SOA Podcasts - Society of Actuaries: Recent Episodes
Society of Actuaries (SOA)
Young Professional Advisory Council's Chris Pellegrino discusses working remotely as an actuary with Chris Olechowski, Partner at Actuarial Resources Corporation. Listen in to hear about the evolution of remote work in the actuarial field through from the perspective of an actuary in leadership.
The SOA is evolving – and so is the way members connect. This episode explores the shift from the traditional SOA Section model to a new community engagement approach, unpacking what it means for members across the organization and, in particular, for those in the Life and Annuity space. Whether you've been an SOA member for decades or are just getting started, tune in to hear how this change opens up new ways to collaborate, grow, and shape the profession.
Host Ryan Kiefer, ASA, MAAA speaks with guests Ryan Holt, FSA, MAAA and Kelly Rabin, FSA, MAAA
Relevant Links:
Introducing SOA Communities
Life and Annuities Community
AI is changing every industry—and insurance is no exception. In this episode, we discuss how artificial intelligence could reshape actuarial work, risk management, and the future of the insurance industry, while also exploring how AI is affecting our personal lives and everyday decision-making.
The Young Professional Advisory Council's Ben Tolzmann sits down with Doug Norris of the SOA's fellowship education department to discuss the recent changes to the FSA pathway and how the transition has been going through 2 exam cycles.
Young Professional Advisory Council's Jake Davis discusses exam education and career development with Eddie Smith, Director of SOA Exams at The Infinite Actuary and FSA exam instructor. Learn about Eddie's transition from practicing actuary to exam educator, effective study strategies for FSA exams, and how exam preparation has and will continue to evolve.
This episode of the Society of Actuaries' Professional Development Edge podcast features Dave Dillon, Senior Vice President and Principal at Lewis & Ellis; entrepreneur and founder of Cost Plus Drugs, Mark Cuban; and Jon Forster, the SOA's Director of PD Learning and Content Design.
Together, they explore entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and the evolving healthcare landscape. The conversations move from what it takes to be successful in business, the current healthcare landscape, and the state of AI in Actuarial work. Mark shares the origin and mission behind Cost Plus Drugs, underscoring the critical role of price transparency and trust in improving healthcare access and affordability.
Listeners will gain practical insights and forward-looking perspectives relevant to actuaries, business leaders, and anyone interested in the future of healthcare and innovation.
Contributors: Mark Cuban; Dave Dillon, FSA, FCA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
Join us for a discussion about the SOA and why you should care about the SOA, its purpose, and its strategic plan! In this episode of the Young Professional Advisory Council podcast, YPAC member Carolyn Ellis and guest Gabi Dieguez, SOA board member, discuss the SOA as a professional organization, the roles of employees, members, and volunteers, and dive deep into why the SOA is important to us as actuaries and the critical role volunteers play in the SOA's success now and into the future.
Anders Larson, FSA,MAAA and Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA provide a clear, approachable look at how modern AI systems really think, act, and respond. They dive into the hidden machinery behind today's GenAI applications – exploring how agent frameworks guide LLMs through structured, choose‑your‑own‑adventure–style decision loops. Using practical examples from Microsoft Copilot and actuarial workflows, they break down how middleware, tool calls, and general context transform raw models into useful business assistants.
The podcast features Jon Forster interviewing Aree Bly, founder of Alignment Ally and author of "The Sustainable Brain," focusing on the importance of developing comfort with ambiguity for actuaries and other professionals. Aree shares practical examples from her career, such as handling ambiguous data formats in healthcare analytics, and discusses strategies for determining when work is "good enough" without sacrificing quality. The conversation covers tools like the RACI framework for clarifying roles and responsibilities, and offers advice for navigating ambiguity arising from organizational changes. The episode emphasizes the impact of ambiguity on career sustainability and personal well-being, encouraging proactive communication, expectation-setting, and self-awareness.
Contributors: Aree Bly; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
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About Us:
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Serving as the SOA's research arm, the SOA Research Institute provides objective, data-driven research bringing together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and your business needs. It provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks.
● Learn more about Influence and other engaging topics relevant for actuaries on the Professional Development Edge Subscription product. https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/
Exploring Fraud, Waste & Abuse (FWA) in U.S. healthcare—key trends, AI's impact, and how actuaries and data professionals can drive smarter detection and prevention.
Join Jason Hiquet, FSA, CERA and host Chris Smith, ASA, for an insightful discussion of innovation in insurance. Jason's expertise in the field and advice for those seeking to have an impact is can't-miss for anyone with hopes of driving change in the industry!
Want more? Register for the Innovating Inside of Traditional Insurance Work Topic Call on Monday, April 20, 2026 at 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET. Topic calls are live virtual events that allow for engagement and interaction on topics of interest.
Note: This episode refers to the Entrepreneurial & Innovation Section. It was recorded in 2025 prior to the transition from SOA Sections to SOA Communities.
In this episode of the Get Plugged In Podcast, originally published in January 2026, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, is joined by Joe Alaimo, CEO at ProComp Consulting Inc. in Ontario, Canada and Community Advisory Team Member of the Emerging Topics Community. Together, they unpack the results of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute's inaugural AI Adoption Survey.
Their conversation explores how actuaries are using AI tools, the most common use cases across career stages, and the key organizational barriers such as skill gaps and compliance risks. They also discuss surprising survey results on interest in further AI education and how attitudes differ between early- and late-career actuaries. This foundational research will be repeated regularly to track how the profession's use of AI evolves over time.
Want to go more in-depth? Read the full report and explore other valuable resources at the Artificial Intelligence Research landing page.
Send us your feedback at AI-Insights@soa.org
Join Tasso Bountouvas, FSA and Carly Mauro, FSA as they give an overview of the main goals and motivations of YPAC. They celebrate 2025 accomplishments and look forward to another exciting year of impact!
Join Ganiu Shefiu as he interviews Jola Fakoya, FSA, CERA, to discuss making an impact in actuarial leadership.
The podcast features Jon Forster interviewing Hasham Piperdy about the similarities and differences between Takaful and mutual insurance. Both models emphasize collective risk sharing and returning surplus to participants, but differ in ownership structure, capital provision, and investment restrictions. Takaful adds a layer of Shari'ah compliance, requiring investments to be Islamic and oversight by a Shari'ah board. The discussion highlights that while the models share cooperative principles, Takaful introduces faith-based ethics and governance.
Contributors: Hasham Piperdy, FIA; Lisa Schilling, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe!
Want to keep up with the latest SOA news? Follow us on our social channels:
Instagram: @soactuaries
Facebook: Society of Actuaries
LinkedIn: Society of Actuaries
Twitter: @SOActuaries
About Us:
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Serving as the SOA's research arm, the SOA Research Institute provides objective, data-driven research bringing together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and your business needs. It provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks.
● Learn more about Takaful and other engaging topics relevant for actuaries on the Professional Development Edge Subscription product. https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/
In this captivating podcast, Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp, sits down once again, two years later, with ChatGPT. Together they talk about what has actually changed in two years, what did not change, and where the profession might be heading next. What does ChatGPT now see ahead for the actuarial profession?
The original Actuaries in the Age of AI: A conversation with ChatGPT was published on Oct 12, 2023
The podcast features a conversation with Willis Towers Watson CEO Carl Hess, who discusses his progression from actuary to CEO, emphasizing the importance of analytical skills, communication, and people management in leadership. Carl highlights how technology and AI are transforming the actuarial profession, noting that automation and AI projects at WTW are helping staff focus on more productive work and better utilize unstructured data. He shares personal anecdotes about using music to maintain focus during actuarial exam studies and explains how he stays connected with WTW's employees through informal interactions and modern communication tools. Carl reflects on key career moments and lessons leaned along the way. Carl is joined by Chris Lombardi, Karen Grote, and Jon Froster for this thoughtful conversation.
Contributors: Carl Hess, FSA, CERA; Chris Lombardi, FSA, MAAA; Karen Grote, FSA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe!
Want to keep up with the latest SOA news? Follow us on our social channels:
Instagram: @soactuaries
Facebook: Society of Actuaries
LinkedIn: Society of Actuaries
Twitter: @SOActuaries
About Us:
With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Serving as the SOA's research arm, the SOA Research Institute provides objective, data-driven research bringing together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and your business needs. It provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks.
● Learn more about Influence in the Actuarial Profession and other engaging topics relevant for actuaries on the Professional Development Edge Subscription product. https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/
What is it really like to work as an actuary in a fast-moving startup versus a large, established company? In this episode, YPAC member Zack Moore sits down with Matt Briggs to unpack the realities of both worlds, from culture and pace to impact, growth, and career satisfaction. They explore how actuaries fit into each environment, the trade-offs between stability and innovation, and what young professionals should consider when choosing their own path. Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder or diving into startup life, this conversation offers insights to help you shape a career that fits your goals.
In this episode of the Get Plugged In podcast originally published in September 2025, host Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries, is joined by Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp Consulting Inc. and Community Advisory Team Member of the Emerging Topics Community. Together, they delve into the findings of a recent roundtable discussion focused on the role of generative AI in the actuarial profession.
Joe shares highlights from the panel of actuaries and industry professionals who discussed real-world use cases, ethical concerns, and how actuaries are uniquely positioned to navigate the evolving landscape of AI. From code generation and digital coaches to actuarial modeling support, this conversation covers the growing impact of AI in insurance and risk management.
Want to explore more? Access the full report and other valuable resources on our Artificial Intelligence landing page at SOA.org
Send us your feedback at AI-Insights@soa.org
This podcast episode features Dave Friesen and Tom Callahan discussing the collaboration between actuaries and data scientists. Tom is an Actuary who works extensively with data scientists, and Dave is a data scientist who works with Actuaries, making them a great combo for the topic. Dave highlighted the operational focus of data science in improving workflows and customer experience, while Tom emphasized the financial impact focus of actuaries. They both agreed on the importance of clear communication and common terminology to bridge gaps between the two fields. They also shared examples of successful collaborations and the benefits of using modern data platforms and tools.
Contributors: Tom Callahan, FSA, MAAA; Dave Friesen; Joe Long, ASA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
Research isn't just for academics! This episode reveals how broad the impact of SOA research is – balancing the retrospective with the prospective – and why it's essential for actuaries and the broader public. YPAC Vice-Chair Tasso Bountouvas and guest R. Dale Hall discuss misconceptions, real-world applications, and how you can contribute – no PhD required. Tune in for practical advice, inspiration, and a glimpse into the future of actuarial science.
Listen in as Greg Fann interviews Moshe Nelkin about Medicare Supplement insurance. We will take you from Medicare basics through product details covering pricing assumptions, factors driving claims trend, regulatory considerations, challenges, opportunities, and more.
Roger Loomis sits down with Stephanie Moench and Michael Rustemeyer to discuss their paper that was just published by the SOA Research Institute: "Long-Term Care Wellness Primer", which can be downloaded here: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2025/long-term-care-wellness/
Listen to Juan Herrara and Danny Moore discuss pending claims, large claims, and using predictive analytics and other modeling techniques to develop these estimates.
Join host Tiana Zhao as she explores the cutting-edge trends reshaping the insurance landscape. From AI-driven underwriting to climate-focused products, this episode of the SOA Marketing and Distribution podcast dives deep into the technological and societal shifts transforming how we think about risk and protection. Discover how insurtech startups, IoT devices, and changing consumer expectations are driving innovation in product design, distribution channels, and customer experience. Whether you're an industry professional or simply curious about the future of insurance, this podcast offers valuable insights into the forces shaping the industry's evolution and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Anders Larson and Shea Parkes discuss using GenAI applications with coding agents to simulate healthcare costs. They revisit the distinction between large language models (LLMs) and the applications that wrap them. They then use some newer GenAI application functionality to generate some simulated healthcare cost distributions. During their discussion they explore what domain knowledge the modern LLMs already have, and how to supplement that with their own domain expertise.
Description: Listen as co-hosts Jackie Lee and Josh Hammerquist speak to data scientist Supriya Ramachandra as they discuss how she attacks messy data with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. From this discussion, actuaries will learn about how these cutting-edge tools can be used in their work.
PleaseNote:
- At timestamp 11:00: The training data was created through manual annotation — it took 4 annotators about a week to label the clinical notes.
- At timestamp 12:24–12:26, we said “non-supervised” — the correct term is “unsupervised learning."
In this month’s YPAC podcast host Shawn Stender, FSA, MAAA will be joined by Simon Gervais, FSA, MAAA to discuss an often-overlooked topic for young actuaries. With so much focus given to career advancement and “managing up,” actuaries looking might overlook the benefits of managing down to promote younger professionals within their organization. This podcast will discuss how managing down can not only benefit your career, but also the actuarial profession.
Join Danny Moore and Aaron Jurgaitis as they discuss tertiary and quaternary care from an actuarial perspective. Danny and Aaron discuss:
- Definitions around the different levels of care, from primary up to quaternary
- Specifics around the types of care delivered in the specialized facilities that deliver this care, and
- The key themes actuaries need to keep in mind when analyzing data that include these types of services.
