CAS Monograph No. 4

CAS Monograph No. 4: Using The ODP Bootstrap Model: A Practitioner’s Guide

by Mark Shapland, FCAS

Shapland examines the practical issues and solutions for dealing with the limitations of ODP bootstrapping models, including practical considerations for selecting the best assumptions and the best model for individual situations. The focus is on the “practical” and the paper illustrates the diagnostic tools that an actuary needs to assess whether a model is working well. The monograph does state that it should not be assumed that the ODP bootstrap model is well suited for every data set. But the ODP bootstrap and GLM bootstrap “tool sets” can become an integral part of the actuary’s regular estimation of unpaid claim liabilities, rather than just a “black box” to be used only if necessary or after the deterministic methods have been used to select a point estimate.

Companion Excel workbooks, with detailed instructions on how to use them, allow the reader to follow, step by step, the theory presented in the monograph. An errata is available with corrections.

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Mark R. Shapland has a B.S. degree in Integrated Studies (Actuarial Science) from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He can be contacted at mrshapland@netzero.com.


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