BASIC TRACK SESSIONS
Basic I: Experience and Exposure Rating
The panelists will discuss the basic techniques of both
experience and exposure rating of excess-of-loss reinsurance contracts.
The emphasis for this session will be the calculation of expected
losses. This session is intended for nonactuaries and actuarial students
who are not familiar with reinsurance pricing methodologies.
Moderator:
George N. Phillips, FCAS, Vice President and Associate Actuary,
Transatlantic Reinsurance Company
Panelist:
Christian Svendsgaard, FCAS, Senior Pricing Actuary, Swiss
Reinsurance America Corporation
Robert S. Yenke, ACAS, Vice President & Actuary, Folksamerica Reinsurance Company
Basic II: Other Pricing Issues
This session will focus on the pitfalls and the effects of
various assumptions on reinsurance pricing. Databases will also be discussed.
Moderator:
Michael E. Angelina, ACAS, Consulting Actuary, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin
Panelists:
Michael E. Angelina, ACAS, Consulting Actuary,
Tillinghast-Towers Perrin
Michael A. Coca, FCAS, Senior Vice President, PartnerRe US
David Skurnick, FCAS, Senior Vice President, St. Paul Re
Basic III: Introduction to Finite Reinsurance
Session panelists will present an introductory description of
finite reinsurance. Several types of products will be discussed along
with accounting and actuarial pricing considerations for each. This
session is designed for the actuary or insurance professional with a
basic understanding of traditional reinsurance concepts and
accounting standards.
Moderator:
Elizabeth E.L. Hansen, FCAS, Managing Director, Guy Carpenter Instrat.
Panelists:
David Lightfoot, CPA, Principal, Guy Carpenter
Elisabeth Stadler, FCAS, Senior Pricing Actuary, Swiss Reinsurance
America Corporation
OTHER CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Finite Reinsurance: Emerging Issues
The events of the last year have changed the reinsurance
market dramatically. This session will look at the changes taking place in
the world of finite reinsurance given the events of September 11,
Enron, and HIH. The session will also look at new methods for analyzing
the risks contained in typical finite transactions.
Moderator:
David L. Drury, FCAS, Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, Tempest
Re USA, Inc.
Panelists:
Marvin Pestcoe, FCAS, Executive Vice President, New Solutions, PartnerRe U.S.
Peter W. Wildman, FCAS, Vice President, Towers Perrin Reinsurance
Exploding Severity Trends
In recent years, although general economic inflation remains
low, average severity has increased sharply for many casualty- and
health care-related lines of business. Despite large rate increases in
recent years, these adverse trends could prevent companies from
restoring profitability. Another potential implication of these trends is
that industry size of loss curves developed using older data may now
be too light. In this session, speakers will attempt to quantify and
explain these trends and forecast whether these adverse trends will
persist. Lines of business to be discussed will include medical stop
loss, commercial umbrella, directors and officers, and medical malpractice.
Moderator:
Jeffrey L. Dollinger, FCAS, National Accounts Lead Actuary,
Employers Reinsurance Corporation
Panelists:
Carol M. Ferrero, FCAS, Vice President, GeneralCologne Re
Lina S. Cheung, FSA, Consulting Actuary, Milliman USA
Liability Storms
In property, one can't predict where the next storm will hit, but
in casualty it may be easier to anticipate where plaintiff attorneys
will swarm. This session will review recent areas of attack by
plaintiff attorneys and attempt to predict where the next liability storm
will come. Potential topics could include nursing home liability,
asbestos, laddering, and construction defects.
Moderator:
Michael E. Angelina, ACAS, Consulting Actuary, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin
Panelists:
Jennifer L. Biggs, FCAS, Consulting Actuary, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin
Bruce D. Fell, FCAS, Vice President, Am-Re Consultants, Inc.