Aaron shares information from his background of performing analysis for pediatric and academic facilities that highlight important factors that actuaries should consider, such as relative efficiency, referral patterns, episodes of care vs. points in time, and the specific value of expertise that these facilities contain. The information shared is relevant from both a provider and payer point of view, and will broaden your understanding of the unique characteristics of tertiary and quaternary care providers.
In this episode Joe Alaimo interviews Jeremy Levitt. Actuarial models are central to decision-making across insurance, finance, and risk management—but without proper validation, even the most sophisticated models can lead to costly errors. In this episode, Joe and Jeremy take a deep dive into model validation: defining its purpose, outlining key procedures, and highlighting the risks of getting it wrong. Jeremy shares expert insight on balancing thorough analysis with real-world constraints like timelines and budget, while also addressing cultural and structural barriers to effective validation.
We also explore how AI is beginning to influence model validation, from automated testing to AI-driven challenger models. Whether you're a practicing actuary, a risk professional, or a stakeholder relying on actuarial outputs, this conversation offers valuable guidance on how to build confidence in your models—and the decisions they support.
Join host Tiana Zhao as she explores the transformative power of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in the world of marketing and distribution actuarial work. This episode of the SOA Marketing and Distribution podcast dives deep into:
- The fundamentals of OKR methodology and its adoption by tech giants
- How OKRs can enhance clarity, focus, and measurable outcomes for actuaries
- A practical example of implementing OKRs in an insurance company setting
- Strategies for marketing and distribution actuaries to leverage OKRs effectively
Join host Justin Le, ASA, MAAA for a talk with Kate Smith FSA, MAAA about finding meaning and purpose in our work as actuaries. Kate is a Director and Actuary working in Valuation at Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. In this episode Kate shares her perspective and advice on connecting her work to the impact on her company’s members.
Listen as Danny Moore interviews Charlie Larimer on Epidemiology and Predictive Analytics. Listen as Charlie gives his insight on applying predictive analytics techniques to determine drivers of health outcomes in differing populations and regions.
This interview featured Amanda Hug, the president and chair of the Society of Actuaries, discussing the role of actuaries in building trust with AI models. Amanda shared a personal anecdote from a trip to Uganda, highlighting the global reputation of actuaries. The discussion covered the importance of integrity, excellence, and professionalism in the actuarial field and provided advice on incorporating AI into actuarial processes while maintaining ethical standards.
Contributors: Amanda Hug, FSA, MAAA ; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA
Thanks for watching and don’t forget to subscribe!
Arielle Galinsky—Harvard Kennedy School MPP candidate, JD candidate at Yale Law School, and advocate for aging with dignity—joins host Roger Loomis for a wide-ranging conversation on caregiving, aging, and how her generation sees the future of LTC financing.
Listen to this interview with Whitney Pratt – an actuary who leads a team of data scientists – about similarities and differences of the two fields and how we can better work together. If you are an actuary wanting to know more about data science, or trying to choose between the two career paths, this is a must listen!
Becoming credentialed is one of the major goals for an actuary, but what does life look like after? Join Carly Mauro, FSA, MAAA and Chris Lombardi, FSA, MAAA as they discuss “the void” and how to approach personal growth, investing time in the community and the SOA, and professional development after exams.
SOA is proud to present the audio version of the winning entry in the 2024-25 Speculative Fiction Contest, Faulty Medication by Brian Tajlili, FSA, MAAA. Here is what the contest's literary judge, Dr. Bob Mielke, had to say, “Nothing but positives here. A plausible and timely scenario, excellent world-building, vivid incidents, lively and detailed, polished and very well-written. …This story has a real shot at publication even beyond the realm of actuaries.” Find the written version at https://www.soa.org/sections/2024-25-speculative-fiction-art/
Join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA, as she explores the emerging field of marketing actuaries in this insightful episode of the SOA Marketing and Distribution podcast. Discover how these professionals blend actuarial science with marketing strategies to drive data-informed business decisions. Tiana breaks down the key responsibilities of marketing actuaries, including data analysis, predictive modeling, customer segmentation, and pricing optimization. Learn how this evolving role is shaping the future of marketing in our increasingly data-driven business landscape. Whether you're an actuary looking to expand your skillset or a marketing professional curious about the power of actuarial science, this episode offers valuable insights into this exciting intersection of disciplines.
In this podcast episode Joe Alaimo interviews Bob Leach. Bob introduces us to model validation concepts from the article that he has written for the emerging topics community: Model Validation 101: Bring your Calculus Mindset! Bob discusses how to use calculus concepts to validate results from actuarial models. This discussion is in the context of principle-based reserve valuation models, but the concepts can be extended to other types of actuarial models, like pricing or risk management models. Partial derivatives of the value function can be used to validate that a model is appropriately applying discount rate, expense, withdrawal rate and other actuarial assumptions.
For more details, please read the full article here: https://www.soa.org/digital-publishing-platform/emerging-topics/et-2025-02-leach/
In this podcast, Michael Frings FSA, MAAA, now Chief Actuary at one of the Bermuda insurance companies, shares his experiences on his career path, where he started from an unexpected place -- medical school, which ultimately took him to where he is now -- an actuary. Please join us as we explore how Michael navigated his "unusual" path, how he found success, and what one may expect entering the profession from a different background.
In this podcast Darryl Wagner, Principal with Deloitte Consulting, discussed the complexities and principles of IFRS 17, highlighting its goal to standardize insurance accounting globally. He explained the building blocks of IFRS 17, including best estimate cash flows, risk adjustment, and contractual service margin (CSM). Darryl emphasized the significant data and technology requirements for implementation and the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration among actuaries, accountants, and technology teams. He also compared IFRS 17 with US GAAP, noting similarities and key differences.
More dynamic content such as this is available on the SOAs Professional Development Edge+ product. https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/
Be sure to take the IFRS 17 course in the Life Learning track of Professional Development Edge+ for more insights.
Contributors: Darryl Wagner, FSA, MAAA; Jon Forster ASA, MAAA
Host Jackie Lee discusses the MAPD historical and future landscape of the Medicare Advantage market. They talk about notable milestones throughout the years and their impact on the growth of this sector.
This podcast features Robert Eaton, Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman and Sherry Chan, Managing Director at EY. They discussed the role of actuaries in overseeing AI models, highlighting their unique skills in data analysis and model evaluation. Robert and Sherry emphasized the importance of actuaries in ensuring AI models are free from bias and leveraging AI to handle routine tasks, allowing actuaries to focus on strategic and analytical roles.
For more info on PD Edge+ click here: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/
Join host Tiana Zhao as she explores the critical role of relationships in actuarial marketing and distribution. In this insightful episode, Tiana discusses why strong partnerships are essential in the insurance and financial services industry, and provides practical tips for understanding distribution partners, effective communication, collaborative product development, and building trust.
Join Host Jackie Lee with Brian Pauley as they discuss the characteristic of leaders, including developing an abundance mindset. Their discussion is based on the High Road Leadership book by John Maxwell and Brian’s article featured in The Stepping Stone.
Join Joe Alaimo, Founder and CEO of ProComp, and David Schraub, Founder and CEO of David Schraub Actuarial Consultancy, as they discuss the rapidly developing regulatory frameworks surrounding AI in the insurance industry. They explore the intricacies of laws and guidelines across the U.S., Canada, the European Union, and China, focusing on AI's role in underwriting, pricing, and risk management. David shares insights on how actuaries can navigate the regulatory challenges of AI while promoting fairness and transparency. Key topics include transparency, data governance, anti-discrimination efforts, and how different regions are approaching these issues. If you're interested in staying ahead of the curve in AI regulation, this episode offers valuable information
For more details, please read the full article sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Research Institute and the Casualty Actuarial Society: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2024/regulatory-framework-comparison-ai/
Dive into price transparency with Danny Moore and Greg Mottet, founder of Vairate. In this episode, they discuss a study exploring inpatient maternity rates in Washington, as well as the use of price transparency in payer-provider negotiations and its impact on consumers, payers, providers, and employers.
Roger Loomis and Steve Schoonveld discuss the state of the Long-Term Care Insurance industry and the opportunities to modernize products and broaden coverage.
In this episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA, to explore the principles of “The New One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson.
Join host Andrea Wang, ASA, ACIA, for an inspiring episode featuring Vincent Lepez, PhD, IAF (Institut des Actuaires Francais), a distinguished leader and a seasoned expert in the insurance and reinsurance industry. With decades of experience bridging academia and diverse global sectors, Vincent unveils his remarkable career journey, offering actionable insights on discovering your passion and mastering industry transitions.
Tune in to uncover how curiosity, adaptability, and strategic risk-taking can transform your professional path and unlock your fullest potential.
Roger Loomis interviews Matt Morton about the next generation of the SOA’s Long-Term Care experience study. You can reach out to Matt Morton at mattmorton@illumifin.com.
Host Victor Zhao, FSA, CERA sits down with Frank Cheung, FSA, MAAA, CEO and Founder of Accorded, to explore how modeling headaches and operational friction inspired him to launch an actuarial data and analytics infrastructure startup. Frank shares how he identified the core problem, validated it through deep industry conversations, and took the leap into entrepreneurship.
Join us for an insightful conversation with host Tiana Zhao and guest Lilach Frenkel from CAAT Pension to explore the evolving world of pensions.
How do you go from working in a structured corporate actuarial role to forging your own entrepreneurial path? In this episode, Yisi Wang, FSA, CFA sits down with Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, a seasoned actuary, writer and entrepreneur, who transitioned from corporate actuarial science to entrepreneurship. She shares her journey, the challenges she faced, and the strategies that helped her navigate uncertainty. Whether you're contemplating a career shift, exploring entrepreneurship, or simply love hearing stories of transformation, this conversation is packed with insights, inspiration, and lessons on taking calculated risks!
In this episode, Joe Alaimo interviews Joan Barret to discuss climate change, highlighting their impacts on the environment and everyday life and the roles actuaries play in assessing risks and solutions related to climate change.
Do you need professionalism credits? Look no further and listen to host Jackie Lee discuss experiences with the ABCD for counseling from guests Cathy Quock and Lydia Tolman.
Join host Silver Zhou, FSA, Chair of YPAC, for a dynamic conversation with Matthew Duke, ACAS, a seasoned actuary, insurance industry leader, and longtime volunteer in various actuarial organizations. Duke shares the deliberate and strategic steps that shaped his career in both traditional actuarial roles and non-traditional industries. Along the way, he reveals invaluable insights on the impact of mentors and coaches at different career stages and why understanding people is key to success as a business leader.
Listen in to get those professionalism CE credits with host Jackie Lee and guest Cathy Quock. They talk about the differences between actuarial communications in a consulting role or internal company setting. They reference the Code of Professional Conduct and ASOPs.
Roger Loomis talks with Eddie Armentrout of Actuarial Research Corporation about the SOA Research Institute’s LTC Population Research Model, which can be used to examine the impact of public LTC plans on beneficiary finances and service utilization.
In this podcast episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA and guests Dennis Li, Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Amplify Life Insurance, and Christopher Rzany, Vice President of Strategic Marketing Alliances at Fidelity Life Association and eFinancial, to explore the dynamic world of partnerships. This podcast delves into challenges, evolution and emerging opportunities in this critical aspect of insurance and financial services industries.
Nick Kocisak, FSA, in his final episode as host, speaks with Si Xie, FSA, FCIA, CERA, about her experience working as an actuary in international markets. Si provides detailed insights into her observations from working in international markets, describes challenges and opportunities presented by international work, and offers advice on how you can establish your international footprint.
Join Anders Larson and Shea Parkes as they dive into the world of large language models (LLMs) again. Actuaries are familiar with matrix multiplication, which is at the heart of most LLMs, but not all actuaries are as familiar with how complex software application components work together. In this episode we tease apart the models from the applications and discuss which is responsible for what parts of the magic.
Join us for another exciting episode of YPAC podcast as host Ganiu Shefiu, FSA, FCA sits down with Yvonne Palm FCAS, FIA (African Actuary with a global mindset and a CAS board member) and Teju Scott ASA who had both trained abroad and have come back to Africa to contribute to the development of the Actuarial profession. They both share invaluable advice on how to navigate the new environment and what it takes to live in Africa and how they have contributed to the success of the local actuarial society in Africa. Finally, they spoke about volunteering and how that has impacted their lives.
Join Dave Dillon as he interviews the authors, Rich Junker and Curtis Robbins, of the new book, “Design Your Future with the Competency Framework”, inspired by the Society of Actuaries Competency Framework and published by ACTEX Learning. The authors share their personal career perspectives and celebrate the worldwide diversity of actuarial careers from over 26 successful actuaries contributing to the book.
In this video, we interview Chris Lombardi, FSA, MAAA, CERA Associate Director at WTW, and Jeanne Cho Stokke, FSA, MAAA, about goal setting and people management. They share techniques and tools for actuaries to become effective leaders in the profession. Jeanne's experience as a former Pro LPGA golfer and Chris's background in jiu jitsu highlight how these skills have contributed to their career success.
