Two Papers Share
Management Data Call Paper Award

BOSTON, Mass.-The CAS recognized the winners of its first data management/data quality call paper program at the recent CAS Ratemaking Seminar here. The top prize of $1,000 was split between the authors of two papers. The authors presented their prize-winning papers during workshops at the Ratemaking Seminar. The papers were also printed in the 1997 CAS Discussion Paper Program book.

The author of the first winning paper, "Insurance Geographics," is William M. Raichle, Ph.D., Insurance Services Office, Inc., New York, NY. Although insurers are interested in analyzing geographic data as part of their decision making process, developing and maintaining a comprehensive geographic information system can be expensive and time-consuming. Raichle's paper describes the technology available to property/casualty insurers and how insurance geographics can be incorported into ratemaking, underwriting, and marketing operations.

The second paper, "Synchronizing Data Management Technologies to Integrate Actuarial Processes," has three authors: Omar D. Kouatly, Mark W. Littmann, and Aleksey S. Popelyukhin, Ph.D., all of Price Waterhouse LLP, in Hartford, Conn. "We were thrilled to be acknowledged," Littmann said. For the past six years, Littmann explained, Price Waterhouse actuaries and software developers have worked as a team to create a system designed to solve data management challenges facing actuaries.

Their paper, Littmann said, "is very practical. The first chapter analyzes the actuarial process and the technology available, then provides a blueprint of an ideal system. The second chapter provides real life examples of how you can solve actuarial problems with such a system."

The CAS Data Management Information Committee sponsored the call paper program in conjunction with the Insurance Data Management Association (IDMA). The goal of the program is to develop a source of data management literature for casualty actuaries. Arthur R. Cadorine, committee chairman, explained, "In all the Proceedings and Forums there aren't any papers on management data or data quality. With the call paper program, we wanted to attract some new educational material on those subjects."

An anonymous committee reviewed the papers and selected the winning papers on the basis of their originality of ideas, understanding of complex concepts, contribution to literature, and thoroughness of ideas expressed.