Actuaries in Ceded Re
Actuaries have become an integral part of insurance
companies' risk management teams. One of the available tools to mitigate risk
is, of course, ceded reinsurance. As the reinsurance market started
to harden, the careful analysis of the benefits of reinsurance has
become critical to many insurers. Also, the balance sheets of
many companies are affected by major uncertainty in recoveries for
past events. This session will examine the role of ceded re actuaries
and their relationships with the reinsurer and reinsurance actuaries.
Issues such as the cost of bad data, assessment of risk, and the
"perfect submission" will be discussed.
Moderator:
Sarah Krutov, FCAS, Vice President and Chief Reserving Actuary,
SCOR Reinsurance
Panelists:
Scott C. Belden, ACAS, Managing Director, Reinsurance, Travelers Insurance
Brian Z. Brown, FCAS, Consulting Actuary, Milliman USA
Edward P. Lotkowski, FCAS, Vice President, Ceded Reinsurance, Main
Street America Group
Cost of Imbedded Contract Provisions
This session will deal with the real options imbedded in
most reinsurance contracts. The speaker will identify terms common
in many reinsurance contracts that give one of the two parties
the option to make a decision, given further information developed
over time. The speaker will then discuss methods of assigning value
to these imbedded options.
Moderator:
David L. Drury, FCAS, Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, Tempest
Re USA, Inc.
Panelists:
David L. Drury, FCAS, Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, Tempest
Re USA, Inc.
Glen Leibowitz, ACAS, Vice President, Tempest Re US
Property Catastrophe Modeling I: Earthquake
Catastrophe modeling results are used widely by insurers
and reinsurers. Understanding the accuracy and limitation of models
has become very important. This session will address earthquake
modeling in the western U.S. as well as overseas. Representatives
from catastrophe modeling firms will discuss their approach in terms
of data used as well as underlying assumptions, parameters, and
the latest model development. There will also be discussions on
practical issues in the area of optimizing reinsurance and impact of
workers compensation loss from an
earthquake.
Moderator:
John L. Tedeschi, ACAS, Senior Vice President, Guy Carpenter & Company, Inc.
Panelists:
Jay Guin, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Modeling, Advanced
Insurance Research
Thomas I. Larsen, Senior Vice President, Product Development, EQECAT
Guy Morrow, Head of Engineering and Vulnerability, Global Risk
Modeling, Risk Management Solutions
Property Catastrophe Modeling II: Windstorm
Windstorms continue to be a major risk factor for the
insurance industry. Keeping the windstorm exposures in check is a
complex task. The panel will discuss some of the aspects of the risk
analysis, such as uncertainty, inherent in the projections of losses due
to windstorms.
Moderator:
Sarah Krutov, FCAS, Vice President and Chief Reserving Actuary,
SCOR Reinsurance
Panelists:
Mahmoud Khater, Ph.D., EQECAT/ABS Consulting
Rick Thomas, Ph.D., Group Head of Research, PartnerRe U.S.
Medical Malpractice
This session will concentrate on the issues that affect
projecting losses and future cost levels for medical professional liability. It
will also offer methods the actuary can employ to address these issues
in their analysis. Specifically, the session will address the following:
Severity and frequency trend- What was the trend in the
past, where is it now, and where is it going? What are the major
forces likely to drive trend going forward? How much uncertainty is
there in trend estimates?
Loss development patterns—Are historical patterns relevant?
How should historical data be adjusted to project losses and
payout patterns? What projection methods should actuaries use?
What data is publicly available for the actuary to use?
What impact does tort reform, managed care, nursing storage,
the concept of "managed law," and other emerging issues have
on pricing this business for primary insurers, quota share
reinsurers, and excess of loss reinsurers?
Moderator:
Ernest S. Tistan, FCAS, Chubb Re, Inc.
Panelists:
Elizabeth A. Wellington, FCAS, Principal, Specialty Lines Consulting
Peter J. Schultheiss, FCAS, Assistant Vice President, Zurich North America
D&O: Trends and Expectations in the Wake of Enron
This session will discuss historical and expected future trends
in directors and officers insurance and reinsurance resulting from
the Enron loss as well as the emergence of laddering claims and
other heretofore unknown threats.