In this podcast episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA for an insightful exploration of distribution channels and how to choose the right ones for your business. We dive deep into the various ways products and services can reach customers, from traditional retail to cutting-edge digital platforms.
Philip Wright, ASA, hosts Matt Burns, FSA, on a topic that will connect deeply with young professionals: Intentional Leadership. Whether you haven’t taken your first exam or early in your career, today’s conversation will provide valuable insights into growing as a leader while navigating the modern challenges of our profession.
In this podcast episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA and guest Jason Alleyne for an insightful exploration of how the actuarial profession can adapt and shape the world of sustainability and environmental responsibility while still generating high returns.
Join the conversation as host Jackie Lee talks about the future year with the current SOA President & Chair, Amanda Hug. They discuss upcoming strategic initiatives for the SOA for the coming years.
In this podcast episode, Ashley Bybee, ASA hosts Max Martinelli, who takes us through his transition from an actuary in a traditional pricing role at a large insurance carrier to an actuarial data scientist in tech. Max provides insight into how the actuarial skill can provide value to a variety of industries and roles.
Roger Loomis interviews Randy Beams and Tanner Boyle about how they use data science to measure the effectiveness of wellness programs.
In this episode, Reko Daye, The Actuarial Foundation STEM Stars Program Manager talks with STEM Star, Emily Roman about how the STEM Stars program has positively changed her life.
Title: Cell and Gene Therapies
Description: Listen as host Jackie Lee discussed Cell and Gene Therapies with Ankit Nanda. They explore what they are, regulations, and how the FDA is handling these therapies.
https://www.soa.org/sections/health/health-newsletter/2024/may/hw-2024-05-nanda/
What is your brand? How did you get to be there? What was the moment? Whatever point of your career you are in, your brand is yours to define, to model, to sell. Tasso Bountouvas, FSA, CERA hosts Mitch Stephenson, FSA, MAAA to delve into the notion of one’s personal brand and its development. Building off of Mitch's recently published article: Defining Your Brand: It’s the Little Things, listen as they both share a bit of the experiences that have shaped their perspectives and advice on what it takes to succeed in branding.
Join Host Jackie Lee in a discussion of ACA hot topics in preparation for the upcoming CY 2026 filing season with Lydia Tolman.
In this episode, host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA explores impacts of interest rate changes on insurance market, specifically on marketing and distribution.
Listen in as host Jackie Lee talks to Suzanna-Grace Tritt about Medicare Stars again. We first began this discussion with the 2020 podcast, Health Section: Medicare Star Ratings. Is it a STAR(T) of a new era? What has happened with Stars since Covid? What happened during the summer of 2024 that was unprecedented?
Also, here are other articles from Suzanna-Grace and her Wakely team to dig deeper into Stars:
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Initial Star Ratings and the impact of a significant cut point methodology change
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Updated Star Ratings, which were changed due to SCAN and Elevance lawsuits
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CMS proposes additional temporary changes to Stars
Join us for the September edition of the YPAC podcast as host Derek Camenga, ASA, is joined by Ross Starfeldt, FSA, who discusses the various roles and challenges he has encountered throughout his career as an actuary. From his start in consulting to traditional actuarial functions to strategic leadership positions, Ross has seen a wide variety of ways in which an actuary could provide value and shares his thoughts on how these roles shaped his career for the better. Ross also shares tips on how to position yourself for different opportunities and for succeeding in any role you hold as an actuary.
In this episode Roy Ju, FSA, CERA, MAAA, joins host Nick Kocisak, ASA, to discuss how to build credibility early in your career and accelerate your professional growth. Roy shares his experience through his exam journey and highlights some of the key actions and perspectives that have fueled his success.
Join Anders Larson and Shea Parkes as they delve into the technical aspects of large language models (LLMs); this episode focuses specifically on the process of tokenization. They discuss how understanding the workings of these models can aid in interpreting their outputs and integrating them into actuarial work. The conversation covers the evolution of natural language processing, the significance of tokens in LLMs for bridging text to numbers, and the stochastic process of generating new tokens.
In this podcast episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA and guest Leyla Lesina, Head of Individual Markets Distribution at Guardian Life, to take an in-depth look at the current state of the US individual insurance market, including the key trends, challenges, and opportunities facing insurers. We'll explore the evolving consumer landscape, the impact of financial volatility, and discuss how to set visions and strategies in today’s world.
Join us for another exciting episode of YPAC podcast as host Yisi Wang, FSA, CFA sits down with Blake Hill, FSA, FCIA, a distinguished leader in the insurtech industry. Discover the transformative power of technology in insurance, and the unique challenges and opportunities within the insurtech sector. Blake also shares invaluable career advice for young professionals and highlights the benefits of volunteering within actuarial organizations.
Host Nick Kocisak, ASA, is joined by Austin Kang, FSA, MAAA, CERA, to discuss the importance of being more than just a "number cruncher" as you fulfill your actuarial duties. Austin shares his experience working in the health consulting industry and provides lessons learned on how to leverage your actuarial background to gain trust and confidence with your clients and coworkers.
In this podcast episode, Virginette Scott, The Actuarial Foundation’s Stem Stars/Math Motivators Program Specialist sets the spotlight on The Actuarial Foundation’s Math Motivators program. Virginette’s guests are Barry Jacobson, retired actuary and the visionary founder of Math Motivators, and Jill Geritano, the parent of a former and a current Math Motivators student, who both thrived in the program. We will delve into the history of the Math Motivators program with Barry and explore its transformative impact on the educational journeys of students who have participated.
In this episode, we explore the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging risks and how they are impacting the world of marketing and distribution. From climate change and artificial intelligence to financial volatility and geopolitical landscapes, we'll dive deep into the key challenges and opportunities facing businesses today.
In this podcast episode, Jonas Brobbey hosts Elizabeth Dietrich FSA, CERA, MAAA, who takes us through her career journey from Actuary to CFO and provides actionable tips on navigating and forging a successful career as an Actuary.
After being in effect for over three years, the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) expired in May 2023. From the start of the PHE, state Medicaid programs applied continuous coverage (or non-termination) requirements to access additional federal matching funds provided through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 ended the Medicaid continuous coverage requirements in March 2023, disconnecting the federal match requirements from the PHE. This change was projected to result in millions of individuals losing their Medicaid coverage, raising questions about significant short-term and long-term impacts on state Medicaid programs and other health insurance markets. During this podcast, our guests discuss where we are over a year into the unwinding of the continuous coverage requirements, as well as the projected effects on health coverage for the Medicaid population. Presenters also shared considerations for addressing the unwinding in Medicaid managed care capitation rate-setting.
Join host Nick Kocisak, ASA and guest Taylor Pickett, FSA, MAAA for a discussion of the importance of leveraging foundational actuarial principles and communicating effectively when working in innovative areas of the profession. Taylor shares his experience working with accelerated underwriting programs around the industry and provides insights into how he and his team help insurers get comfortable with the assumptions developed for each unique program.
In this podcast Joe Alaimo interviews Rahul Nawab, SVP, Analytics at EXL to discuss cyber insurance evolution, risk mitigation, and emerging trends. They explore emerging trends, adaptive strategies, data analytics, and insurer innovations in cyber insurance and risk mitigation.
In this episode, Dave Dillon has a conversation with Ashwag Alzahrani; Saudi Arabia’s First Female FSA.
Join us for a conversation dedicated to helping actuaries navigate the complexities of “managing up” in their profession. On this podcast, Tasha Boland, FSA and Morgan Zuidema, FSA will delve into practical strategies and insights for building effective relationships with managers, understanding leadership styles, and achieving career growth within actuarial teams. From communication techniques to goal-setting strategies, listeners will gain valuable tips to elevate their professional presence and excel in their actuarial careers.
In the next installment in a series to further explore and differentiate the regulatory bodies and rating agencies overseeing the insurance industry, this podcast presents a conversation with Fred Anderson, Chief Life Actuary for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Fred describes his role as the Chief Life Actuary for the state as well as the interaction between state insurance departments and the NAIC, current priorities at the NAIC, and a view on future regulatory changes and how they will affect financial reporting actuaries.
Join new host Nick Kocisak, ASA, and Mike McPhee Anderson, FSA, to learn about Mike's unique educational background and the importance of data science know-how in the actuarial world. In this episode, Mike discusses some advantages of continuing education and dispels data science "dirty words" like Poisson distribution and decision tree in hopes that actuaries will embrace these advanced techniques and continue to drive the profession forward!
In this episode, Dave Dillon discusses some basics of gene and cell therapies with Marnie Bute of AON and Kristi Bohn of RGA, including a summary on the science, costs, as well as network and coverage concerns.
In this episode Joe Alaimo interviews Joan Barret, Achilles Natsis and Tony Pistilli to discuss total risk analysis, a technique that provides a consistent methodology for answering questions like “what are the chances we will lose more than $1 million?”
Roger Loomis gets to know Mike Bergerson and learns about the upcoming webcast “LTC M&A—Are the Floodgates Opening?” The webcast is on May 23rd 2024 from 12:00 to 1:15 PM ET. Please register here: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/webcasts/2024-ltc-floodgates/
Listen as host Jackie Lee discusses GLP-1s and their role in Weight Loss Management, with Tyler Engel. They discuss how these drugs are being used and what actuaries should consider when assessing their costs and implications.
In the final episode of this mini-series, Shea and Anders cover the other common tree-based ensemble model, the Gradient Boosting Machine. Like Random Forests, GBMs make use of a large number of decision trees, but they use a “boosting” approach that cleverly makes use of “weak learners” to incrementally extract information from the data. After an explanation of how GBMs work, we compare them to Random Forests and go over a few examples where they have used GBMs in their own work.
Nichole Semprit, The Actuarial Foundation Senior Program Specialist and Channy Cornejo, AP Calculus and AP Statistics Instructor at Santa Teresa High School discuss how the Foundation math competitions, Modeling the Future Challenge and The Hardest Math Problem Student Contest help students expand their skills, build confidence and win college scholarships.
Listen in as host Jackie Lee talks with Joan Barrett about the recent research paper, “Calculated Risk: Driving Decisions Using the 5/50 Research.” The discussion and report will help you answer key questions like “what are the chances we will lose more than $1million.”
Join us for another exciting YPAC podcast as host Shawn Stender, FSA, MAAA, discusses unique actuarial career journeys with Lana Marozava, ASA, CERA, and Joe Long, ASA, MAAA. This podcast will shed light on the numerous different paths that young professionals can take on their journey to become an actuary. Whether that means changing careers from a teacher, project manager, or data scientist or just taking the exams at your own pace—this podcast will help young actuaries understand that there is more than one way to be successful in actuarial work.
Join Frank Yeager, FSA and Chris Smith, ASA for an insightful discussion about leadership, the future of actuarial consulting, and the value of strong relationships. Frank shares his advice for aspiring and early-career actuaries gleaned over the course of a two-decade long career at Mercer that has culminated in his latest role as US Health Actuarial and Financial Group Leader.
Listen as host Jackie Lee talks with SOA President and Chair, Tim Rozar. They discuss Tim’s actuarial and volunteer background and the SOA’s goals for the year to come. Be sure to check out Tim’s Presidential address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BG0AhwX6Ic
Podcast on the industry adoption of emerging data sets across the insurance value chain. The participants include recognized leaders from business, regulation, legal, and innovation. The discussion covers current adoption practices, business opportunity, regulatory and legal considerations.
Building on the discussion of individual decision trees in the prior episode, Shea and Anders shift to one of today’s most popular ensemble models, the Random Forest. At first glance, the algorithm may seem like a brute force approach of simply running hundreds or thousands of decision trees, but it leverages the concept of “bagging” to avoid overfitting and attempt to learn as much as possible from the entire data sets, not just a few key features. We close by covering strengths and weaknesses of this model and providing some real-life examples.
Dave Dillion and Bryon Robidoux discuss the book Dare to Lead, which was the Joint Risk Management and Leadership & Development Sections book club selection for December. They discuss what it means for managers to be vulnerable. How to give and receive feedback from both a manager’s perspective and the direct report perspective. The end the podcast talking about actuaries can be more curious and innovative.
What is professionalism? Is it just following the law? The code/rules of professional conduct? Is it more than both of those? Listen to our podcast where YPAC member Patrick Samborsky, ASA, MAAA discusses professionalism with Charly J Pazdor, FSA retired, who has written about professionalism for The Actuary magazine as well as being a course director and facilitator for the FAC.
Shea and Anders dive into tree-based algorithms, starting with the most fundamental variety, the single decision tree. We cover the mechanics of a decision tree and provide a comparison to linear models. A solid understanding of how a decision tree works is critical to fully grasp the nuances of the more powerful ensemble models, the Random Forest and Gradient Boosting Machine. In addition, single decision trees can still be useful either as a starting point for building more complex models or for situations where interpretability is paramount.
