Section News

February 2017

AFIR-ERM Section
By Michael Sherris, Chair

The Bob Alting von Geusau Memorial Prize was awarded for the best AFIR-ERM paper published in the ASTIN Bulletin. The prize is $5,000 CAD and an invitation to present the paper at the next AFIR-ERM Colloquium. The 2015 papers were reviewed by a prize selection committee and the winners finalised at the recent IAA Council and Committee Meetings in Budapest. Two papers were selected as joint winners, based on the quality and coverage of the paper as well as its potential interest to both educators and practitioners. The winners were:

• Calculating Variable Annuity Liability “Greeks” Using Monte Carlo Simulation – Mark J. Cathcart, Hsiao Yen Lok, Alexander J. McNeil and Steven Morrison. ASTIN Bulletin, 45(2), May 2015, pp. 239–266; and
• Life Insurance and Pension Contracts I: The Time Additive Life Cycle Model – Knut K. Aase. ASTIN Bulletin, 45(1), January 2015, pp. 1–47.

We congratulate the authors for their valuable contribution to the AFIR-ERM knowledge base. Both papers will be presented at the upcoming ASTIN/AFIR-ERM Section Colloquium in Panama City from August 20–24.

The section is currently seeking expressions of interest to join the Section Committee. There will be a number of vacancies to be filled at the General Assembly in Panama City. The AFIR-ERM section organises annual colloquia (including one at the ICA 2018), financially supports the ASTIN Bulletin, awards an annual prize for the best AFIR-ERM paper published in the ASTIN Bulletin, maintains an ERM virtual library and is actively developing plans for webcasts and research-focused international working groups. If you are interested in joining the committee then feel free to discuss it with me, Michael Sherris. Or simply nominate yourself and/or any other AFIR-ERM member by sending an email to me (with a copy to Carol Ann Banks) by June 30, with an indication of your interest as well as a maximum of one page containing a:

• Summary of your background;
• Statement of why you would be a good choice for committee member; and
• Photograph of yourself (optional).

ASTIN
By Eric Dal Moro, Chair

At the ASTIN/AFIR-ERM Colloquium in Panama City from August 20–24, the following ASTIN committee members will reach the end of their terms: Louise Francis (U.S.), Colin Czapiewski (UK) and Nils Romer (Denmark). The ASTIN Section would like to thank Louise, Colin and Nils for their contribution during their terms, and also congratulate Nils for his election as President of the Danish Actuarial Association.

A few candidates have shown an interest in replacing them: Agneszka Bergel (Poland), Roger Hayne (U.S.), Adrian Ericsson (UK) and Kirsten Sasady (Denmark). A formal election will be held at the ASTIN General Assembly in Panama City on August 23. We are hoping for a high participation rate in the assembly, and thank you in advance for scheduling this event in your calendar.

The Section is pleased to announce the winners of the Best Paper prize for the upcoming colloquium:

• An Approach to the Individual Claims Reserving Method – Eugenio V. Rodriguez and Agnieszka I. Bergel; and
• Pricing Cyber Security Insurance Using Copulas – Jacquelyn Rees-Ulmer, Rahul Parsa and Ramona Lee.

To hear these presentations and many others, register to attend.

IAAHS
By April Choi, Chair

As planned, the IAAHS is on track to bring to its members many webcasts on current and emerging topics.
At the May 2 webcast Health Assessments – Dr. Do-A-Little or Dr. Do-A-Lot?, Anne Jung and James Cripps from healthcare provider Bupa shared their insights on the impact of health assessments on employees’ health and their health insurance claims. 

On June 27, we will hold the second in a series of joint webcasts with the IAA PIWG, Global Perspectives on Long-Term Care, featuring Canada and France. This webcast is sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and IAAHS. Ben Miclette, Etienne Dupourque and Sam Gutterman will discuss some of the global challenges facing long-term care and potential solutions, including delivery methods, financing and program design, as well as the role actuaries play. This series of webcasts highlight a report recently issued by the IAA’s PIWG.

PBSS/IACA Colloquium—Cancun 2017
By Abraham (Abe) Hernández, PBSS Chair

The PBSS/IACA Colloquium was held in Cancun, Mexico, from June 4–7. As chair of the PBSS Section, I had the honor of leading the organization of this event, along with a large group of volunteers that made it possible. One year’s hard work proved to have been worth it. It was really emotive watching the list of papers and attendees grow week by week and finally receiving fellow actuaries and other professionals from more than 20 countries in one of the most beautiful venues of my country. For four days professionals, academics, students and government officials (including a senator who happens to be an actuary) from Mexico, Japan, China, Greece, Brazil, Turkey, the U.S., Australia, Switzerland, Colombia, Venezuela, Finland and Israel, among many others, enjoyed the opportunity to share their knowlegde and friendship with old and new friends.

The scientific program included not only technical presentations of theoretical papers, but also some consulting and applied presentations that provided great diversity regarding new ideas and discussions. Each and every session and panel was full of new knowledge for everyone. I would like to thank each speaker and all participants for attending. Special congratulations go to Xiaobai Zhu and George Simeonidis for their prizes for the best scientific and applied papers, respectively.

In addition, we could not miss the joyful social program, seasoned with the Mexican touch of music, food and partying; and the natural beauty of Cancun. We enjoyed a night with Mexican food and drinks during which we all had fun dancing (or at least trying!) and meeting new people from around the world. After a lecture on Mayan mathematics, we also enjoyed a trip to Tulum to discover the ancient and mystical Mayan world.

I would like to thank again each and every person that made this possible. In particular, thanks to Tom Terry, Junichi Sakamoto, Fernanda Salas, Christelle Dieudonné, Rodrigo Ibarra, Ken Buffin, Professor Knut Aase, Yas Fujii, Allan Paldanius, Senator Ernesto Cordero, Óscar Vela, Norma Alicia Rosas, Carlos Ramírez, Carlos Lozano, Jorge López and many more that for the sake of space I am unable to mention. Thanks to Alejandro Bonilla for guiding the scientific program. I could not miss thanking our sponsors: CitiBanamex, UBS, AforeCoppel, Infonavit, VITALIS, Proteak, Nathal, AMAC, the WPS and the University of Yucatán. Special thanks to the Organizing, Scientific and Sponsorhip Committees and all the staff for making the event such a success.

Finally, I encourage all Section members or those who are still non-members to attend Sections’ colloquia. I am sure there is no experience like this that helps you to get along with colleagues from all around the world and to grow individually and professionally. Once you attend your first one you will never stop!

To see more about the colloquium, like the scientific program, attendees, papers, presentations and photos, click here.

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