Description: A change in the way in which statutory life insurance and annuity reserves are determined in the United States is heading toward adoption. Currently, the Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum Regulation AOMR combines formulaic factor-based minimum reserves with reserve adequacy testing. The American Academy of Actuaries Academy is working with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC to finalize the basic framework of a principles-based reserve PBR methodology, based on a gross premium valuation, for life insurance products. The NAIC Life and Health Actuarial Task Force LHATF has also been considering Actuarial Guideline VACARVM that would introduce a PBR method for the valuation of variable annuity contracts.

Description: The paper explores developments through 2006 in the application of market-consistent concepts to the measurement of fair values of liabilities for financial reporting purposes. A set of criteria is presented that should be useful in the evaluation of proposed fair value measurement approaches where inputs based on prices observed in an active market with reliable transaction prices are not available. Based on these criteria, one approach is examined that might serve as a basis for the fair value measurement of the liability of life insurance contracts and other financial instruments issued by insurers.

Description: This study develops mortality ratios, using contemporary population tables and standard industry tables as the base of expected deaths, for 3,037 members 2,811 Fellows and 226 Associates of the Society of Actuaries observed from January 1, 1955 through December 31, 2004.

Description: This paper provides guidance to employers who are contemplating the use of COLI as a means for funding employee benefits. Commentary will be provided on critical issues to consider when analyzing the benefits of COLI, including product characteristics, cost considerations, legal considerations, representations and warranties, investments, and accounting. “Best Practices” pricing guarantees, representations, warranties, and indemnities will be provided as examples and are generally indicative of the stronger positions taken to date on each issue. This paper does not provide guidance on group term life or other non-COLI products.

Description: The February 2010 issue of the Actuarial Practice Forum table of contents.

Description: These are the exhibits and appendices accompanying the paper Estimated Impact of Medicare Part D on Retiree Prescription Drug Costs.

Description: This paper examines how incentives created by management structures and performance measurement systems affect a corporation’s risk management decisions.

Description: The purpose of this discussion is to introduce a few additional points and discuss how different assumptions will alter the results in some cases.

Description: The authors introduce an alternative to Tail Contribution Analysis TCA for analyzing business segments and strategies called Economic Profit Analysis EPA. They discuss EPA’s key feature, “volatility replication,” an intuitively appealing process of building investor expectations and capital market information into the risk-and-return measurements used to evaluate strategic decisions. Finally, they illustrate the benefit of using EPA in overcoming the problems of TCA and thereby providing concise reliable information for business decision making.

Description: This report provides estimated savings for several of the options that are available to plan sponsors after implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program.