Join host Jackie Lee and guest Colby Schaeffer as they delve into the recent SOA research paper, “Modeling the Impact of the Great Unwinding on State Medicaid Programs.” They explore the model presented in the research paper and discuss the societal and actuarial implications of the Great Unwinding. Tune in to learn more about this important topic.
Dave Dillon talks to psychologist Matt Fleischman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Neurofeedback Advocacy Project, and Charlie Doe, a retired group health actuary, about neurofeedback, infra-low frequency (ILF) neurofeedback, the data on over 500 clients who have completed 20 sessions of ILF neurofeedback, and the prospect to expand neurofeedback's availability.
In the first of a series to further explore and differentiate the regulatory bodies and rating agencies overseeing the insurance industry, this podcast presents a conversation with Matthew Mosher, MAAA, FCAS, CERA, President and CEO of AM Best Rating Services. Matt presents an overview of the goals of and approaches taken to evaluate insurance companies with a focus on the important considerations for financial reporting actuaries and how they assist the relationship between AM Best and the companies under review.
Join Jim Cristallo, FSA and Chris Smith, ASA for an insightful discussion as they dive into the topics of entrepreneurship, blockchain, baseball cards, and - of course - tips and tools for early-career actuaries.
Roger Loomis interviews Stephanie Moench about her research supporting the exploration of a statewide Long Term Care insurance program in California.
This is the first episode in a new mini-series, “Return to Trees”. In this series, Shea and Anders will be covering tree-based algorithms, including single decision trees, Random Forests, and Gradient Boosting Machines. In this episode, we discuss the rationale for re-visiting these models, which were covered in older podcast episodes in the mid-2010s, as well as an overview of what’s to come in the remaining episodes of the mini-series.
Prepare for a dynamic conversation on the YPAC podcast as host Silver Zhou, FSA, engages in a rich discussion with special guest, Kelly Hennigan, FSA, CFA, a leader in business who transitioned away from traditional actuarial roles. From the impactful influence of mentors on career paths, navigating trust in the workplace, and the intricacies of working with non-actuaries, this episode promises special insights and perspective. Also, discover the secrets of staying motivated and dedicated to giving back to the profession as Kelly shares her experiences as a longtime volunteer.
Listen to Ashlee Borcan and Jennifer Howard of Milliman discuss the past, present and future of critical illness insurance. This podcast is based on the article, “Critical Illness Turns 40!”, written by Ashlee and Jennifer.
Jeff Johnson, The Actuarial Foundation immediate past board chairperson talks with Andy Ferris, current board chairperson and incoming board chairperson, Sharon Robinson about the vital work being done by the Foundation. The group highlights how the Foundation’s advancement efforts positively influence the lives of our students and how the actuarial community drives our impact. Visit the https://actuarialfoundation.org/ for more information.
Dive deep into the world of healthcare data with industry experts discussing the groundbreaking machine-readable files, unraveling hospital charges, discounted cash prices, and negotiated rates with health plans. Learn about the positive applications and pitfalls within these extensive datasets, gaining valuable insights from experts who have navigated the complexities of transparency in coverage.
In this podcast, fast-rising leader in the reinsurance space, Stephen Abrokwah Ph.D, FSA, CERA, MAAA, shares some general knowledge about reinsurance and delves a bit more into his own career journey and experience as a client-facing reinsurance Actuary.
It's a new year and a new episode! Listen in as Ryan Wodarski, ASA, and host Chris Smith, ASA, discuss how to stand out to employers, transition successfully from the ASA to the FSA exam track, and plenty of other tips for early career actuaries.
Join Vy Le, FSA, CERA and Chris Smith, ASA for a great discussion of topics that include pursuing your passions (both at work and outside of it), the value of education and the SOA exam track, and - of course - tips and tools for early-career actuaries.
Join Roberto Gomez, ASA, and Kiu Yuen, FSA, as they explore the Actuarial world within Latin America with their expert panel in this two-part episode.
This discussion promises a rich conversation covering topics like the journey of becoming an actuary, the role of SOA in Latin America, and the myriad career paths that actuaries can embark upon. Whether you're an aspiring actuary or an industry professional, this episode is your gateway to understanding the nuances of being an actuary in Latin America.
Please enjoy our Spanish introduction by our Host, Roberto Gomez, ASA!
Discover the role that a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has in insurance product development in our two-part podcast series. Experts Joe Alaimo and Chris Siudzinski explore how MVP and agile software development can innovate insurance solutions.
Discover the role that a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has in insurance product development in our two-part podcast series. Experts Joe Alaimo and Chris Siudzinski explore how MVP and agile software development can innovate insurance solutions.
Are the many new biologic drugs that launch each year bringing the clinical innovation that patients desperately need or the financial doom that healthcare benefit plan sponsors and their members cannot afford? Or both? What are biosimilar drugs and how can they help? This podcast and its related series of articles in Health Watch helps actuaries better understand the potential clinical and financial impact that the coming wave of biosimilars could have on our healthcare system and how plan sponsors can best leverage it for their populations.
In this podcast, Jackie Lee interviews Milliman Principal Gabriela Dieguez on the highlights of the Inflation Reduction Act and how it is shaping Medicare Part D, the largest prescription drug program in the world.
Join Jennifer Lang, FIAA and Chris Smith, ASA for a great discussion on this latest episode of the Actuary of the Future section’s podcast for aspiring actuaries. Topics include actuaries’ intersection with the field of data science, our role in helping manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and - of course - tips and tools for early-career actuaries.
Discover the role that a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has in insurance product development in our two-part podcast series. Experts Joe Alaimo and Chris Siudzinski explore how MVP and agile software development can innovate insurance solutions.
Discover the role that a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has in insurance product development in our two-part podcast series. Experts Joe Alaimo and Chris Siudzinski explore how MVP and agile software development can innovate insurance solutions.
Join Roberto Gomez, ASA, and Kiu Yuen, FSA, as they explore the Actuarial world within Latin America with their expert panel within a two part episode. This discussion promises a rich conversation covering topics like the journey of becoming an actuary, the role of SOA in Latin America, and the myriad career paths that actuaries can embark upon. Whether you're an aspiring actuary or an industry professional, this episode is your gateway to understanding the nuances of being an actuary in Latin America.
Keep an eye out for Part 2 of this episode, releasing in December. Please enjoy our Spanish introduction by our Host, Roberto Gomez, ASA!
Join Morgan Zuidema, FSA, and Bryon Robidoux as they take you into the world of SOA Sections. Uncover the practical insights, tools, and strategies that can help you leverage Sections to advance your professional journey through becoming a "Friend of a Section". Gain a comprehensive understanding of what Sections are, their tangible benefits, and how they can be a pivotal asset in shaping your career for success.
In this captivating podcast, Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp, sits down with ChatGPT, one of the most advanced AI models, to delve into the future of the actuarial profession. ChatGPT provides thought-provoking insights and predictions on where the profession is headed, the challenges that lie ahead, and the opportunities that come with embracing innovation.
Whether you're a seasoned actuary, a student, or just someone fascinated by the intersection of AI and actuarial science, this podcast offers a fresh perspective unlike any other. Tune in to stay ahead of the curve and be part of the conversation shaping the next chapter of the actuarial world.
In the conclusion of a four-part series, Bruce Schobel and Geof Hileman discuss what lies ahead for the Social Security program. The trust funds are projected to be depleted around 2034, but what does that really mean for beneficiaries? And what can be done?
In Part 3 of a four-part series, Bruce Schobel and Geof Hileman dive deep into some of the finer calculation details related to Social Security benefits. If you don't know what a bend point or a COLA is, this episode is for you.
In Part 2 of a four-part series, Bruce Schobel and Geof Hileman analyze some of the key decisions that retirees face, most importantly the critical question of when to start receiving Social Security benefits. Disability benefits and spousal benefits are also covered in this episode.
In Part 1 of a four-part series, Bruce Schobel and Geof Hileman discuss the history and structure of the Social Security program, which provides benefits to over 66 million Americans each month. In this episode, you will learn why you should care about this program, both as an actuary and as a taxpayer and likely future beneficiary.
The Maverick Actuary, Dominic Lee, ACAS reflects on his dynamic career journey which traverses insurance, software, content creation, and public speaking with host Chris Smith, ASA. Dominic shares granular insights on opportunities for actuaries outside of insurance, AI's impact on the actuarial profession, navigating career moves, presenting to senior leaders, and working remotely in a post-pandemic world.
Join us for a captivating episode as YPAC Member Silver Zhou, FSA, MAAA, sits down with special guest Andres (Andy) Montes, ASA, MAAA, MBA. Delving into Andy's one-of-a-kind international career journey, offering valuable insights for those looking to shape their own distinctive career paths. Discover the benefits of working abroad and how to seize those exciting prospects!
Join Chris Smith, ASA, and Mary Pat Campbell, FSA for an insightful discussion full of tips and tricks for early-career actuaries and those aspiring to enter the field (as well as a brief detour into the topic of poker).
Host Rong Rong, FSA, CPCU, and Arthur da Silva, FSA, FCIA, talk about how dancing and music relate to an actuarial career and what day-to-day work is like in a start-up company.
Roger Loomis and Erik Wenzel discuss Assured Allies wellness program which reports it can reduce LTC claim costs by 18%.
Listen in as host Jackie Lee and guests Rebecca Owen and Sara Teppema delve into the intricate world of social determinants of health (SDOH) and their profound impact on actuarial workstreams. They explore how SDOH data, sourced from a range of primary and secondary sources, shapes actuarial decisions in the healthcare sector. From ethical considerations surrounding human data to the evolving landscape of health information, they discuss the strategies and insights that guide actuaries in leveraging SDOH data responsibly. Tune in to discover how actuaries and health insurance professionals can harness this rapidly evolving area to drive positive outcomes and contribute to a healthier future.
https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2023/soc-phy-cultural-doh/
https://www.soa.org/496f00/globalassets/assets/files/resources/research-report/2023/sdoh_act_data_workstreams.pdf
Welcome to the final episode of our 3-part series on AI and ChatGPT and their implications for actuaries. In this concluding episode, Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp, is joined by Deloitte AIS team members and AI experts Andrew McLeod and Harrison Jones to explore the future trajectory of AI technology and its potential disruption of the insurance and actuarial professions. They reflect on the lessons learned from the adoption of ML/AI technologies in the past decade and anticipate how the impact of General AI (GAI) and Large Language Models (LLM) might deviate from this path. The conversation then navigates through the ethical and professional challenges that could arise with the implementation of GAIs and LLMs in the actuarial profession, strategies insurers can adopt to leverage these technologies while mitigating risks, and how the job market for actuaries might be reshaped with increased adoption of these advanced tools. This podcast offers a fascinating insight into the evolving landscape of the actuarial profession, providing valuable perspectives for anyone in or considering a career in actuarial science.
For more in-depth coverage read Harrison Jones and Andrew McLeod's article in The Actuary.
Industry experts discuss the latest trends and developments relating to assumption governance, especially as it relates to financial reporting and valuation work.
Join Young Professional Advisory Council Chair Kiu Yuen, FSA, MAAA as she chats with SOA’s Beth Gall, Senior Director, Member and Candidate Engagement. Beth discusses the various ways SOA supports candidates, members, DEI initiatives and volunteerism.
Host Rong Rong, FSA, CPCU, learns about uncommon actuarial and entrepreneurship experiences with generalist actuary Sam Wehner, ASA, MAAA.
Join Lisa Jiang, FSA, MAAA and Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC) member as she talks with fellow YPAC member Patrick Samborsky, ASA, MAAA, and colleagues Jing Qian, ASA, MAAA and Joyce Wang, FCAS about their unique experiences working in both consulting and insurance.
Welcome back to part 2 of our 3-part series on AI and ChatGPT, where we continue to explore the potential impacts of AI on the actuarial profession. In this episode, Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp, resumes the conversation with Deloitte AIS team members and AI experts, Andrew McLeod and Harrison Jones, focusing on a fictional AI product named ReportGen.AI. This innovative concept aims to revolutionize actuarial reporting by streamlining and enhancing the process. Together, they discuss the benefits of integrating AI in report generation, potential implementation challenges, and the possibilities of incorporating interactive data visualizations and quantitative computation. They also touch upon other potential applications of generative AI and LLMs in the insurance industry. Tune in to delve deeper into how AI is set to reshape the future of actuarial work and stay tuned for the concluding part of the series where they will discuss the future state of this technology.
For more in-depth coverage read Harrison Jones and Andrew McLeod's article in The Actuary.
Dave Dillon talks with Chad Hollenback about his new role as Executive Director of Resource Management FP&A at Aetna - and the lessons he's learned along the way. From key leadership initiatives to implementation missteps - Chad shares his thoughts on getting the most out of people and creating a positive and productive workplace.
Roger Loomis discuss the past and future of the LTC insurance industry with an LTC sales veteran.
