Description: The Society of Actuaries Research Institute (SOA) and LIMRA are soliciting surrender and lapse experience for individual Term and Whole Life policies for calendar years 2015 through 2022 to be used to complete a 2015-2022 Term and Whole Life Lapse and Surrender Experience Study (Study).

Description: In this article, we collected data from the companies’ roll-forward disclosures related to calendar years 2021 and 2022 on Market Risk Benefit and shared a high-level summary of the Market Risk Benefit volatility that a focus group of companies incurred and summarized the most common ways to mitigate volatility.

Description: Insurers buy reinsurance for a variety of reasons, but an insurer’s accounting rules and solvency regulations are inevitably at the heart of the decision. Whether they are primary drivers or simply help insurers judge acceptable pricing for a risk- or service-motivated transaction, these rules and regulations are a key part of the equation.

Description: The life insurance industry has a long tradition of trying to calculate the economic value with different forms of concepts. Especially with reinsurance, which is often a strategic part of a company's operation, it is important to understand the economics of the transactions given the complexities involved. However, despite the focus on economic value creation, the financial metrics demanded by various stakeholders often tie to one or more accounting basis.

Description: Discusses the emerging issue of non-formulaic reserves, which surrounds principles-based reserving, in a Q&A format.

Description: This article describes the shortcomings of a rules–based valuation system and the benefits of a principles–based valuation system. It discusses the concerns that have arisen since the introduction of Canadian GAAP and Canada's current direction toward a principles-based valuation of insurance liabilities.

Description: This article examines the changes in U.S. regulatory reserve and risk-based capital requirements that will significantly impact the insurance industry and practicing actuaries. It summarizes activity related to principles-based reserves and risk-based capital initiatives during 2005.

Description: GAAP's elimination of gross profit as a basis for amortization of deferred acquisition costs enables the accounting for reinsurance of universal life contracts to better reflect the economic protection provided by reinsurance. It also makes it easier to assess the effectiveness of different techniques. Building on the analysis of an earlier article, "A Fresh Look at Accounting for Reinsurance of Universal Life," this article presents a practical approach to estimating the ineffectiveness of several existing techniques at accounting for the economic protection provided by reinsurance. The article ends with a summary of what a company might do to improve the effectiveness of its reinsurance accounting.

Description: The insurance industry recently adopted two significant accounting changes. Good risk management requires a solid understanding of new risks as well as a proper set of controls. Learn how internal audit can help actuaries better understand arising risks and build a more robust control framework.

Description: The recent round of regulatory changes (LDTI, IFRS17, PBR) has put a demand on actuarial organizations, and, in particular, financial reporting functions unlike most have experienced in their careers. With adoption, where does this leave the financial reporting function going forward? What work is left to be done? How will the financial reporting function need to evolve under these accounting regimes?