Research Insights, a Society of Actuaries Podcast

This podcast discusses the recent research report, U.S. Public Pension Plan Contribution Indices, 2006–2014.

THis podcast discusses the Predictive Analytics & Accelerated Underwriting Survey Subcommittee of the Society’s Committee on Life Insurance Mortality and Underwriting Surveys report on the results of a survey designed to obtain feedback on several current hot topics in the industry, namely predictive analytics, accelerated underwriting and enhanced underwriting. This survey was sent to US and Canadian direct life insurance companies.

This podcast discusses the report which covers US regional population mortality experience during the period 2000-2015. The Society of Actuaries pursued the research as part its ongoing longevity and mortality research initiatives. The purpose of the research is to produce an overview of the differences and similarities in mortality by age group, time, cause of death and region (geographic and urban-rural) to better aid in the understanding of future expected mortality rates and the management of public programs and policy.

This podcast discusses the study sponsored by the Product Development Section, International Section, Smaller Insurance Company Section, and the Committee for Life Insurance Research. This study examines global product development (PD) practices of life insurance and annuity companies. Performed by LIMRA and RGA, this project consisted of a survey of North American life insurance and annuity companies and examined current insurer PD processes including the evolution of the current strategy; variation of the strategies by company characteristics (e.g., size, life vs. annuity) and region (e.g., United States vs. Canada vs. Other companies); and identified leading PD practices globally. The results of the research can provide the life insurance industry with a resource to help enhance resource management and current processes to better serve the needs of its stakeholders.

This podcast discusses the study, Parameter Uncertainty, sponsored by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), and the Society of Actuaries' (SOA) Joint Risk Management Section and the Joint Risk Management Research Committee. Authored by a Hartman Analytics team of Brian Hartman, Robert Richardson, and Rylan Bateman, the paper provides structures to incorporate parameter uncertainty in quantifying risk and illustrates the application through case studies.

In this first installment in the series, Dale Hall, SOA Managing Director of Research discusses an overview of the Financial Wellness essays with Steve Siegel, SOA Research Actuary and Anna Rappaport, of Anna Rappaport Consulting. Please note, this podcast was recorded via conference call, rather than our higher sound quality digital recording program.

This podcast discusses the article, US Pension Discount Rate Comparison 2009-2014,which compares the recent historical relationship between pension plan funded status and discount rates used to compute liabilities for funding purposes.Comparisons include all three major categories of defined benefit pension plans in the United States: single employer (SE) plans, multiemployer (ME) plans, and state and large city public plans (PP).

This podcast discusses the December 2016 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed updated mortality tables, starting in 2018 for minimum funding requirements for single employer defined benefit pension plans. This study estimates the impact of the proposed change on the single employer pension system as a whole; the impact on individual plans may differ.

This podcast discusses the recently released report by The Society of Actuaries that describes the components of margin for calculating capitation rates in a Medicaid context along with a description of practical issues that may be encountered by MCO’s. The report includes observations from interviews with MCO executives as well as financial results analysis of MCOs nationwide. The material was authored by Sara Teppema, Jeff Goldman, Luke Smith, and Steve Tutewohl from Valence Health.

This podcast discusses the recently released report by The Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries that examines a simple but accurate means of assessing discount rate sensitivity. Data used in this report were provided by the Financial Institutions Commission of the Province of British Columbia (FICOM).