Insights and Ideas from the American Academy of Actuaries
Contingencies
Departments
Editor’s Note
An Ordinary Summer Day
By Preeti Vasishtha
An ice cream truck was making its rounds through my neighborhood as I returned home from work one afternoon in June. School was out. Pools were crowded. Children were playing and riding bikes. The forecast called for afternoon...
President’s Message
Is It Still Insurance? Navigating the Era of Data-Driven Pricing
When I learned that access and affordability of insurance was a key theme of this issue, I decided to write about the impact that data-driven pricing may have on individuals’ ability—particularly higher-risk individuals—to obtain coverage. The...
CEO Insights
Making Investments That Strengthen Our Value and Future
One of the core strengths of the American Academy of Actuaries is the expertise and commitment of our members who choose to raise their hands as volunteers. Every public policy work product, professionalism resource, educational effort, and member...
Feature
Convective Convergence
The confluence of severe convective storms, rising costs, and evolving hazards is changing how actuaries measure and manage risk.
By Michael G. Malloy
Fifteen years ago, on May 22, 2011, the enormous tornado that tore through the city of...
Feature
Hard To Reach
Gaps in health care access and data in rural and underserved communities complicate how actuaries assess risk, design coverage, and evaluate models of care.
By Noah Kirsch
Since the Affordable Care Act was adopted in 2010, the number of people...
Feature
The Roth Question
How actuarial modeling and long-term planning can help determine whether a Roth conversion will increase a retiree’s after-tax wealth.
By Mark Shemtob
How does a retiree use their accumulated wealth?
Generally, it is allocated to one or...
Feature
The Evolution of Risk
Editor’s Note: This article is the second in a two-part series on turning points in the history of insurance. Part I, which appears in the July/August 2026 issue of Contingencies, examined foundational developments in law, data, and public policy....
Feature
Trade-Offs
Editor’s Note: This is the concluding article in a two-part series exploring how global trade dynamics influence risk, investment, and insurance.
Tariffs and labor market shifts are changing costs, liabilities, and the assumptions that...
Policy Compass
Affordability in Focus
As the nation approaches the 2026 midterm elections, a common theme across the political spectrum is affordability.
While inflation surged in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising prices have largely persisted and, in some cases, have...
Member Spotlight
Beyond the Finish Line
For retirement actuary Kyuman (Q) Lee, MAAA, FSA, EA, CERA, FCA, CFA, the finish line is never really the end of the race. Whether it’s earning actuarial credentials, taking on new responsibilities at work, volunteering for the Academy, or...
Crossword
Word Salad
Ready to put your problem-solving skills to the test? Download the crossword puzzle below and see how many clues you can solve. You can also download the answers to the previous crossword.
Cryptic Puzzle
Island Rings
Here is another puzzle from Bob Fink and Jerry Miccolis.
Aloha! This puzzle might best be savored on a tropical beach, under a swaying palm tree, while sipping a cool, refreshing mai tai—indeed, the very conditions under which it was conceived....
The Last Word
The Skills AI Can’t Replace
While rereading one of my family’s favorite children’s books at bedtime the other night, I noticed a striking analogy between artificial intelligence (AI) in education and the title character in Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds.
In this...
Up To Code—The Classics
Perspectives from the ABCD—Moral Turpitude
The current Code of Professional Conduct was released to the members of the five U.S.-based actuarial organizations on Jan. 1, 2001. In the covering memorandum, the Joint Committee on the Code of Conduct referenced comments received during the...
Web Exclusive
What Your Policy Actually Covers—and Why
Most people don’t read their insurance policies until something goes wrong. Here’s what you need to know before that happens—and how the actuaries think about the risks most consumers don’t see coming.
Feature
Managing Risk in a World of Polycrisis
From extreme weather and cyberattacks to geopolitical conflict and economic volatility, multiple crises are weighing on an increasingly interconnected world. How can actuaries help insurers and policymakers prepare for these risks?
Feature
How GLP-1 Drugs Are Shaping Care, Cost, and Coverage
From utilization to mortality assumptions, these medications raise new cost and risk considerations for actuaries and insurers.
Feature
AI and the Moral Hazard Problem in Health Insurance
Health insurance protects against financial risk, but it also shapes how care is used. Artificial intelligence points to a more targeted approach to managing incentives.
Feature
A Look Back—How Insurance Helped Shape America
As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, key legal decisions, technological breakthroughs, and political battles reveal how insurance evolved alongside the nation itself.
