2026 Ratemaking Call Paper Program on Traditional and Emerging Topics in the Pricing Function
In the rapidly evolving landscape of insurance pricing, the role of the traditional pricing actuary is modernizing to meet increasingly diverse needs and complex business problems that extend far beyond conventional loss cost and expense analyses. As insurers navigate sophisticated market dynamics, regulatory changes, and emerging risks, pricing actuaries are being called upon to address multifaceted challenges that demand innovation and expanded expertise.
The Casualty Actuarial Society's (CAS) Ratemaking Working Group is issuing a Call for Papers on contemporary pricing methodologies and the broader spectrum of analytical needs that consume today's pricing actuary. The Working Group seeks to publish clear, practical, and accessible papers that explore both traditional and emerging topics in the pricing function; supporting case studies demonstrating real-world application are of particular interest.
Proposal due date: May 4, 2026.
The Ratemaking Working Group welcomes all papers that will advance the CAS Ratemaking literature.
The following are topics mentioned by members of the Ratemaking Working Group that should be viewed as illustrative examples to spark ideation:
- Leverage Ratios: What IS a fair and reasonable underwriting profit? How can the pricing actuary develop and support appropriate leverage ratios that connect the dots between the surplus needed to support the underwriting exercise and the premium sold?
- Behavioral Economics: What, if any, role could behavioral economics have in ratemaking?
- Risk Sharing: How should pricing actuaries balance the potential of finer segmentation within the concept of pooling and risk sharing?
- Model Monitoring: What are best monitoring practices to determine whether predictive models are still fit-for-purpose or need to be updated?
- Open-Source Catastrophe Modeling: Some insurance companies may not have access to large commercial catastrophe models, and there are emerging perils (e.g., cyber or mass tort) without mature models. What alternatives are there for pricing actuaries in those situations?
- AI/Machine Learning: Do you have any specific examples/experiences to share of using AI/ML to improve ratemaking?
- Any other topics shaping ratemaking:
- Did you have a challenging ratemaking situation that led to a creative solution?
- Have you developed any approaches on anticipating trend inflection points?
- Have you stumbled on an exposure element that is no longer meaningful to ratemaking? Or, a new one that is material?
- Do you work in a specialty line of business that requires different techniques than described in standard ratemaking literature?
Proposals related to any ratemaking-related matters are welcome. Both members and non-members of the CAS are invited to submit proposals. The Ratemaking Working Group will review papers for acceptance based on the following criteria:
- Idea originality.
- Clear concept presentation.
- Thoroughness of ideas.
- Timeliness, relevance, and applicability of research.
- Contribution to ratemaking literature.
Authors should focus on presenting ideas in a logical manner accessible to readers. To aid research adoption, the CAS encourages researchers whose work product involves coding to place the final work product’s code and data in the CAS’s GitHub repository, https://github.com/casact, under the MPL2.0 license.
Authors should avoid promoting specific commercially available tools or products. Instead, authors should emphasize open-source solutions, tools, and techniques.
Accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum, and authors of accepted papers may be invited to present at the 2027 Ratemaking, Product, and Modeling (RPM) Seminar. In addition, a prize fund of up to $15,000 has been established for papers that make a particularly strong contribution to the literature.
Review of Papers
Each author whose proposal is accepted will be assigned two or three members of the Ratemaking Working Group who will serve as reviewers. Reviewers will read drafts, give feedback, and assist authors as they work toward producing a final draft. The review process helps authors submit final papers acceptable for publication in the E-Forum. Please note that E-Forum editors will also review the paper before publication and provide feedback, if needed. If a paper presents interesting concepts but is not appropriate for the E-Forum, reviewers will help the author find a more suitable medium for publication.
Awards
All papers submitted and accepted in response to the call and meeting the minimum standards to be established by the Ratemaking Working Group will be eligible for a cash prize. Awards from the prize fund will be granted at the sole discretion of the Ratemaking Working Group.
