Search Presentations
STAY TUNED! If you are anticipating additional search filters by attribute and level to align with the CAS Capability Model, it is coming later this Summer. As the CAS begins to code recorded sessions by specific attributes and levels (starting with the 2023 Annual Meeting), these will be tagged in the CAS database of presentations going forward and should be searchable.
But you may use the Capability Model now to help you identify topics. For example, if you want to move up one level under the content area “Functional Expertise,” you may search topics in the particular functional area to expand your knowledge.
Recorded content is searchable by Capability Model attribute and level in the CAS Online Library.
Refine Your Search
The presentation materials are offered in connection with CAS professional education offerings. © 2022 Casualty Actuarial Society. All Rights Reserved. The presentation materials may contain copyrighted content the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. You are permitted to view and print the materials for personal/professional noncommercial research purposes. Except for the foregoing, you agree not to reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works, or commercially exploit the presentation materials without prior written permission from CAS. Please direct any copyright permission inquiries regarding use of the presentation materials to acs@casact.org.
STAY TUNED! If you are anticipating additional search filters by attribute and level to align with the CAS Capability Model, it is coming later this Summer. As the CAS begins to code recorded sessions by specific attributes and levels (starting with the 2023 Annual Meeting), these will be tagged in the CAS database of presentations going forward and should be searchable.
But you may use the Capability Model now to help you identify topics. For example, if you want to move up one level under the content area “Functional Expertise,” you may search topics in the particular functional area to expand your knowledge.
Recorded content is searchable by Capability Model attribute and level in the CAS Online Library.
Update on Medical Malpractice
In the last few years, several medical malpractice companies have failed, and others have withdrawn from the market. Several years of inadequate pricing, along with increased severities and declining investment returns, caused insurers to increase rates significantly. In some states physician specialties saw monumental increases over the last few years. Several articles and opinions have been published blaming insurers for creating this crisis, whereas insurers blame the increase in current rates on "runaway" jury verdicts and "cutthroat competition." Tort reform is also moving through both the states and federal legislatures.
The round-table discussion panel will discuss the views of insurers and consumer advocates. Panelists will address the historical financial results and how these results lead to the current crisis in medical malpractice insurance. An update on tort reform measures and whether they will help the current chaos will be addressed.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Timothy Koester
Panelists:
Kathy Pinkham, Sarah Dore
Keywords:
medical malpractice, inadequate pricing, severities and declining investment returns
Texas Homeowners
Recent legislation such as Senate Bill 14, House Bill 4, and Senate Bill 127 has changed the regulatory climate in Texas. In particular, the homeowners insurance market has changed dramatically with rate regulation of Texas Lloyds, rate roll backs, and mandatory coverage issues regarding mold and credit scoring.
The session will go over a brief history of the Texas insurance market with particular emphasis on homeowners and provide insights on the future of the insurance market.
Panelists include a lobbyist, the president of a Lloyds syndicate, which grew to be the sixth largest homeowners insurer in the state, and an insurance department actuary.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Jennifer Levine
Panelists:
Philip Presley, David Lacefield, Ron Cobb
Keywords:
Recent legislation, regulatory climate in Texas, homeowners insurer
Small Commercial Lines Underwriting
The concept of scoring is applied in more and more industries and certainly in the P/C insurance business. At the same time, insurers are examining the fundamentals of underwriting small commercial risks and moving towards a more efficient approach to underwriting these risks. This panel will focus on those fundamentals as well as various approaches modeling the use of credit scores and other available risk characteristics. These perspectives will be examined to suggest better avenues for evaluating this book of business.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Jennifer Levine
Panelists:
Robert Walling
Keywords:
underwriting small commercial risks, credit scores
Product Development
As the world has evolved, there continues to be new products needed in the marketplace. Getting in early has its advantages, as well as significant risks. The panelist will explore the ideal process for developing a new product, including who to involve in determining the forms and rates, and monitoring efforts. The session will emphasize creative ways to price risks and get regulatory approval.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Jennifer Levine
Panelists:
Philip Presley
Keywords:
Product Development
Private Mortgage Insurance
Home ownership is the American dream. Mortgage insurance is the catalyst enabling the majority of the population to fulfill their dream. This panel will briefly discuss the purpose of mortgage insurance and some of the common public misperceptions.