Listen in on a robust conversation with Harrison Lin, FSA, MAAA, YPAC member and Vice-Chair of the SOA DEI Committee as he discusses exciting new DEI initiatives with Karthik Balaji, FSA, EA and Chair of the Joint Committee on Inclusion, Equity & Diversity.
In this first episode of a 3-part series, Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp, is joined by Deloitte AIS team members Andrew McLeod and Harrison Jones to delve into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a specific focus on the Generative Pretrained Transformer 4 (GPT-4). Together, they demystify the concepts of generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and explore how GPT-4, a product of OpenAI, stands out from its predecessors. This episode provides a comprehensive understanding of AI's impact on various industries, specifically how these technological advancements have been transforming the insurance sector and the actuarial profession. Tune in to learn more about the potential of AI and stay tuned for the next episode where they will propose a fictional AI product for actuaries.
For more in-depth coverage read Harrison Jones and Andrew McLeod's article in The Actuary.
The SOA Leadership & Development (L&D) and Joint Risk Management (JRM) Sections are excited to announce that we are jointly starting a Book Club initiative focusing on leadership development and decision making this year!
This will be a platform for all actuaries (and non-actuaries) to learn and share insights on leadership related topics. It is open to all experience levels since leadership skill development is a natural progression, starting with leading by example.
Every other month, we will host a virtual discussion on lessons-learned and key takeaways from a pre-selected book. In-person meetings will be arranged during major SOA conferences as networking events. You don’t have to attend all discussions. Each session is independent, and you can just register for the book tile or theme that you are interested in.
Each virtual session will be facilitated by two volunteers. It is intended to be an interactive session and a safe place for participants to reflect on the key concepts discussed in the book, key takeaways and practical applications. Through our selection of books, we hope to cover a wide range of hot topics, such as negotiation, handling difficult conversations, delegating effectively, making risk based strategic decisions, etc.
Book Club session line up for 2023:
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“Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It” by Chris Voss – discussion on August 9th 11am central. Register here: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/webcasts/2023-never-split-difference/
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“Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.” by Brené Brown – discussion to be held late September; exact date and registration details will be announced soon
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“The Ten Commandments of Risk Leadership: A Behavioral Guide on Strategic Risk Management” by Annette Hofmann – discussion to be held early December; exact date and registration details will be announced soon.
We have selected book titles for sessions to be hosted in 2024, and are also looking for volunteers to lead discussions. If you are interested, please reach out to Shirley Wu (Shirley.Wu@milliman.com) & Emily Li (mengrli@deloitte.com).
Host Rong Rong, FSA, CPCU, talks with Victor Zhao, FSA, CERA, about his career journey from traditional actuarial roles to working at Eden Health, a tech start-up working to accelerate growth in primary health care.
Longevity Risk Management was awarded first place in the 2022-23 Speculative Fiction Contest. This An audio version is part of the first place prize package. Here's what literary judge, Dr. Bob Mielke, had to say about the story, "What a great little story! We have here an engaging conflict, some action, punchy dialogue, and plausible world-building. Nice focus! The whole issue of whether one would ever get too old to want to live has a venerable pedigree in the speculative genre..."
YPAC member Elizabeth Alleman, FSA, MAAA discusses the SOA’s Catastrophe and Climate Risk research efforts with a few young professionals who dedicate their time to the program: Priya Rohatgi, ASA, Matt Self, ASA, and Aadit Sheth, FSA, ACIA, CERA.
Host Jackie Lee discusses the recent CAS research papers that address potential racial bias in insurance pricing with Mallika Bender. While we may be actuaries working in different disciplines, there is still a lot that can be learned for the work of the CAS and its committees. Listen as Jackie and Mallika talk about the components of one of the research papers.
Earlier this year, millions of people in France took to the streets to protest against the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64. We will explore the context behind the reform and protests.
NCPERS is the largest trade association for public pensions, representing approximately 500 plans, which manage about $4 trillion in retirement funds and cover more than 22 million participants. Hank will discuss NCPERS and their research.
The SOA launched a new initiative, the emerging topics community, as a pilot in 2021. In this short discussion, we explain what the emerging topics community is, how it is structured and what benefits it brings to the SOA community. Information is also provided on how anyone can volunteer and contribute.
Joe Alaimo interviews volunteer leaders in the community Kevin Durand, Laura Whitaker and Nick Miller
View the SOA professional opportunities such as webcasts and topic calls: https://www.soa.org/pdopportunities
If you are interested in contributing by writing an article, speaking at a conference or joining a podcast send an email to communities@soa.org
Host Jackie Lee and Robert Lynch discuss a different method for calculating IBNR when there is not run out available, called the Average Paid PMPM Method. Based on his recent HealthWatch article, Rob discusses how this method can produce more reliable results with less volatility. Learn about the method, and be sure to check out the article with step by step instructions on the method.
Dave Dillon discussed with Paul Conlin, FSA, MAAA, the recently-published book “Power Failure” by William Cohan, on the 2001-2018 unraveling of General Electric. One of the business events which led to the near-failure of GE was an under-reserving of Long Term Care reserves by 16 billion dollars, discovered in 2018 just as various other problems were emerging for the company. There are lessons for actuaries in the series of events which led to the LTC reserve “accident”.
Young Professional Advisory Council’s Silver Zhou, FSA, MAAA, discusses the importance of personal brand and building your reputation with Aree Bly and Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA. Also learn more about the SOA Next Generation Leaders Summit, where Aree will be leading a session on this topic.
Host Rong Rong, FSA, CPCU, talks with inspirational entrepreneur Aree Bly about Aree's entrepreneurial journey and other fun things.
Host Jackie Lee discusses the 340(b) Drug Pricing Program with Tony Pistilli of Axene Health Partners. Learn about the program's history and the significant growth it has seen in recent years to now account for almost 8% of all outpatient drug sales while concerns about potential abuse and unintended consequences have also increased.
Dave Dillon hosts a conversation with Brian Tajlili as he discusses his role leading business planning for a health insurance organization and similarities and differences with traditional actuarial roles.
Data science is all the buzz! Listen in on the conversation between YPAC member Philip Wright, ASA, and his colleague Nick Laffey, FSA, as they discuss the application of a data science skillset to an actuarial role.
This is the fourth in a 4-part series where Anders Larson and Shea Parkes discuss predictive analytics with high cardinality features. In the prior episodes we focused on approaches to handling individual high cardinality features, but these methods did not explicitly address feature interactions. Factorization Machines can responsibly estimate all pairwise interactions, even when multiple high cardinality features are included. With a healthy selection of high cardinality features, a well tuned Factorization Machine can produce results that are more accurate than any other learning algorithm.
Dave Dillon welcomes guest Jon Forster, former executive for Medical Risk Managers for a discussion about current Market conditions of the stop loss industry. We’ll cover current stop loss products in the market, the pipeline of cell and gene therapy, and new underwriting uses of AI. Jon has 20 years’ experience in actuarial leadership positions and recently moved to work full time with the Society of Actuaries to accelerate professional development offerings.
This podcast is the third in our series “Drink in the Details,” featuring casual discussions with experts on a variety of financial reporting topics. Join Chris Whitney, as he discusses the ‘sunrise of LDTI’ with Matthieu Bousetta, Mark Billingsley, Dieter Van de Stock and Nathan Worrell over a tequila sunrise.
Join YPAC member Harrison Smith, ASA, as he talks with Nathan Worrell, FSA, to learn about found success and growth within the actuarial profession. Hear Nate’s suggestions to define and pursue success including how to utilize your skillset, volunteering to gain access to knowledge, and finding resonance in your work.
This episode focuses on the evolution of underwriting techniques to the current use of predictive models. Topics include what carriers might consider when launching a model, reflections on when not to use results from a model, current regulatory concerns and activity around predictive models, and other topics carriers may run into once a model is up and running.
This is the third in a 4-part series where Anders Larson and Shea Parkes discuss predictive analytics with high cardinality features. In this episode they focus on feature engineering via the hashing trick. The hashing trick is most applicable for extremely high cardinality, and at first glance can seem almost ridiculous. In a lot of ways, it is the same as bucketing values at random. But there are times that it is more valuable to include randomly engineered buckets than to exclude the original high cardinality feature entirely.
This is the second in a 4-part series where Anders Larson and Shea Parkes discuss predictive analytics with high cardinality features. In this episode they focus on y-aware feature engineering. Y-aware feature engineering is all about carefully bleeding information from your training response back into your engineered features without grossly misrepresenting your ability to generalize to new data.
Anthony Weatherspoon, ASA, MAAA, and Kiu Yuen, FSA, MAAA introduce the latest addition to the SOA’s podcast lineup. Discover what to expect from the Young Professional Advisory Council series, how often to tune in, and topics to be covered in upcoming episodes.
Join the Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC) Board liaison Melody Prangley, FSA, MAAA, EA, FCA, as she discusses upcoming and future initiatives for YPAC, exciting engagement opportunities, ways for members to elevate their networks and skillsets and how to manage and delegate a team.
Host Jackie Lee discusses the impacts of food intervention with Lauren Driscoll of NourishedRx. Learn about how this important basic need impacts the health and well-being of under-served populations and how health plans and actuaries should think about this impact in health care costs. Lauren explains how these services can create a deeper connection between consumer and their health plan.
The State of US Health, 1990-2016, Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Among US States
This is the first in a 4-part series where Anders Larson and Shea Parkes discuss predictive analytics with high cardinality features. In this episode they focus on introducing what high cardinality features are, why you might want to work with them and some of the basic approaches to including them in predictive models.
Title: Leadership Series: John Robinson
Description: Jackie Lee discussed with John Robinson about his new role as SOA President. He talks about his background and how he got to this prestigious and monumental role. They discuss his Presential Speech, which is found here.
A conversation on monitoring and maintaining data science models and how that compares to actuarial models.
What is an Electronic Health Record (EHR). Digital Medical Data today and how it is used today? How does it compare to Attending Physician Statement (APS) and what’s in it for underwriters.
Parag Shah discusses his involvement with the California Long Term Care Insurance Task Force, which has been discussing potential public LTC options for the state of California.
Jackie Lee joins Lydia Tolman and Jackie Young as they discuss their SOA Research paper, “Interactions of Health Care Rating Factors with Race, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Factors.” We discuss how health care rating factors should be considered when being used in pricing.
Join us as Ashlee Borcan and Dave Dillion discuss current events and trends in the supplemental benefits world.
Discussion regarding recent industry events and what your auditor will be looking for in regards to these impacts.
Risk-based capital (RBC) is a method of measuring the minimum amount of capital appropriate for an insurer to support its overall business operations, taking into consideration the insurer’s size and risk profile.
Today’s focus is on the Health RBC which is a standardized way to aggregate risk using a capital formula applied across insurers and for the public record.
Learn how healthcare actuaries are going beyond claims and enrollment data to drive clinical, financial and operational performance by leveraging new data sources and machine learning.
Learn how healthcare actuaries are going beyond claims and enrollment data to drive clinical, financial and operational performance by leveraging new data sources and machine learning.
This is the third and final installment of a 3-part series where Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis discuss the different types of software testing, what they are, how they are performed and ways that they apply to the software development that actuaries are involved in.
Full Description: Have you ever been involved with a software development project? One thing that all software development projects have in common is testing. You may have been involved in some of the testing of these systems or maybe you were in meetings where testing was discussed or perhaps you are interested in doing more testing in the work that you are doing. You may have heard some terms such as unit testing, integration testing and functional testing but are not sure what the differences are. You may also not work with software development but want to understand elements of software testing so that you can apply them to your actuarial work.
In this final installment of a 3-part series, Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis cover related topics to software testing: Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), How to write a test, Test Driven Development (TDD), and Agile’s relationship to testing. The two explain what each topic is, how each topic relates to the types of testing discussed in earlier installments and why each topic is important. They also discuss considerations and tradeoffs when thinking through implementing CI/CD, TDD or Agile testing.
Links to the tools discussed in the podcast:
GitHub – The most popular code repository (owned by Microsoft)
https://github.com
TravisCI – An early build and test running service for code
https://www.travis-ci.com
TestPad – A tool for test case management
https://ontestpad.com
This is the third and final installment of a 3-part series where Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis discuss the different types of software testing, what they are, how they are performed and ways that they apply to the software development that actuaries are involved in.
Full Description: Have you ever been involved with a software development project? One thing that all software development projects have in common is testing. You may have been involved in some of the testing of these systems or maybe you were in meetings where testing was discussed or perhaps you are interested in doing more testing in the work that you are doing. You may have heard some terms such as unit testing, integration testing and functional testing but are not sure what the differences are. You may also not work with software development but want to understand elements of software testing so that you can apply them to your actuarial work.
In this final installment of a 3-part series, Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis cover related topics to software testing: Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD), How to write a test, Test Driven Development (TDD), and Agile’s relationship to testing. The two explain what each topic is, how each topic relates to the types of testing discussed in earlier installments and why each topic is important. They also discuss considerations and tradeoffs when thinking through implementing CI/CD, TDD or Agile testing.