Moderator:
Steven Petlick, FCAS, Chief Actuary Global & National, Swiss
Reinsurance America Corporation
Panelists:
Mark W. Larsen, Consultant, D&O Survey, Tillinghast-Towers Perrin
Claude D. Yoder, FCAS, First Vice President, Hartford Specialty Insurance
The Actuarial Role in the Client Relationship
With a panel including actuaries from both broker-market
and direct-market reinsurers, as well as a reinsurance buyer, this
session will discuss the role of the reinsurance actuary in developing
and maintaining client relationships. The panelists will discuss how
underwriters and actuaries can work together organizationally and how
to optimize the success of an individual transaction through rate
monitoring and participating in audits. Differences in the direct and
broker markets and what a ceding company looks for from the
reinsurance actuary will also be discussed.
Moderator:
Steven B. White, FCAS, Senior Vice President, Guy Carpenter Instrat
Panelists:
Michael A. Coca, FCAS, Senior Vice President, PartnerRe U.S.
Steven A. Kelner, FCAS, Vice President, American Re-Insurance Company
Pierre Guy Laurin, FCAS, Director and Senior Vice President, Zurich North America
Coffeehouses to Catastrophe—Lloyd's Past,
Present, and Future
Coffeehouses became a huge success in London in the late
seventeenth century because of their advantages over taverns as
good business meeting places. They were soberer, cleaner, and
more orderly. Edward Lloyd chose the site of his establishment with
care. Near Tower Wharf and the Customs House, Lloyd's
coffeehouse captured the thirst of shipowners and captains trading overseas,
and, in conjunction, the merchants who dabbled in marine
insurance. These underwriters would market the philosophy underlying
their product with the phrase "the losse lightethe rather easilie
upon many, than heavlilie upon fewe."
Over the past decade, the truth of this philosophy has been
tested amongst the society of individuals, who collectively call
themselves Lloyd's. Large industry losses accompanied by an antiquated
accounting system have led to catastrophic situations for several
syndicates. With positive changes in the forefront, can Lloyd's reclaim its
past glory and practice its philosophy with pride? In this session you
will learn some of the history of Lloyd's. The panel will then discuss
the present conditions in Lloyd's, and provide possible predictions for
its uncertain future.
Moderator:
Jean A. DeSantis, FCAS, Vice President, Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc.
Panelists:
Micheal Falcone, FCAS, Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, Global Aerospace
Todd Hess, FCAS, Chief Risk Officer and Deputy, Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc.
Workers Compensation Emerging Issues
Current trends in workers compensation, including the
aftermath of September 11, are the focus of this session. The panel will
also discuss conditions in the California market, including an update of
the major law change recently enacted there, Assembly Bill 749.
Moderator:
George N. Phillips, FCAS, Vice President and Associate Actuary,
Transatlantic Reinsurance Company
Panelists:
Jill Petker, FCAS, Associate Actuary, Liberty Mutual Group
Guy A. Avagliano, FCAS, Consulting Actuary, Milliman USA
Secondary Uncertainty/Parameter Risk in Pricing
Actuaries do well at building models that reflect the main drivers
of the risks assumed under a reinsurance contract. In many of
the newer products, secondary uncertainty/parameter risk contributes
a significant amount of the risk, particularly in "tail" outcomes. This
risk stems from the inability to measure accurately the primary driver
of the risk. For example, many actuaries use either the Moody's or
S&P default matrices to price a CDO tranche. However, this assumes
that the class of assets fits those matrices, the ratings are current, and
the pool of assets is "average." Violating any of these assumptions
will create significantly more risk. The session will give an example
of these risks and suggest ways to include their effect in evaluating
the risk when pricing.
Moderator:
Frank D. Pierson, FCAS, Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, Centre Insurance Company
Panelists:
Steven R. Fallon, FCAS, Senior Vice President, Centre Insurance Company
Gary G. Venter, FCAS, Managing Director, Guy Carpenter, Instrat
Steven B. White, FCAS, Senior Vice President, Guy Carpenter Instrat