Actuaries are faced with many challenges in analyzing this volatile line of insurance, including the placement of reinsurance. Industry changes in the past few years have resulted in an increasing number of banks forming mortgage reinsurance companies to allow them to participate in potential profits from mortgage insurance on transactions that the banks originate. This panel will discuss the evolving need for actuarial models, the FAS 113 risk transfer requirements, and changing accounting requirements associated with mortgage reinsurance.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Michael McMurray
Panelists:
John Gibson, Kyle Mrotek, John Gaines
Keywords:
Mortgage insurance
Nursing Home Professional Liability Insurance Crisis- An Update
Over the last few years, nursing homes have been in the midst of an insurance crisis. In response to substantial increases in the frequency and severity of claims, nursing homes have seen their professional liability insurance coverage shrink while their premiums have soared. Nursing homes with first-dollar occurrence coverage for a modest premium three to four years ago, now can only purchase claims-made coverage with large deductibles at a multimillion dollar premium. Panelists will include a risk manager dealing with the insurance crisis at an individual company level, a broker discussing the state of the nursing home professional liability insurance market in general, and an actuarial consultant relating a recent industry analysis of long-term care professional liability claims experience.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
David Hartman
Panelists:
Theresa Bourdon, Keith Becker, Sherry Brunner
Keywords:
frequency and severity of claims, professional liability insurance coverage, large deductibles, claims-made coverage, liability insurance market
No-Fault- Then and Now
In the 70's the no-fault concept was developed to address concerns with the tort system. Specifically, no-fault plans were supposed to decrease costs and increase the amount and timeliness of payments to accident victims. Over the years, different states have tried different types of plans like verbal thresholds, dollar thresholds, and add-on plans to address these issues. Recently, several states that have repealed or considered repealing the no-fault statutes.
This panel will provide a brief historical perspective on no-fault, examine available data to see how no-fault states have performed relative to tort states, discuss recent developments, and hypothesize about the future of no-fault.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
David Hartman
Panelists:
Steven Lehmann, Elizabeth Sprinkel
Keywords:
tort system, no-fault plans, discuss recent developments, and hypothesize about the future of no-fault
Models- Do You Trust Them?
Technological advancements and innovations have significantly contributed to the proliferation of computer models within the insurance industry. From catastrophe to DFA models, the potential applications are countless but the uncertainties behind the methods often worry the potential users of the model's output. This "black box" effect has been and will remain an intrinsic part of most modeling tools. Additional concerns come from the often large discrepancies in results between models utilizing the same underlying information.
This session aims to demystify models, review the criteria for a good model, and provides ways to interpret and handle large discrepancies between two different models. The discussion will include general and model-specific views.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Anthony Phillips
Panelists:
Jonathan Hayes, Louise Francis
Keywords:
Technological advancements and innovations, computer models within the insurance industry, catastrophe, DFA Models
The Matrix Inverted- A Primer in GLM Theory and Practical Issues
The use of generalized linear models (GLMs) is gaining momentum within the North American P/C insurance industry and is starting to replace traditional one-way actuarial analyses. Previous CAS presentations have given an overview of GLMs and discussed applications in areas such as ratemaking, underwriting, and retention analysis. This session is designed to provide the actuary with a primer in the theory of GLMs-a practitioner's "need to know." The session will begin with an explanation on the formularization of GLMs, such as understanding the linear predictor, link function, offset term, and error term. Building upon this foundation, panelists will discuss typical model forms, the effect of different assumptions, and model diagnostics. The session will then move beyond theory to discuss practical modeling issues such as data preparation and factor categorization, as well as implementation issues such as comparison to existing rates and minimizing market disruptions.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Dale Odgen
Panelists:
Claudine Modlin, Gilbert Korthals
Keywords:
generalized linear models (GLMs), P/C insurance, ratemaking, underwriting, and retention analysis
Liquidity- How to Fix It?