Links to the tools discussed in the podcast:
GitHub – The most popular code repository (owned by Microsoft)
https://github.com
TravisCI – An early build and test running service for code
https://www.travis-ci.com
TestPad – A tool for test case management
https://ontestpad.com
Dave Dillon interviews Kristi Hardenbergh, Actuary with Sydney Consulting Group, about group and worksite supplemental health products. Learn about the different types of products offered, as well as how the market is changing due to hybrid work, the rising “gig economy”, new product offerings, and attempts to enhance the consumer experience.
Dave Dillon interviews Kristi Hardenbergh, Actuary with Sydney Consulting Group, about group and worksite supplemental health products. Learn about the different types of products offered, as well as how the market is changing due to hybrid work, the rising “gig economy”, new product offerings, and attempts to enhance the consumer experience.
Explore where fiction meets reality. In Part 3 of the “Speculative Spectacular” series, Nate Worrell talks with award winners from the 14th Speculative Fiction contest and contest coordinator, Gary Lange, about how fiction writing improves actuarial communication. Then we look at their visions of possible futures, discussing the real world implications related to societal issues and cultural trends.
In ‘Actuaries from Mars’, by Nate Worrell, a visitor from the red planet arrives with an important and unexpected mission. And in ‘Farewell Valeria’ by Beverly Orth, alien observers are scoping out a future home and need to understand what makes humans act so strange. Want more? Read their stories here.
The Speculative Spectacular will launch in October of 2022.
Explore where fiction meets reality. In Part 3 of the “Speculative Spectacular” series, Nate Worrell talks with award winners from the 14th Speculative Fiction contest and contest coordinator, Gary Lange, about how fiction writing improves actuarial communication. Then we look at their visions of possible futures, discussing the real world implications related to societal issues and cultural trends.
In ‘Actuaries from Mars’, by Nate Worrell, a visitor from the red planet arrives with an important and unexpected mission. And in ‘Farewell Valeria’ by Beverly Orth, alien observers are scoping out a future home and need to understand what makes humans act so strange. Want more? Read their stories here.
The Speculative Spectacular will launch in October of 2022.
Explore where fiction meets reality. In Part 2 of the “Speculative Spectacular” series, Nate Worrell talks with award winners from the 14th Speculative Fiction contest about how fiction writing improves actuarial communication. Then we look at their visions of possible futures, discussing the real world implications related to Artificial Intelligence and a world run by algorithms.
In “Tea Leaves”, Bethany Coffee searches for a soul in a system that decides how risky you are. A.I. based underwriting results motivate an actuary to develop a cure declining health in Al Klein’s “Preferred Plus”. And in “The Elixir of Life”, Angela Xu explores a calculation that determines if you die or live (possibly forever). Want more? Read their stories here.
The Speculative Spectacular will launch in October of 2022.
Jackie Lee talks with research authors, Joan Barrett and Stephanie Entzminger, about how where you live impacts your health. Listen to hear more about their research about this SDOH and how it impacts actuaries.
Explore where fiction meets reality. In this episode of the “Speculative Spectacular” series, Nate Worrell talks with award winners from the 14th Speculative Fiction contest about how fiction writing improves actuarial communication. Then we look at their visions of possible futures, discussing the real world implications related to continuous personal health tracking.
In “Just Don’t Look at It” by Chris Fievoli, a continuous insurance premium suddenly spikes, indicating immediate danger. Karl Gagnon’s “Premium Day Eve” follows the pursuit of achieving a perfect health score. And Camille Knepper explores the relationship between humans and their health AI ‘Buddy’ in “Health Watch.” Want more? Check out these authors stories.
The Speculative Spectacular will launch in October of 2022.
This podcast is the third in our series “Drink in the Details,” featuring casual discussions with experts on a variety of financial reporting topics. Join Chris Whitney, as he discusses IFRS 17 with Amal Rajwani and Doug Van Dam over a glass of iced tea.
Join Jackie Lee and Philip Wright as they talk about Pet Insurance. They discuss the similarities and differences between Pet Insurance and Health Insurance. Listen to gain a better understanding of the industry and its future.
Jackie Lee talks with Geof Hileman about the SOA research titled “Modeling Effects of Enrollee Choice.” In this discussion, we cover simplistic markets and gradually make the markets more sophisticated to show the impacts of enrollee choice and tools that help consumers make decisions, focusing on the ACA market.
This is the second in a 3-part series where Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis discuss the different types of testing, what they are, how they are performed and ways that they apply to the software development that actuaries are involved in.
In this podcast, a follow-up to our April 23, 2021 discussion, Dr. Char Hu, co-founder of Georgetown Living (link: https://www.gtownliving.com), talks about rebalancing facility goals post-pandemic and staying true to GL’s commitments to clients, families and employees.
On this episode, Dave chats with Kelvin Wursten, Senior Director, Data Science at PointClickCare on all things clinical data. Listen in to hear more on how the industry leverages the direct use of clinical healthcare data, the common challenges, and the observations Kelvin has made moving from a traditional actuarial role at a health insurer to now leading the data team at PointClickCare.
This is the first in a 3-part series where Joe Alaimo and Andy Rallis discuss the different types of testing, what they are, how they are performed and ways that they apply to the software development that actuaries are involved in.
Dave Dillon interviews Covered California’s John Bertko about a wide-range of health insurance and healthcare reform topics
Ali Ahmadi of TCARE discusses his company’s efforts to use predictive analytics to support informal caregivers. Ali also discusses other ways how the LTC may change over time to utilize emerging technologies.
Have you ever assumed that telehealth should reduce health care costs for health plans? Listen in as Jackie Lee and Kirsten Staveland discuss how this assumption may not be accurate. They also discuss innovations in telehealth that are emerging more prominently in the healthcare space that could impact actuaries in their jobs.
John discusses the recent ILTCI conference with the chair of the actuarial track, Linda Chow, and how to people can get involved with the conference in the future.
Dave and Andrew discuss the similarities and differences in actuarial work between working for an integrated delivery system (or payer/provider combinations) vs. a traditional insurance company/health plan, including advantages, challenges and tips for new actuaries starting work at a payer/provider organizations.
It’s time for the big reveal as we find out which of our two podcast hosts prevailed in the hotly contested 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon. Was Shea able to leverage his years of machine learning and predictive analytics experience to guide his team to the victory? Or was Anders poised for a “student has become the teacher” situation after absorbing Shea’s wisdom over the last six years of recording podcasts together? In addition to discussing the much-awaited final score, the hosts talk about what key factors influenced the outcome. They wrap up the series by looking back at the competition as a whole, what they learned, and things to consider for others hosting or participating in a hackathon-style competition.
Solutions in healthcare to drive better care at a reduced cost have grown significantly over the past 5 years. Dave Dillon talks to Ed Pudlowski about the role health actuaries play to bring credibility to the claims made by these solution providers.
Anders is back in the host chair as we hear from Shea and Tanner Boyle, who were on a competing team in the 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon. Similar to the discussion in part two of the series, today’s discussion touches on high level topics like strategy, time management, and organization, but also gets into the weeds with some of the decisions Shea and Tanner’s team made regarding feature engineering, algorithms, and ensembling. Shea and Tanner talk about what went well for their team, as well as some areas where they felt they could have improved. The discussion provides an informative complement to part two, highlighting the ways that different groups actuaries and data scientists can approach the same problem.
For pricing actuaries working in the individual exchange market, the metallic plans created by the ACA – bronze, silver, gold, and platinum – have been anything but simple. Do new state mandates around actuarial sloping assumptions create better deals for customers, or do they make an already confusing problem even more challenging to understand?
Now is the time to become a candidate for an SOA Section Council. Current Section Council members Joe Alaimo and Kevin Duran walk you through why and how to volunteer for this important leadership position.
Mike Green, FSA, MAAA, Vice Present at Canada Life Re sharing his insights with podcast host Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, FLMI.
Tonya Manning, Buck’s Wealth Practice Leader & Chief Actuary, recent DOL appointee to Advisory Council and Former SOA and IAA President is interviewed. Tonya discusses her career, leadership at two major actuarial firms, public pensions, and her actuarial volunteer work.
Shea plays the role of host today and talks shop with Anders and Nick Vander Heyden, who competed as part of a team in the 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon. The gang covers a wide range of topics, including team strategy and organization, exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, and choice of algorithm. Although Anders and Nick were generally pleased with their team’s performance, they discuss what they wish they had done differently and what they would have done to refine their predictions with more time. The discussion illuminates the practical considerations involved in tackling a real-world predictive analytics project and why the human element is still a critical part of machine learning.
In this episode, Dave Dillon interviews Dustin Ryan, FSA, MAAA about the everchanging landscape of Medicaid pharmacy. They discuss how the states pulling the levers in the pharmacy world to lower their drug expenditures. They dive into the impact of state impacts on MCOs and the future of pharmacy.
"Drink in the Details” is a podcast series featuring casual discussions with experts on a variety of financial reporting topics. In this episode, Chris Whitney and his guests Liz Millard and Kevin Piotrowski enjoy margaritas as they discuss financial reporting and valuation considerations associated with Mergers and Acquisitions.
Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA, and Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, are joined by the organizers of the 2021 Milliman Health Practice Hackathon: Riley Heckel, FSA, MAAA, Austin Barrington, FSA, MAAA, and Phil Ellenberg.
This podcast interviews actuaries David Cantor and Kailan Shang, co-authors of the SOA research report titled Predictive Analytics: A Primer for Pension Actuaries. David and Kailan explain how pension actuaries can apply predictive analytics to forecast outcomes for defined benefit and defined contribution plans.
Chris Ryan and Jennie McGinnis discuss what Inforce Management means and provide an update on the Inforce Management Subgroup and its upcoming activities.
Dave Dillon interviews Jeff Wu who is the deputy director for policy of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). Dave and Jeff discuss a wide-range of Affordable Care Act topics including Open and Special Enrollment periods, risk adjustment, induced demand factors, CSRs, and 1332 waivers.
We review the history of guidance on both market based disclosures and funding policy, and describe how the new ASOP 4 addresses both those topics.
Tiffany Norman, FSA, MAAA, Senior Vice President at Hannover Re sharing her insights with podcast host Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, FLMI.
Join Jackie Lee as she sits down with Mike Pacolay to discuss his article on the utilization of member advocates as a cost savings tool for employers to help lower claims costs for its employees. With confusion at nearly every turn, consumers become some combination of scared, confused, angry and frustrated, but with improved transparency and guidance within the complex system, perhaps we can improve consumer health literacy.
Dave Dillon interviews Dave Rowbottom on the topic of capital motivated reinsurance for health products – how it works, how it is evaluated, where it is commonly used, and what is involved in underwriting and implementing one of these reinsurance programs.
Roger Bauer, Executive Director of the Transformation Change Office for the Atlanta market of Kaiser Permanente, speaks with host David Dillon, FSA, MAAA, about building a Transformation Change Office. In this wide-ranging discussion, they discuss a TCO’s purpose and structure, and they further delve into project prioritization, example of success, approaches to reporting, and key success factors.
Warren Jones discusses the efforts that went into the recent mortality and lapse study developed by the American Academy of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries Research Institute.
Continuing with the Managed Care 3.0 Strategic Initiative, Jackie Lee talked with Ian Duncan and Lara Dodo about Newtopia and its case study. Cardiometabolic disease continues to be a growing public health challenge and a major economic burden for Americans. This podcast discusses one behavior-change solution that has demonstrated success in a health plan randomized control trial.
Jackie Lee and Wendy Kwan discuss gene therapy technology and some of the challenges US healthcare payers will face modeling for the larger upfront costs created by such treatments.
Join us as we discuss recent proposals of public programs that help address the long-term care needs of the population.
Jackie Lee talks with Elaine Corrough about her research for the Health Section’s Managed Care 3.0 Case Study series on access to healthcare in rural areas. It highlights several programs local health plans have implemented in collaboration with various community partners with notable success.
Hear an update from state regulators Anna Van Fleet and Shannen Logue regarding the NAIC’s efforts to develop an LTCi Reduced Benefit Options Regulator Checklist. Why is it needed, what do they hope it will achieve, and when will it be available for states to use?
Jackie Lee & Karen Shelton discuss several case studies that are shaping the future of healthcare as part of the strategic initiative 18|11. They review the categories and history behind each of the different innovations that have generated results that will positively impact our health care costs. These include rural health care, health literacy, gene therapy funding and provider reimbursement.
Tony Johnson speaks with Steven Gee and Taylor Geppert. Steven and Taylor were the 2021 Actuary of the Future Section Interns and share their insights on the experience.
In this episode, John Fowler, FSA, MAAA, interviews Tyler Keenan, ASA, CERA, MAAA, on Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) business, challenges in modeling PRT and potential solutions in Prophet.
