The Importance of Being Earnest…About Offsets
By Jeff Schuh, FSA, MAAA 

In Oscar Wilde's comedic play, the characters of Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing spend their time assuming fictitious identities in order to escape unwelcome social obligations. If only valuation actuaries could do the same to avoid year end work! Actuarial workloads can be overwhelming, which may lead to "less than earnest" efforts validating important reserving and pricing assumptions. Termination rates and IBNR studies receive the most actuarial attention, but the importance of offset assumptions should not be overlooked.
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In the Eye of the Economic Storm
By Joe Black

Hurricane season officially begins in June. The only positive thing that can be said about a natural disaster like a hurricane is that it will always show up on radar. The storm will be seen approaching from a long way off, so warnings will be issued and preparations made. We can predict the path of the storm and the scale of the damage with some degree of accuracy so that we can protect people and property.

By late 2008, much of the damage from the latest man-made economic disaster had already been done. Back then, we used much of the space in this forum to offer some sobering insights, based on the impact on experience from past recessions, about the impact of adverse economic conditions on the LTD business in 2009 and beyond.
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Revisiting Credibility Approaches for Group Life Underwriting
By Michelle Haines, Trisha Rasmussen and Eric Swanson

We all have a basic idea of what it means for experience data to be credible; that is, it must be reliable and predictive, but what makes one set of data more predictive than another? Or "how can we quantify our confidence in the ability of the experience to predict future claims?" Pricing actuaries use credibility formulas to determine the reliability of the data, but how do they settle on which formula to use? The answer is that there really is not just one right answer. Based on our observations of the Group Life industry and our own experience and research, this article will describe the most common approaches used today.
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Are We Missing an Important Opportunity?
By Sue Favilla

When I was 20, I thought 30 was old. When I was 30, I thought 35 was old. When I was 40 I thought, wow, this aging thing is easy! Now that I'm a little older, I'm wondering, really wondering, how much longer I'll continue to work - 65? 75? 110? I know I'm not the only one, as articles abound on this topic in various magazines. Like thousands of others, I truly don't feel any different than I did at 20, 30, 40 or 50. Is it our culture? Is it our genes?
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Taking the Pain out of Claim Audits
By Charles Deragon, M.A., MBA, FLMI, ALHC, ARA, AFSI, PCS

"Claim audits". Hearing these two simple words can make some disability claims manager's teeth grind. Like a dentist appointment, a claim audit might be, for some of you dear readers, an anticipated bad experience. The simple use of the "A" word is often synonymous with "confrontation" and "police work" from the reinsurer or the internal auditor rather than a partnership with the claims staff. Why is that? One explanation might be a lack of clarity.
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Research Update – 2nd Quarter 2010
By Kathleen Thiesen 

The following partial list of industry surveys conducted during the last few months were requested by RGA Reinsurance clients and provided as a value added service. The final reports were provided to all participating carriers.
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Upcoming Life and Disability Insurance Meetings
View a list of upcoming industry conferences and events.
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