In recent years, industry concerns have been turning to the changing risk profile because of abrupt changes in a company's liquidity. Determining the solvency capital of a company in textbook form basically addresses having enough assets to cover policyholder obligations as they become due, such that the company is sufficiently likely to meet those obligations. A VaR (probability of ruin) or TVaR (conditional tail expectation), or some other risk metric can be used to determine this solvency standard. That being said, how does one factor the risk of a company's downward death spiral because of a rating agency change from A- to B+ and its inherent effects on liquidity (new and renewal business writings, etc). Is this risk addressed in the NAIC risk-based capital formula? Does a change in ratings in and of itself exacerbate a deteriorating condition? Should actuaries be more aware of this condition? Is the edge of the cliff really closer than most generally accepted risk metrics in use today? The panelists will discuss and debate these views.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Steven Herman
Panelists:
Matthew Mosher
Keywords:
solvency capital, cover policyholder obligations, solvency, VaR (probability of ruin), TVaR (conditional tail expectation)
Legislative Reform: Reform or be Reformed, that is the Question
This session will include a legislative reform update from the very active and ever changing personal lines side. It will highlight key changes and key learning's (e.g. impact of the changes, emerging trends, what could we have done differently, what can we expect in the future). The discussion will cover the most recent reform activity including the latest actions in Texas, New Jersey and on credit scoring reform. The session will also highlight roles actuaries and companies can and should play. Can we be more proactive than reactive?
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Richard Currie
Panelists:
Jeffrey Skelton, Kevin Sullivan
Keywords:
legislative reform, personal lines
Homeowners Insurance Profitability- Is the P/C Industry Taking the Right Actions And Have We Learned Anything?
Double-digit rate increases, increased rating and underwriting segmentation, improved catastrophe estimation methods, policy limitations, higher deductibles and claim actions, nonrenewals and new business underwriting restrictions, improved inspections and loss mitigation actions-are these actions enough to realize long-term profitable growth in this historically unprofitable line or are we just chasing our tails? This panel will discuss some of the key actions that have already been taken and what they believe still needs to be done to promote long-term profitable results. The panel will also evaluate the impact and acceptability of these actions from the consumer, agent, and regulatory points of view.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Richard Currie
Panelists:
Dan Davis, Randall Brubaker
Keywords:
Double-digit rate increases, increased rating and underwriting segmentation,improved catastrophe estimation methods, policy limitations, higher deductibles and claim actions
Fair Value Accounting and the Actuary
In the continuing trends towards a global accounting convention, "fair value" accounting has gained recognition in many discussion forums as to how insurance company liabilities should be valued. One of the most controversial issues surrounds the notion that a company's own credit rating should be considered in its valuation. Counter intuitively, this would pose situations whereby an insurer with a declining credit rating would lower the valuation of reserve liabilities, thereby increasing income in the process (i.e., "I owe you less money because my credit rating has declined and hence I am less likely to pay you back").
The other side of the argument suggests that companies do have a right to default on their policyholder and hence the "fair value" math only balances if this were so reflected.
An actuary, accountant, and regulator will present their views.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Richard Currie
Panelists:
Philip Heckman, Robert Miccolis
Keywords:
fair value, global accounting convention, credit rating, Fair Value Accounting
Cyber Hurricane
As a rapidly increasing number of organizations have begun using the Internet to offer their traditional services, industry observers have become increasingly aware of the risks associated with what has come to be known as e-commerce. Rapidly growing trends in Identity Theft and wide spread viruses that damage or destroy data and shut organizations down have concerned risk managers and executives of these organizations and left them to wonder what the potential costs associated with becoming a networked organization really are. Responding to this trend, several insurance companies have begun offering products designed to help organizations prioritize and finance risks associated with e-commerce. However, the insurance industry's efforts to quantity exposure costs associated with these emerging trends has been difficult. In response to this challenge, the insurance industry has begun to collaborate on research projects to develop data and risk models necessary to quantify and control cyber loss exposures.
Then panel will discuss this initiative as well as a variety of cyber products currently being offered and future implications of this emerging exposure.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Richard Currie
Panelists:
Tracey Vispoli, Harrison Oellrich
Keywords:
e-commerce, Identity Theft and wide spread viruses, finance risks, emerging exposure
Claim Issues
In the world of mass torts, asbestos and pollution are the best known and largest to date. Many argue that losses of comparable size and scope are possible but unlikely. However, specific mega-events, other mass torts and latent defects are just beginning to emerge with their own unique set of issues. Mold claims, Enron and successful lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies are just a few areas in which newly emerging claims have recently posed threats to the insurance and reinsurance industries. The panel will discuss the origins of the different types of claims, potential exposures, trends in litigation and claims and how the industry needs to be more proactive in excluding comparable risks in the future. They will also discuss potential large risk and mass-tort exposures already exposing the industry.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Richard Currie
Panelists:
Chris Carpenter, David Lewis, Robert Cusuamano
Keywords:
mass torts, asbestos and pollution, Mold claims, trends in litigation and claims
Changes to Construction Defects Coverage, Claims, and Reserving
When modeling construction defect claims, a great deal of uncertainty surrounds interpreting historical data and projecting future trends. Besides the traditional Montrose-related adjustments, a number of more recent developments in coverage changes, claims practices, and trends in the construction industry need to be considered.