Show Notes:
1) Tyler Keenan's email: tyler.keenan@oliverwyman.com
2) John Fowler's email: John.Fowler@rgare.com
3) Profiting from Prophet Fall 2021 edition spotlight PRT modeling in Prophet software: https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights.html
Jackie Lee interviews Steven Jones, Chief Actuary and Head of the Shared Incentives Organization, about the beginnings and growth of his startup company, Circulo Health, and how it differs from his previous actuarial experiences. Steven notes the three largest differences amongst soft skills when working with startups versus companies he’s worked with in the past. Hear about how you can bridge the gap between those you work with – e.g., bankers, consultants, beneficiaries – and actuarial work.
Historically, modeling actuaries had the option of developing their own “in-house” modeling solution or purchasing a platform and/or application from a vendor. Advancements in technology have provided for a 3rd option – open-source solution. Please enjoy this podcast where Edward Kuo FSA, FCIA, discusses open-source software and the fundamental freedoms that come with it.
Robert Eaton and Shawna Meyer describe the speakers and topics at this year’s Virtual LTC Medical Symposium. The symposium will take place on Nov 30 and Dec 2, 2021, in a webinar format .
As part of the ongoing pharmacy series, Jackie Lee talks with Tony Pistilli, FSA at Santa Barbara Actuaries, as he breaks down his article series on pharmaceutical patents and abuses. With pharmaceutical costs continuing to accelerate the growth of overall healthcare cost, pharmaceutical patents have come under increased scrutiny by a wide range of stakeholders, including Congress. He explains how the patent system works, the effects of historical reforms, potential modern-day abuses of the system and the path forward, and how actuaries can help.
Host Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, is joined by Shea Parkes FSA, MAAA, to discuss deploying predictive models into production via web APIs. The use of web APIs for delivering predictive models has grown a lot over the last decade. In the fourth episode of this series, we discuss what a web API is, why they are useful, and provide some insurance related examples.
Patrick Ring, ASA, EA, MSPA, MAAA, ACA and Cheryl Krueger, CFP and founder of Growing Fortunes Financial Partner, LLC discuss the role of actuaries as financial planners, focusing on retirement planning.
Do you know how to navigate to sustainable success? Aree Bly, alignment coach for the analytical mind, shares the idea of the alignment landscape with Dave Dillon. With this model, you can make intentional decisions about the direction of your career. Finding your allies, and being an ally to others is a key component to that success at every stage of the actuarial path.
In this episode, we get to hear from Ryan, a rising star in the world of Model Risk Governance about his career, how he got into risk management, and where he sees the industry going.
Jackie Lee and Jennifer Gillespie, SOA President-Elect for the 2021-2022 term, discuss her background, goals, expected challenges, and that which excites her as she steps into her new role. Actuaries of all backgrounds will appreciate the advice provided, including overcoming being less knowledgeable on a topic, and to be open to risk as an individual.
Flick Fornia discusses the 2021 Social Security Trustees Report with Steve Goss and Karen Glenn
Initiative 18|11 intended to shift our focus towards healthcare efficiency. What can the US learn from other countries’ healthcare systems? How are other countries more efficient than the US? Jackie Lee talks with Traci Hughes about her recent article in which five countries among those debated as having some of the most efficient healthcare systems were selected to research further into their healthcare efficiencies. They discuss how those strategies may or may not be effective in the US.
Jackie Lee chats about the SOA Health Section Council (HSC) with its Vice Chair, Doug Norris, FSA at Milliman. Together, they discuss how the HSC is relevant to your actuarial career beyond the Health Meeting, Listservs, podcasts and HealthWatch newsletter. Topics discussed include efforts with continuing education, strategic initiatives (such as Initiative 18|11, Managed Care 3.0, Pharmacy series, and social determinants of health,) and networking. Whether you’re still in exams or a seasoned actuary, learn about how you can use the HSC to your advantage, from research access or contribution, to volunteering, and what’s in the HSC pipeline that will also be beneficial.
Jeff Anderson of Milliman discusses his recent efforts related to LTC morbidity experience studies. Observed trends and future considerations are also discussed.
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” – Mark Twain. This podcast, featuring Kevin Durand and Randall Stevenson, focuses on Cognitive Bias and Behavioral Economics. Randall conveys many examples of cognitive bias and discusses applicability to the insurance industry.
Show Notes
Contact Information, Kevin Durand: kevin.durand@americo.com
Contact Information, Randall Stevenson: randalls@hauseactuarial.com
For further information, Randall has authored an SOA Report in April 2019 titled “Actuarial Utility and Preference Functions.” He has also written an article for Contingencies January/February 2020 called “Predictably Irrational.”
If interested in learning more about behavioral economics, the University of Toronto has a free online course through EdX.
Host Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, is joined by Ben Wyatt, a security and compliance manager at Milliman, to discuss considerations around data security in the cloud. Ben and Anders discuss a variety of real and perceived risks related to data access and storage in the cloud, such as HIPAA compliance, performance on security audits, threats from hackers or other malicious actors, and other scenarios that could lead to data loss.
In this episode, we sit down with Tony Dardis to discuss the past, present, and future of the profession through the lens of his career. We want to thank Tony for his insights and his kindness in sharing his time and experience with us!
Tony Johnson and Steven Gee speak with Andy Rallis. They discuss the future of the actuarial profession given impacts of COVID-19, changing regulation and emerging technologies.
Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, FLMI, MAAA, talks with Linley Baker, FSA, MAAA, about her unique career path and how it’s possible to achieve your life dreams and “do what you really want to do.”
Nolan Tully of Faegre Drinker discusses cash buyouts, which have recently been offered as part of LTC rate increases.
Dave Dillon interviews Jeremy Benson and Wendy Broadrick on the topic of Level-Funding. Topics included an overview of Level-Funding, how Level-Funding has evolved over time, how it compares to Fully-Insured and Traditional Stop-Loss and considerations for success in the Level-Funded market.
This podcast is the first in our series “Drink in the Details,” featuring casual discussions with experts on a variety of financial reporting topics. Join Chris Whitney, as he shares a beer and discusses Life Principles-Based Reserving (PBR) with Ben Slutsker and Dylan Strother.
Join Jackie Lee and the SOA’s Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC) Chairperson, Kristen Long, ASA at Unum, to learn more about YPAC and the opportunities it offers for the next generation of actuaries. Topics discussed include the recent Emerging Leaders Summit, networking, and the YPAC’s goals. Learn how volunteering or becoming a member of YPAC can further your own actuarial career ambitions, whether you provide an additional inspirational voice, or are an aspiring actuarial professional.
Listen now as Chris Ryan, FSA, MAAA, Al Klein, FSA, MAAA, and Tami Britton, FALU, FLMI, FLHC, AIRC, ACS, ARA, LTCP, discuss the upcoming SOA Underwriting Issues and Innovation Seminar. This podcast briefly describes the history of the seminar, what happens “behind the scenes” to create the seminar, why the seminar is important to both underwriters and actuaries, and provides a “sneak peek” at some of the sessions that will be in the 2021 seminar.
Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, FLMI, MAAA, talks with Lisa Bull, President of Lechner & Associates, on discovering your true impact and unlocking stretch opportunities tailored to your professional and personal goals.
Fred Andersen, the Chief Life Actuary of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, discusses efforts to create a more uniform review process related to LTC rate increases. Fred also provides details about what this review process will entail in the future
Diving deeper into the pharmacy medicine series for pharmacy development and its process, Jackie Lee chats with Jonathan Gray and returning guest Kerri Miller about precision medicine. Learn how manufacturers are beginning to get actuarial and health plan perspectives to enhance their budget-impact models, and how health plans can project new drug costs to enhance their pricing forecasts and negotiations with manufacturers. Actuaries who work with health plans of all sizes can hear about specific resources in identifying populations for a drug, making appropriate assumptions, improving projections, and how to contribute earlier on in the drug development process.
Flick Fornia interviews Michael Imber of Conway MacKenzie, a part of Riveron, about the potential for governments to contribute hard assets as a means of funding municipal pensions.
Ron Hagelman and John Hebig discuss the key findings from the Long-Term Care producer survey that Ice Floe Consulting and Oliver Wyman performed over the past year.
The 2021 election of new Modeling Section Council members is approaching! Listen now as April Shen, FSA, MAAA, interviews current section council members, Uri Sobel, FSA, MAAA, and Kevin Durand, FSA, MAAA, on their experiences. They also give a great introduction to both the Modeling Section and council with insights from 2021.
Show Notes:
If you are interested in joining the section council, please fill in an expression of interest form at https://www.soa.org/programs/elections/sections/ by June 1.
If you have any questions about the election, please feel free to email our speakers: uri.sobel@milliman.com, kevin.durand@americo.com, or april.shen@pwc.com.
Jackie Lee interviews Ken Clark and Robert Eaton about Medicare Supplement (Medigap) and short-term care products, including profits, pricing assumptions, and bundling opportunities for health carriers. Together, they explore how bundling the two products may provide a complementary hedge of certain policyholder behavior risks. Actuaries can better understand the risks involved with doing so, administrative components, and areas of analysis to consider.
In a purportedly highly regulated environment, ACA individual market premiums are largely misaligned across the country. States that have enforced compliance have improved consumer value and strengthened local markets…at virtually no cost. Chris Merkel interviews Greg Fann on this podcast, asking him about his recent article on the ACA’s unique regulatory/market dynamics.
Join us as Tim Deitz, ASA, MAAA, and Tom Kim, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, discuss LDTI implementation/modeling experiences and challenges.
Join hosts Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, and Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA, for the second in a series of podcasts focused on machine learning in the cloud. This episode focuses on some specific Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Machine Learning offerings in Azure. These offerings are used as examples and we discuss some general pros and cons and how/why users might choose between various PaaS offerings.
Jackie Lee discusses specialty drugs with Kerri Miller, Pharm.D., and Sarah Hellems, FSA, as part of an ongoing series for the Pharmacy Strategic Initiative. Together, they discuss innovations in the approval process, and dissect the magnitude and drivers of high costs, including effective and potential cost controls, from prior authorizations to accurate diagnoses, to modifying rebate contracts by incorporating outcome-based [value-based] metrics. Actuaries are given insight into how they can move the needle in progressing efforts to expand access to specialty drugs in health plans, as well as making them more affordable.
Tracy Choka, FSA, MAAA, speaks with podcast host Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, on accelerations and major trends in reinsurance, leadership and actuarial workplace evolution.
Char Hu, Founder of Georgetown Living dementia communities and CEO of insurtech company The Helper Bees, sits down with us to discuss the implications of the coronavirus pandemic on long-term care including staffing, safety protocols, digital transformation, and the future of both facility and home-based care
Ariel Weis, FSA, MAAA, FCIA interviews Mihaela Capra for a view of the risk management profession from the viewpoint of a seasoned risk management professional. The story is anchored in the experience of the speaker with insights on the current state of the risk management and on the risk professional of tomorrow.
Chris Merkel and Stephanie Entzminger discuss the external forces currently affecting nursing homes, with a focus on the impact on Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Join Jackie Lee for her chat with Roy Goldman, current SOA 2020-2021 President, for the Leadership Series. Roy shares his inspiring actuarial journey, lessons he learned, obstacles he overcame, ongoing motivations, and his term’s highlights. Hear his thoughts on the progress and challenges of the SOA’s Long-Term Growth Strategy, the SOA’s ongoing COVID-19 actions, and the importance of data science in the actuarial field.
Join this conversation between current Product Development Section Council members and Friends of the Council to learn more about the many ways the section supports its membership and how you can get involved yourself.
John Hebig interviews Matt Winegar, the chairperson of the LTC Section Council, to discuss the council’s goals for this year and how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted his role as section chairperson.
Listen now as Lu Xue, FSA, CERA, MAAA, interviews Katherine Geller, FSA, MAAA, on the Agile principles, methodologies and executions for modeling and project management.
Show Notes:
If you'd like to reach out to our speaker and find out about Agile, please email katherine.geller@pwc.com.
Join Jackie Lee for the ongoing Pharmacy Strategic Initiative series, led by Gregory Warren, FSA, MAAA (SVP & Chief Actuary at Optum Advisory Services) who teams up in this podcast with Rebecca Owen, FSA, FCA, MAAA (Actuary at HealthCare Analytical Solutions, Inc.) to discuss the impacts states’ regulatory actions have on prescription drug benefits. Pharmacy is one of the fastest growing components of total cost of care and is currently an active area of state legislation. Understanding regulatory context and various policy environments that actuaries can advantageously affect will further progress in the design and execution of programs to align stakeholder goals, including mitigating total cost of care increases as well as access to care. Stay informed on state health policy at NASHP.org.
Jing Lang talks with Aree Bly, actuary turned alignment coach, on navigating your unique career path and leveraging alignment as a tool to lead yourself and others to success.
In this podcast, Steve Castleton (Chatham Financial) and David Murad (NISA Investment Advisors) discuss the use of derivatives in the insurance and pension industries. They cover their varied applications, recent trends, and touch on the market, operational, and other considerations that come with using these powerful tools.