Timetable
- Deadline for Proposals
By May 4, 2026, authors should submit a one- to two-page proposal including the paper title, a short description of the topic(s) to be addressed, the approach to be taken, and a survey of existing actuarial literature on the subject (title and abstract of a maximum of the five most relevant papers). Proposals should be emailed to Heather Davis, Research Manager, and Elizabeth Smith, Director of Publications and Research, with “2026 Ratemaking Call Paper Proposal” in the subject line of the message.
- Acceptance of Proposals
The Ratemaking Working Group will decide whether to accept or reject each proposal. The number of accepted proposals may be limited. Authors will be contacted by May 25, 2026, regarding their proposals. A review team will be assigned to work with each author whose proposal is accepted.
- Monitoring Progress
The author and review team will establish a mutually agreeable schedule to produce interim drafts. By August 3, 2026, a first draft of the completed paper (including an abstract of no more than 200 words) should be submitted to the review team.
A draft version of the companion practical tool, if any, should also be submitted at that time. Each paper will be screened by the review team to assure its quality of exposition, relevance to the call and to ratemaking research, and adherence to requirements described below. The review team may require rewriting of the paper to bring it to an acceptable standard.
Note: Authors are no longer required to format papers in a specific template, but submissions must include the following:
- A final electronic file of the paper in Microsoft Word or LaTeX.
- An accompanying pdf of the final paper.
- Separate files for figures in JPEG or PNG format in at least 300 dpi.
- Supplementary attachments/datasets (R files, .xls, etc.).
- An executive summary of 1-2 pages that will help the CAS create a promotional brief or social media post. The summary should include a mention of the research gap being filled, the research question, a brief description of the methodology, the results, and—most importantly—the relevance of the results and the way forward.
- Comments on First Draft and Invitation to Present
By August 17, 2026, the review team will send comments on the first draft to the authors and select authors to invite to present at the 2027 Ratemaking, Product, and Modeling (RPM) Seminar. Proposals to present at the seminar are expected to be due mid- to late-September.
- Second Draft
By September 14, 2026, the Ratemaking Working Group must receive the second draft of the completed paper (and tools, if any) for review.
- Approving the Completed Paper
By September 28, 2026, all authors will be notified as to the acceptability of their second drafts and will be asked to submit the final papers by October 12, 2026, to allow the Ratemaking Working Group to determine the prize-winning paper(s).
Once the Ratemaking Working Group approves the manuscript, authors must upload their paper electronically in the Scholar One system for publication in E-Forum. The E-Forum Working Group will review the manuscript, provide feedback for additional revision as necessary, and then accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum electronic journal.
The Ratemaking Working Group may reject papers that are submitted late, do not align with the accepted proposal, do not incorporate material suggestions from the review team, or contain deficiencies in clarity, substance, style, or grammar.
- Presenting the Paper
Authors may be invited to present their papers at the 2027 Ratemaking, Product, and Modeling (RPM) Seminar, which is expected to take place in mid-March 2027.
- Submission to E-Forum: Guidelines
Papers should be no more than 10,000 words and should be prepared in accordance with the procedures in the E-Forum Submission Guidelines.
Authors will be required to upload an electronic copy of the paper and will be asked to sign the "Permission to Publish" form, which formally grants the CAS permission to publish the paper.
The Ratemaking Working Group looks forward to receiving proposals in response to the call and is happy to respond to inquiries from interested parties. Questions may be addressed to CAS Research Manager Heather Davis. Your participation will contribute to the written body of knowledge of the CAS and to the success of the 2026 Ratemaking Working Group Call Paper Program.
About the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is a leading international organization for credentialing and professional education. Founded in 1914, the CAS is the world’s only actuarial organization focused exclusively on property and casualty risks and serves over 11,000 members worldwide. CAS members are experts in property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, finance, risk management, and enterprise risk management. Professionals educated by the CAS empower business and government to make well-informed strategic, financial and operational decisions.
About the CAS Ratemaking Working Group
The Ratemaking Working Group promotes research in property and casualty ratemaking and pricing. The group identifies research areas for exploration and supports the development of requests for proposals and calls for papers. Group members choose proposals that will advance the field and then collaborate with authors to develop and promote compelling and innovative papers.