To give a broader understanding of the issues surrounding construction defect claims, a reserving actuary and a claims expert will share their experiences. They will provide attendees with a working knowledge of the historical trends in the construction defect claims environment, and the type of modifications that should be considered in traditional reserving methods and data. Preferred frequency and severity methods will also be discussed.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Chandrakant Patel
Panelists:
Thomas Ghezzi, Michael Green, Paul Swank
Keywords:
Construction Defects Coverage, Claims, and Reserving, frequency and severity methods
Captives-Alternative or Obstacle
The captive insurance company concept is an enduring one. Its application has grown to over 4,000 captive insurance companies worldwide, writing premium volume greater than a third of the total commercial insurance placement in the United States. Panelists will discuss a captive insurance company's role in meeting corporate financial and actuarial aspects of these specialized companies. The audience will learn the current uses and merits of employing a captive insurance company, including quantitative methods and issues, operational strategies, as well as tax and accounting issues.
Panelists include a captive consultant, an insurance broker, and an actuary from a newly formed insurer.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Brian Beckman
Panelists:
Charles Woodman, Marc-Andre Lefebvre, John Yonkunas
Keywords:
captive insurance, corporate financial and actuarial aspects
Actuarial Techniques for Nontraditional Projects
A majority of actuaries work solely in insurance or insurance-related arenas. However, the skills that actuaries bring to the table, such as risk analysis and evaluation of probabilistic events, can be used in a variety of ways. This panel will discuss noninsurance related employment opportunities for actuaries, as well as individual nontraditional projects that have been performed by actuaries. This session will give a broader perspective of our profession and the opportunities available to us if we think creatively.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Brian Beckman
Panelists:
Michael Shackleford, Harry Garland
Keywords:
noninsurance related employment opportunities
Insurer Failures-Does the Past Teach Anything?
Like many other industries, the P/C insurance business is made up of a spectrum of competitors. Some are strong, some agile, some have sound financial backing, some hold their own, and some just "don't get it." Events of the past few years have pushed a growing number of insurers into the last category.
Over the past 20 years, the number of insolvencies generally has climbed when markets harden or when natural catastrophes have placed many competitors under stress. In this century, the number of insurer failures has risen because of pressure introduced by the emergence of ever more costly loss liabilities like asbestos reserves, by the terrorist attacks in September 2001, and by erosion in the value of insurer investment portfolios. A heated competitive environment in the late 1990's, with inadequate marketplace prices, was also a contributor. From 2000 through 2002, A.M. Best has reported 98 P/C insurer insolvencies.
This panel will consider these issues and review the industry's historical coping mechanisms such as guaranty funds. The panelists will also discuss what emerging diagnostics might be of use to rating and regulatory agencies so that earlier preventive action might be taken to avoid large numbers of insolvencies. There will also be discussion of the actuary's role in identifying problems and devising solutions.
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
general
Moderators:
George Hroziencik
Panelists:
Vincent Laurenzano, Michael Coutu, Laline Carvalho
Keywords:
P/C insurance
Underwriting Cycles-Are They Inevitable?
Alternating periods of hard and soft markets have been a notable-and sometimes painful-characteristic of the P/C insurance business.
Over the past few years, prices for many insureds have doubled, some excess and specialty coverages are impossible to find at any price, and your biggest accounts have headed for Bermuda. Sounds like the mid-1980's and early 1990's! Should we be preparing ourselves for another late-90's-style, never-ending soft market?
Our panel of practitioners and observers will explore the environmental, structural, and behavioral factors that give rise to the cycle; examine the situation as it exists today; and tackle the question: Is the underwriting cycle inevitable?
