Description: This article highlights some of the results from the Society of Actuaries SOA 2010 update to the 2005 Reflecting Risk in Pricing Survey. The survey focused on how companies are trying to price for and understand the risks inherent in the products they sell in various product lines—life and annuity, health, and property and casualty P&C insurance—and showed results for various countries of location and business focus.

Description: This article summarizes an emerging risk research project completed by the Joint Risk Management Section. The major categories of risks in the survey were 1. Economic, 2. Environmental, 3. Geopolitical, 4. societal and 5. Technological.

Description: In this article the author compares ERM issues, strategies and scenarios to the process of driving to work on a four-lane highway.

Description: The editor introduces the articles in this issue. Articles that include topics on systemic risk, economic capital, variable annuties, etc.

Description: Combinations of risks are an important component of the Survey of Emerging Risks, now in its 15th iteration. Also known as risk clusters or compound risks, the most popular in the survey define threat multipliers, where a risk makes other risks worse. The top risks chosen are trended for the last 10 years, showing interesting cycles and discontinuities.

Description: The Federal funds rate increased by 4.25% in 2022 with further increases in 2023, which have already resulted in a liquidity crisis for a few banks. As the rapid increase of the interest rates pushed the new money rates above the yields of many life insurers’ investment portfolios, insurance companies are facing a dilemma between compressed margins from peer pressure and the concern with liquidity shortfalls and realized capital losses should mass surrenders happen. This paper discussed main emerging risks under rising interest rate environment, and several ways to mitigate these risks.

Description: Enterprise risk management (ERM) has grown fast in the 21st century, thankful due to a variety of extreme yet unfortunate risk events and regulatory changes. However, challenges continue with many other initiatives competing with ERM for resources within an organization. In this month’s newsletter, we revisit this old yet still important topic and bring a few relevant reports to your attention.

Description: This article examines possible future directions in risk reporting by insurers, as they negotiate turbulent markets and move towards Solvency II compliance.

Description: This article talks about risk disclosure and daily VaR of banks.

Description: This article focuses on risk quantification at an enterprise level.