New CAS Web Site Feature:
Actuarial Reference Index

Reinsurance Articles Available

ARLINGTON, Va. - Check out the Online Catalog, the newest addition to the CAS Web Site. The Online Catalog is a searchable index of actuarial research articles, similar in content to the current paper CAS Bibliographies. Web site visitors can search, right now, the first completed section of the catalog and look forward to an expanded database in the near future. The newly formed CAS Committee on Online Services (COOS), charged with identifying existing and new CAS services that can be delivered electronically through the Internet, is confident this new product will become an invaluable resource to those researching actuarial science literature.

The Online Catalog can be searched in a number of ways. In addition to searches on standard fields for bibliographical citations (e.g., author's name(s), title, publication name, publisher, and year) users can search for papers on any subject by entering a word or phrase related to the subject. The abstract field in the database will be scanned for a match to the word or phrase entered. For example, the Catalog can be searched for matches on the word catastrophe: the results would include any article with the word catastrophe in its abstract.

The search results will display a wealth of information for each paper fitting the search criteria. This information includes the article citation, topical category of the article, prizes awarded for the article and available abstract of the article. Hyper-links to copies of the full text will be established for articles available in an electronic file.

The Reinsurance Research section of the current Bibliographies is the first to go online. Eventually, the entire existing Bibliographies will be available. Future additions will be accomplished through the establishment of a standard procedure. With the cooperation of other CAS committees, as well as the authors of existing and future papers, COOS hopes to have complete citations, including abstracts, for all papers included in the Catalog. COOS expects the Online Catalog to be far more useful to researchers than the current paper Bibliographies because it provides more information, is more user friendly and can be updated more frequently than its paper counterpart.

If you have any suggestions regarding the new Online Catalog, COOS would be pleased to hear them. Feel free to make suggestions via the feedback form on the CAS Web Site or forward them to any member of COOS. Questions on the operation of the Catalog should be directed to Mike Boa at the CAS Office at (703) 276-3100 or mboa@casact.org.