Source:
2003 Annual Meeting
Type:
general
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Robert Hartwig, Michael Miller, Mary Weiss, Henry Wurts
Keywords:
hard and soft markets
Shifts Within the Marketplace; Where is the Premium Dollar?
As changes occur in the insurance marketplace - hardening and softening of prices and coverages - so does the vehicle insureds' use to harness their risk. Those with capacity to spare may self insure when prices in the voluntary market move north of a tolerable level. Their purchases within the insurance/reinsurance arena move from first dollar to excess coverage. Others who are less fortunate may be forced out of the voluntary fraternity and be provided only one option assigned to them. This panel will discuss the risks on the edge, those impacted most by changes within the voluntary marketplace, and how their movement creates different opportunities for reinsurers.
Source:
2003 CARe LAS - Workers Compensation
Type:
affiliate
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Jonathan Hale, David Mohrman
Keywords:
hardening and softening of prices and coverages
Reserving and Commutations
This session will explore techniques appropriate for setting reserves and determining a fair commutation value on individual lifetime compensation claims or a small set of long-term compensation cases. A nontraditional, claim specific approach for setting reserves on a runoff book of business will be presented. This approach can be applied to a primary company in runoff but is applicable in many reinsurance contexts as well. When considering the impact on excess of loss reinsurance covers, it is important to consider the variability inherent in the future life expectancy, cost of medical care, probability of settling a claim, and probability of claims reopening. These and other issues will be discussed.
Source:
2003 CARe LAS - Workers Compensation
Type:
affiliate
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Gary Blumsohn, James Kahn
Keywords:
Reserving, fair commutation value, lifetime compensation claims, nontraditional, claim, run-off
A Statistical Simulation Approach for Estimating the Reserve for Uncollectible Reinsurance
Recent insolvencies and catastrophic events have heightened concern in the insurance industry over the risk of uncollectible reinsurance. The current approach for estimating reserves for this line in the Annual Statement is relatively unscientific and, as a result, may not reflect the company's true reinsurance recoverable risk. The objective of this paper is to introduce a statistical approach for estimating this reserve that considers more specifically the risks of the company's reinsurers, and the potential for correlations between reinsurer failures within a given period as well as over time.
Source:
2003 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS)
Type:
Paper
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Nicholas Pastor
Keywords:
Statistical Simulation Approach, Estimating the Reserve for Uncollectible Reinsurance
Reserving for Asbestos Liabilities
Significant uncertainties surround the ultimate costs of asbestos liabilities. The goal of the present work is to provide the actuary with the necessary framework to perform a rigorous analysis of such liabilities. It should be noted that while there is no algorithm that guarantees success, there is a proper approach to the problem. The keys to a rigorous analysis of asbestos liabilities can be summarized as follows:
Effective knowledge gathering regarding the liabilities of the risk entity under investigation via thorough, open, and constant communication with those responsible for disposing of those liabilities;
A commitment to keeping abreast of the global issues in the asbestos litigation; and
The application of actuarial skills, judgment, and creativity in designing a flexible and transparent model with well documented assumptions and well communicated interpretation of results.
Source:
2003 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS)
Type:
Paper
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Claus Metzner, Kevin Madigan
Keywords:
Asbestos, Reserving
Probabilistic Framework for Evaluating Materiality and Variability in Loss Reserve Estimates
A reserve point estimate is usually presented without explicit quantitative reference to the variability associated with it. The literature provides little guidance on how to go about providing such quantitative representations. This paper presents a new function, called the coefficient of estimation, as a measure of the placement of a reserve point estimate on the continuum of reserve estimates defined by the underlying aggregate loss distribution. The authors further use this coefficient to discuss six commonly used reserving items to illustrate how the variability inherent in a point reserve estimate may be quantified. The paper also illustrate these ideas with six different demonstrations for each of two lines of business, including tables and charts depicting underlying aggregate loss distributions. The paper concludes with a series of observations to amplify some of the salient issues as well as set some boundaries for the usefulness of the proposed coefficient of estimation.
Source:
2003 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS)
Type:
concurrent
Moderators:
Marc Adee
Panelists:
Irene Bass, C.K. Khury
Keywords:
Evaluating Materiality and Variability in Loss Reserve Estimates
