Insights and Ideas from the American Academy of Actuaries
Contingencies
Features
‘Interesting Times’
Reputational risk in an age of radical uncertainty By Alyssa Oursler In the 1950s, Equitable Life-the oldest mutual company in the world and the first to label an employee an actuary-planted seeds that, decades later, sowed its collapse: the...
Looking Back, Moving Forward—ERISA at 50
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted in 1974-50 years ago. To mark this anniversary, the American Academy of Actuaries is exploring ERISA's present and the future of retirement through a series of events and issue...
A World of Differences
Challenges reading IFRS 17 statements, one year on By Michael Winkler and Sunil Kansal THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES AN INSIGHTFUL OVERVIEW of the findings from the first series of annual statements recently published worldwide following the...Departments
Actuarially Sound
Lend Your Actuarial Knowledge to the Elections Process—Vote!
By Ted Gotsch Senior Policy Analyst, Content and Publications
(10/10/24)
For the past six months, the Academy has used its Election 2024: Issues Clearinghouse as a one-stop shop for members, policymakers, and the broader policy...
Actuarially Sound
Don’t Be Scared! Cybersecurity Awareness Month Serves as a Reminder of Threats
By Rob Fischer Policy Analyst, Casualty
(10/01/24)
Fall is upon us, and with it comes something spooky to take heed of every October. No, it has nothing to do with ghosts or goblins-it's the annual reminder that hackers and phishers...
Actuarially Sound
Actuaries Play a Critical Role in Helping Insurers Address Changing Climate Risks
(09/25/24)
By Will Behnke Policy Analyst, RMFRC
As the effects of climate change become increasingly evident, industries worldwide are feeling the impact. Among them, the insurance industry is experiencing significant shifts as...
Member Spotlight
April Shen
What is your practice area and/or area of expertise?
Life and Annuities
What led you to become an actuary? And what attracted you to the profession?
I got into actuarial work because I was good at math and didn't mind tackling exams. As I...
Actuarially Sound
A Month to Focus on Life Insurance Literacy
By Amanda Barry-Moilanen Policy Analyst, Life
09/19/24
Life insurance is an important financial tool for all consumers to consider. But because it is not mandated like private passenger auto or health insurance, it may be...
Actuarially Sound
Agenda Preview: Life Breakout Sessions at Envision Tomorrow
WHO: Life actuaries
WHAT: Breakout sessions focused on annuities and long-term care as well as solvency regulation
WHERE: Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Oct. 15-16
HOW: Register for Envision...
Actuarially Sound
Agenda Preview: Retirement Breakout Sessions at Envision Tomorrow
WHO: Retirement actuaries
WHAT: Breakout sessions focused on the current and future state of defined benefit plans and reforming Social Security
WHERE: Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Oct. 15-16
HOW: Register for "Envision...
Actuarially Sound
Many Lessons Still Left to Learn to Maximize 401(k) Participation Rate
By Ted Gotsch Senior Policy Analyst, Content and Publications
09/05/24
Retirement security is a growing concern for more and more Americans. It seems like a reasonable worry, given that a recent Motley Fool survey found the average...
Actuarially Sound
Agenda Preview: Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council Breakout Sessions at Envision Tomorrow
WHO: All Practice Areas
WHAT: The Long, Hot Summer of 2024: How Climate Change Events Disproportionately Affect Various Populations
WHERE: Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Oct. 15-16
HOW:...
Actuarially Sound
Agenda Preview: Health Breakout Sessions at Envision Tomorrow
WHO: Health actuaries
WHAT: Breakout sessions focused on health actuarial analysis, Medicare and Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
WHERE: Grand Hyatt Washington, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Oct. 15-16
HOW:...
Editor’s Note
A Hodgepodge
By Eric P. Harding
THE OTHER DAY, OUR KITCHEN TURNED INTO AN ARENA OF SORTS-though not in the traditional sense. My 14-year-old, Elliott, and I were huddled over a game of Magic: The Gathering, trying our best to outmaneuver the other with what...
President’s Message
Self-Regulation and Reputational Risk
By Lisa Slotznick
REPUTATIONAL RISK TO ACTUARIES-are we worried? The lead story in this issue of Contingencies on the reputational risk to actuaries' principals (and in turn to actuaries) focuses on several topic areas-major insurance company...
Up To Code
Upholding Actuarial Professionalism: Navigating Ethical Challenges
By April Choi
"THESE RATES ARE UNCOMPETITIVE-WE NEED 30% LOWER RATES!"
"These reserves don't make sense, how can they shoot up like that? You need to sharpen your pencil." Do these sound familiar to you? As practicing actuaries, we inevitably...
Hot Topics
Hacking the Planet—Part 6
Climate Engineering: Insurance Perspective-Effectiveness and Associated Risk Pathways
"We do not know much about modeling climate. It is as though we are modeling a human being. Models are in position at last to tell us the creature has two arms...
Book Review
Bayes Knew You Were Going to Read This Review
Everything Is Predictable
By Tom Chivers. Atria/One Signal Publishers. 2024.
Review by James Lynch
WHEN I TOOK MATH STATS, Bayes' theorem took a scant four of the 800 pages of the textbook (published 1990). The instructor told us some...
Professionalism Perspectives
Pickleball and the Code of Professional Conduct
By Kenneth A. Kent
Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, and it's easy to understand why. Almost anyone can play the sport-less athleticism is required than other paddle and/or racquet sports-but there's an upper echelon of...
Cryptic Puzzle
Don’t Yuck My Yum
By Tom Toce
The idea for this puzzle came from two sources. One was a
lively exchange I started on Facebook, after I made a post expressing surprise
that REALTOR was not playable in Scrabble. I never knew "Realtor" was a
trademark name! A number...
Puzzles
Nice Designs
By Stephen Meskin
We are looking for nice designs that are 4 units
square. We say that a 4 × 4 square has a nice design if each of its rows
and columns (which of course are of length 4) have nice designs. We say
that a 1 × 4 row is nicely...
The Last Word
Margin of Error
By Robert J. Rietz
A very long time ago, at Michigan State University, I
took a senior-level statistics course. The professor demonstrated how polls can
produce statistically valid findings with a surprisingly small number of
responses. For...
