Research Insights, a Society of Actuaries Podcast

This podcast covers updates on accelerated underwriting methods presented to the Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF) of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) at the NAIC Fall National Meeting 2017.

Senior SOA Research staff preview 2018 SOA Research.

Senior SOA Research staff reminisce about the holidays and look back on key 2017 research projects.

Senior SOA Research staff discuss memorable moments in SOA Research from 2017 and their holiday season plans.

This podcast is an overview of the Early Duration Claims Survey completed by the Society's Committee on Life Insurance Mortality & Underwriting Surveys.

In this episode, Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, CFA, Managing Director of Research, discusses the Living to 100 Monograph topic, Mortality Improvement, with Ronora Stryker, ASA, MAAA, Research Actuary and Jean-Marc Fix, FSA, MAAA.

This podcast discusses the research report series, The Future of Retirement in China, presented by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. The report series examines consumer attitudes, beliefs and behaviors on various retirement issues.

This podcast reviews the research paper which provides an overview of tree models, and details how they have been used for developing group long term disability recovery and mortality rates.

In this episode, Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, CFA, Managing Director of Research discusses the Living to 100 Monograph topic, Insights into Successful Aging, with Steve Vernon, FSA, MAAA and Jean-Marc Fix, FSA, MAAA.

This podcast discusses Mortality Improvement Scale MP-2017, the annual update to the RPEC_2014 model and its corresponding mortality improvement scales, released by the Society of Actuaries Retirement Plans Experience Committee (RPEC). This new version of the model reflects historical U.S. population mortality experience through 2015.

This podcast discusses The Older Age Underwriting Practices Survey, a survey designed to elicit feedback regarding underwriting guidelines, requirements, assumptions and practices utilized in the assessment of older age applicants. This survey was sent to US and Canadian direct life insurance companies.

This podcast discusses the recently released report which serves as a primer on the mechanics and uses of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for actuarial and financial applications. The report also includes development of a new application for the HMM to mortgage-backed securities exchange-traded funds.

In this episode, Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, CFA, Managing Director of Research discusses the Living to 100 Monograph topic, Senior Citizen in 2050, with Ronora Stryker, ASA, MAAA, Research Actuary.

This podcasts discusses the following: The Society of Actuaries Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks and Financial Finesse are pleased to make available the first of five briefs focused on retirement literacy issues. This first brief in the series explores retirement from a holistic perspective looking at non-financial issues. Subsequent briefs will address a number of financial issues such as the cost of retirement and managing risk. The brief was developed by a team lead by Greg Ward of Financial Finesse.

Senior SOA Research staff discuss the upcoming SOA Annual Meeting, highlighting meeting sessions and their favorite things to do in Boston.

This podcast discusses the recent release of historical U.S. population mortality rates by gender and single year of age for calendar years 2000-2015. To develop these rates, the SOA relied upon data furnished by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Social Security Administration. A document summarizing key observations and the process used to develop the rates, along with a table of the rates themselves, can be found here.

In this episode the winning Financial Wellness essays in the Individual Strategies category are discussed.

This podcast discussed 2 recently released reports: Climate, Weather and Environmental Sources for Actuaries This report was prepared in response to the Society of Actuaries' request for a set of data, analysis and discussion sources pertaining to climate change, environmental risks and weather. The report is a collection of sources that deal with the questions of how do scientists know, and what could actuaries do. Climate Sources for Actuaries This research initiates the development of a repository of information regarding existing climate and environmental sustainability research of interest to actuaries. The repository, which is referred to as the Climate Sources for Actuaries Resource Index (or Resource Index), will be of use to the SOA and the Climate & Environmental Sustainability Research Committee in developing their future environmental research programs; to actuaries practicing in the area of climate change and environmental sustainability; to actuaries and their employers, who need to understand the implications of climate change to their existing areas of practice; and to climate researchers interested in improved financial projections associated with climate change.

In this introductory episode, Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, CFA, Managing Director of Research discusses the Living to 100 Monograph with Ronora Stryker, ASA, MAAA, Research Actuary. ***Please note, this podcast was recorded prior to the cancellation of the Valuation Actuary Symposium due to Hurricane Harvey.***

In this episode the winning Financial Wellness essays in the Workplace Initiatives Category are discussed.

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).

This podcast discusses the recently released report describing the Human Mortality Database, a unique open‐access collection of detailed mortality and population data for 38 countries with complete and reliable vital registration and census data. This report overviews the development and completion of the HMD data series down to a cause of death level for an initial set of eight populations: Canada, Czech Republic, England and Wales, France, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. For further information please find the report here: https://www.soa.org/research-reports/2017/2017-hmd-cause-of-death/

This podcast discusses the recently released article describing the demographics and geography of the increasing number of opioid deaths in the United States. The article summarizes data available from the Centers for Disease Control. For further information please find the article here: https://www.soa.org/Files/Research/mortality-opioid-deaths.pdf