggestions.
- LinkedIn group link: Please join!
- Reinsurance newsletter, podcasts, and links to other resources.
Also, remember that the reinsurance council is an elected body of volunteers. Every year, three individuals roll off, and three new members are elected to join the council. We encourage anyone who would like to be part of the council to reach out to me or a member of the council to ask questions or simply put their name forward when the call for candidates comes around each year.
If you’d like a chance to volunteer outside of council leadership, we invite people to become friends of the council. These friends can participate in our council meetings and join our subcommittees focusing on producing content.
JC: I’d like to put in a quick plug for those with interest in product development (PD) and related topics to visit our microsite or reach out to me at the contact information below, and I am happy to tell you about being a member of the PD Section or a friend of the section! Now back to the interview …
JC: How do you see the role of the Reinsurance Section within the SOA as a whole?
TM: As our website states, the Reinsurance Section's mission is to advance the reinsurance profession by identifying and communicating emerging issues and trends for the global reinsurance community through education, research, professional development, and networking. I’ve already said this, but it bears repeating: Working with such a great group of professionals to advance our industry is very rewarding. If you’re not yet involved, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And if you are involved, I look forward to working with you!
JC: Lastly, outside of work, what are some things you think people would be surprised to know about you?
TM: The Morant family is rather international. I was born in the UK and lived there until I was 13 but I spent my high school years imitating American accents I heard on TV with the goal of losing my accent. I was mostly successful so most people assume I’m American. After marrying and starting a family, we moved to Mexico City where we spent three wonderful years—two of my four children were born there. I picked up Spanish pretty easily, which has greatly helped my relationship with my Cuban mother-in-law.
Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.
Tim Morant, FSA, MAAA, is senior vice president & chief risk assessment officer at Munich Re Life US. Tim can be reached at tmorant@munichre.com.
Jinnah Cox, FSA, MAAA, is vice president & actuary, head of Individual Life Pricing, at Munich Re Life US. Jinnah can be reached at jcox@munichre.com.