CHECK OUT NEW RESEARCH AT THE 2013 HEALTH MEETING 

Join SOA Research Department members at the 2013 Health Meeting! 2013 has shaped up to be a busy year for health actuaries gearing up for health care reform. Come to beautiful Baltimore and attend sessions on the latest health-related research sponsored by the SOA. Register soon for this important event for professionals interested in and impacted by health-related topics. We hope to see you there! 

 VIEW RESEARCH IN THE NEWS  

SOA RELEASES 2008-09 INDIVIDUAL LIFE EXPERIENCE REPORT 

The Individual Life Experience Committee has completed their latest report on intercompany mortality experience by amount of insurance and number of policies under standard individually underwritten issues. This includes the two study years 2008-09. The Excel files contains more detail of the data summarized in the report as well as data from the two prior studies for comparative purposes. Some of the Excel files are pivot tables that allow examination of combinations of the factors presented in the report. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Jack Luff at JLuff@soa.org or call him at 847.706.3571. 

REINSURANCE SECTION AND CLIR POST NEW REPORT ON LIFE REINSURANCE TREATY CONSTRUCTION  

Reinsurance treaty negotiations can be a long process that may lead to lengthy, unwieldy documents and negative experiences for the direct writer and/or reinsurer. The SOA's Reinsurance Section and the Committee on Life Insurance Research have just released a new report on Life Reinsurance Treaty Construction. Authored by Steve Stockman and Tim Cardinal of Actuarial Compass, this report discusses the importance of many reinsurance treaty terms/provisions, identifies common treaty structures, practices, and/or solutions in reinsurance treaty construction and negotiation and illustrates how treaty terms have evolved over time. The knowledge from this research will assist individuals involved in reinsurance treaty negotiations to optimize resources and success in future reinsurance treaty development potentially leading to enhancements in current processes and treaty language, as well as a reduction in the length of time needed to complete negotiations.

PBITT WORKING GROUP COMPLETES SUMMARY OF 2012 UL SURVEY 

The Policyholder Behavior in the Tail (PBITT) working group has completed its fourth survey of insurers on the assumptions used in the modeling of Universal Life products with Secondary Guarantees. The goal of the survey is to gain insight into companies' assumptions in the tail of a stochastic capital calculation. A major motivating factor for the study was to increase the availability of industry experience for all companies to consider when setting assumptions. The results, compiled by Stephen Hodges, Mark Bergstrom and Chuck Bremer of the PBITT working group, include comparisons to previous years' surveys. Key findings include that similar to 2011, lapse rates vary widely amongst insurers in tail scenarios. However, assumed lapse rates do not show substantial variation by issue age for any individual insurer. The PBITT working group intends to continue the survey annually.

WAnted: Life Insurers for Select Period Mortality Survey

The Society of Actuaries' Product Development Section and Committee on Life Insurance Research is sponsoring a survey of life insurers regarding select period mortality.  The purpose of this survey is to identify the pricing assumptions that are being used during the select period and to learn more about the nature of the assumptions underlying the mortality assumptions themselves.  This will help pricing actuaries identify potential methodologies to further explore and help them better set mortality assumptions in the future. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ronora Stryker at rstryker@soa.org by May 24.

ARC Conference Abstracts Due May 22

NEW RFP ON RISK MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS TO PENSION PLANS

The SOA Pension Section Research Committee is seeking proposals that will help optimize the application of risk management concepts to pension plans.  Intents are due by June 15 and proposals are due by June 30.

PENSION SECTION ISSUES CALL FOR ESSAYS ON DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS

The SOA Pension Section Research Committee is issuing a call for essays to Pension Section members and others to write essays related to an aspect of defined contribution plans.  Essays are due by May 31.  Pension Section members are eligible for prizes. 

Mortality Literature Review RFP

The SOA Pension Section is seeking researchers to produce a summary report that provides a literature review of pertinent sources related to current mortality issues and trends.  Intents are due by May 15 and proposals are due by May 31.

Pension Risk Transfer and Barriers to De-Risking Strategies RFP

The SOA Committee on Finance Research and Pension Section Research Committee are interested in research to help actuaries evaluate the impact and barriers to pension de-risking strategies.  Intents are due by June 30 and proposals are due by July 15.