Listen to Rick Pawelski and Ryan Coblentz, actuaries at Highmark Health, discuss with Jackie Lee how care management vendors and insurers are becoming increasingly integrated in managing customer care. Understand these vendors’ role in providing medically effective and cost-effective care to customers as value-based contracts continue increasing, the insurer’s perspective on determining the effectiveness and savings for the vendors, and the changing methodology and difficulties of accurately and consistently quantifying data.
Patrick Ring, ASA, EA, MSPA, MAAA speaks with Ron Gebhardtsbauer, FSA, MAAA on a variety of issues surrounding Social Security including, proposals for reforming it and the impact of COVID-19.
The SOA Competency Framework contains eight core competencies, which highlight all the technical and non-technical skills needed to become a well-rounded actuary. As the SOA creates professional development opportunities, they are aligned with one or more of these eight competencies so you can use them as a guide as you plan your career goals.
Podcast host Carlos Arocha, FSA, speaks with Professor Karel Van Hulle about his experience in the development of the Solvency II Directive. Van Hulle, served as head of insurance and pensions at the European Commission, where he was responsible for the development of Solvency II. In that capacity, he represented the European Commission within EIOPA (the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and was a member of the technical committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. He is the author of Solvency Requirements for EU Insurers: Solvency II is Good for You
Marie Kolendo of the Alzheimer’s Association provides an overview of Alzheimer’s Disease, its impact on the LTC industry, and an update on recent research.
Listen to Jackie Lee and David Blumenthal, President of the Commonwealth Fund, discuss a variety of topics regarding pandemic planning. Learn how trends will affect the healthcare system now and post-pandemic. Actuaries play dual roles in reform: assessing risk and validating measures. CWF paper: https://bit.ly/3qCpwfU
Rahul Nawab and Karl Canty from EXL Services join host Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, to discuss the importance of data transformation for organizations to yield the benefits of modern machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities. They introduce the conceptual framework of talent, process, and technology to help actuaries think about their current and future data environment.
Dr. Boris Garcia Zakzuk answers questions from Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, on COVID-19 vaccinations.
Jackie Lee discusses innovative technology in healthcare with returning guest, Sudha Shenoy, including the forces driving change, Managed Care 3.0, leading technology, notable obstacles, and key roles of the public, providers, payers, and benefactors. In reflecting on the importance of reducing industry costs through these innovations, including rate of adoption, consumerism, and the impact of demand, actuaries have an opportunity to play a key role in efficient, stable, and timely implementation of innovations to revolutionize healthcare.
Podcast host Carlos Arocha, FSA, speaks with Henner Alms, Founding Partner of Faber Consulting, as they discuss the fourth edition of the ASEAN Insurance Pulse, which focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the region’s economies and its insurance markets.
Model governance often focuses on “what to do” rather than “why we are doing it” and “how we should do it.” In this podcast, Kevin Durand, FSA, MAAA, interviews Winston Hall, FSA, MAAA, who shares insight and benefits of keeping the focus of governance on the “why.”
Show Notes:
For more information on adding value with model governance consider reading the following articles:
April 2018, The Modeling Platform: “Adding Value With Model Validation: AG43 Model Validation Case Study”
November 2017, The Modeling Platform: “Adding Value with Model Validation”
Kevin Durand E-mail: kevin.durand@americo.com
Winston Hall E-mail: whall@lgra.com
Podcast host Carlos Arocha, FSA, speaks with Kai-Uwe Schanz, the Deputy Managing Director and Head of Research & Foresight of The Geneva Association about a recently published report.
Podcast host Carlos Arocha, FSA, speaks with Alejandro Bonilla Garcia about Greycells, an Association of Former International Civil Servants for Development. Greycells is a platform through which retired international civil servants willing to contribute to the global development effort can make their experience and expertise available, on a volunteer basis.
Dave Dillon interviews Dave Nelson, Luis Prieto and Joel Clark on the topic of buying and selling employer stop-loss, the nuances of the product and opportunities for health actuaries to evaluate the true risk needs and opportunities available in the employer stop-loss marketplace.
Robert Eaton and Missy Gordon discuss their emerging research into LTC population management techniques, wellness programs and interventions, and modernizing how LTC insurers approach the claims process.
Listen to Jackie Lee and Ned Pojskic discuss how insurers and PBMs have a unique and creative challenge to collaborate with the pharmaceutical industry to innovate new mechanisms for single-use, high-cost therapies. Actuaries need to consider how cell and gene therapies are becoming more a platform for the development of new drugs and its impact on their analyses.
Don Blue, FCIA, FSA, Chief Actuary at WSIB sharing his insights with podcast host Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, MAAA, FLMI.
Join hosts Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, and Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA, for the first in a series of podcasts focused on machine learning in the cloud. This episode introduces a useful definition of the cloud and digs deeper into what aspects of machine learning make it a good fit for cloud based solutions.
Dave Dillon, FSA, MAAA, interviews Greg Fann, FSA, FCA, MAAA on his October 2020 Health Watch article “The ACA Underwriting Cycle”. This discussion covers the historical underwriting cycle, the state of ACA markets, the need for actuarial voices in the ACA discussion, and the potential disruptors of ACA cyclical patterns.
Lynn Manchester and John Hebig discuss the history and recent changes to the LTC experience reporting forms
Cell and gene therapies; the challenges the insurance industry faces in modeling ultra high cost, novel therapies.
Do you want to get through the rate approval process faster or improve your chances of obtaining rate approval? In this podcast, Dave Dillon and Kristi Bohn talk about professionalism issues and other topics that directly relate to state regulatory filings.
Dave Dillon talks with Brian Mackintosh (former teacher, sometimes musician, and current actuary) about leveraging prior experiences to expand your professional skillset.
Al Schmitz walks us through the world of combination products, including how they have evolved and how to differentiate the wide variety of products available. Consumers should seek professional advice when evaluating insurance products and making insurance/financial decisions.
Listen now as April Shen, FSA, CFA, interviews Eric Schwartz, FSA, MAAA, on communicating actuarial model results. In this podcast, Eric discusses key questions and strategies actuaries should think about when they communicate model results to various stakeholders.
Show notes:
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Key stakeholders for modelers to communicate results to:
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Regulators
- Investors and rating agencies
- Senior management
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Sellers and buyers
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Key questions modelers should think about when communicating results:
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What are the metrics that are of interest?
- What accounting basis is the model?
- What's the timing of the cash flows?
- What's driving the model results?
- Who's reviewing the model results?
- What's the limitation of the model and its impact?
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How confident are modelers with the results?
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Literature on communicating modeling results:
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ASOP 41: Actuarial Communication
- ASOP 23: Data quality
- VM-30
- VM-31
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ASOP 56: Modeling
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Eric's contact: eric.schwartz@genre.com and SOA directory
Dave Dillon talks with North Carolina’s Chief Actuary of their Medicaid program, Julia Lerche. This conversation discusses Social Determinants of Health and why the topic is important topic for actuaries. Julia also discusses what North Carolina is doing to address Social Determinants of Health broadly and within its Medicaid program.
Podcast host Robert Eaton, FSA, MAAA, speaks with Raymond DiDonna, FSA, of RGAX; and Tim Rozar, FSA, MAAA, CERA, of RGA, on challenges and opportunities to support innovation within InsurTech today and into the future.
It’s hard to pronounce, but don’t let that stop you from learning about this important pharmacy topic. In this podcast, Jackie Lee talks about with Mark Millman and Karl Gregor as they explore what PE is, how to evaluate it, and how it can impact actuaries.
This week Jackie Lee chats with Health Actuary Brett Heineman. They explore the benefits and challenges of a non-traditional actuarial career, island life, and what actuaries can learn from taking a risk.
Dave Dillon talks with Kentucky’s Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, DJ Wasson. This discussion covers what regulators are doing with regards to Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Mental Health Parity, and other regulatory issues.
Claude Thau discusses Brain Fitness Training and how its benefits may impact the LTC insurance industry.
With his background as a consultant who assists state insurance departments, Dave Dillon provides his perspective on the pandemic and how the pandemic could impact the 2021 commercial health insurance marketplace.
In this two-part podcast, we sit down with product management expert Christin Kuretich from Trustmark Benefits to explore unique elements and challenges of product management within the insurance space, as well as get her thoughts on approaches that are currently shaping the modern product management function. Topics include the need for responsive consumer feedback and data, lessons learned for collaborating on product innovation from inception to implementation and key competencies of the insurance product manager.
In this two-part podcast, we sit down with product management expert Christin Kuretich from Trustmark Benefits to explore unique elements and challenges of product management within the insurance space, as well as get her thoughts on approaches that are currently shaping the modern product management function. Topics include the need for responsive consumer feedback and data, lessons learned for collaborating on product innovation from inception to implementation and key competencies of the insurance product manager.
Join hosts Anders Larson, FSA, MAAA, and Shea Parkes, FSA, MAAA, for the fourth in a series of podcasts focused on Python. The previous episode covered how to get started with Python. This episode covers useful packages for data analysis. Python is a general purpose language at heart, so you will likely need to use a variety of packages to perform most data science tasks. Luckily, the Python ecosystem is full of feature-rich data science packages. Listen to this episode to learn about some of the most important ones.
Listen now as Tim Deitz, ASA, MAAA interviews David Davenport on industry trends, services provided and process management for Software as a Service (SaaS) in an actuarial setting.
Jing Lang, FSA, FCIA, interviews Christine Hofbeck, FSA, who shares some strategies on best setting yourself up for professional success, including how responding to positive feedback, respecting and sharing alternate perspectives, and thoughtfully sharing your own personal value can make a noted difference in how you and your work are received, trusted and celebrated.
Ron Hagelman and John Hebig discuss recent efforts to conduct a Long-Term Care producer survey and the impact it may have on the industry.
Flick Fornia interviews Bruce Schobel, an actuary with deep knowledge of Social Security. Issues include revenue losses, benefits, a quirk in the law for those born in 1960, and the president’s August executive order deferring certain payroll taxes.
How can actuaries bring unique and positive solutions to the societal discussion in the United States about the rising costs and relative value of prescription drugs?
Chile’s innovative DC Social Security System is hitting some bumps. Federico Tassara, ASA is interviewed.
Listen now as April Shen, FSA, MAAA interviews Jennifer Caplin, FSA, MAAA on the components, challenges and project management for model validation under LDTI.
Show Notes:
Key components of model validation under LDTI and examples of model validation procedures for each component
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Review of Data & Inputs
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Actual historical cash flows which should be validated and reconciled to source systems
- Process should be put in place to monitor assumptions and review and update as needed at least annually
- Assumption will be updated more frequently than current GAAP (most applicable to the FAS 60 products)
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Discount rates based on single A or locked-in rates at transition are another key input to validate
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Calculation Engine
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Modified retrospective transition method
- Net Premium Ratio (NPR) unlocking process for Liability for Future Policy Benefits (LFPB)
- NPR capped at 100%
- DAC amortized on a constant basis over the expected life of the contract
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Market Risk Benefits fair value calculation
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Outcomes Analysis Under LDTI, outcomes analysis may be more tailored to the company’s LDTI implementation and scope of the validation. Examples include trend analyses, stress tests, or reasonability checks to the model output.
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Governance and Controls Framework
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LDTI represents a change in the reporting process and related controls infrastructure
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Additionally, given the requirement to evaluate and update assumptions, if needed, at least annually, the assumption governance should be in place to manage and provide effective review and challenge of assumptions
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Model Performance
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Review the model's ability to produce results that meet close schedules, especially with requirement to obtain historical cash flows and the need to run the model multiple times in step-change fashion to produce the required disclosures
- Evaluate manual efforts and identify opportunities for increasing level of automation
Other Resources About Model Validation
- Reading the federal guidance SR 11-7 which, while only required for federally regulated companies, provides good guidance for insurance companies performing independent model validations
- There's a PN on Model Governance that has additional information on model validation: https://www.actuary.org/sites/default/files/files/publications/Model_Governance_PN_042017.pdf
- ASOP 56, which is a new ASOP effective in October, provides standards of practices around validation in a section on Evaluating and Mitigating Model Risk: http://www.actuarialstandardsboard.org/asops/modeling-3/
- SOA webcasts: There will be two webcasts available soon: one covering LDTI Model Validation on 9/4 and another on ASOP 56 will be held on 8/13.
Jen's Email:
jennifer.caplin@pwc.com
The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union has deep implications in many areas, and particularly relevant for insurance companies is the impact of Brexit on reinsurance arrangements. Carlos Arocha interviews Ronnie Klein, a subject matter expert with extensive experience in reinsurance.
This is the first of a series of podcasts where we’ll invite chief actuaries, actuaries as leaders of an organization/a department to share their perspectives on actuary of the future and the future of work. In this episode we interview Elizabeth Dietrich.
Jackie Lee talks with Dani Cronick and Suzanna-Grace Sayre about Medicare Star Ratings. This discussion covers insights on Star Rating challenges faced by new plans, and a summary of the sweeping changes CMS is making to the Medicare Star Rating program in the face of COVID-19.