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An
Actuarial Checklist for the Insurance and Risk Management Professional
As insurance programs
increase in complexity, the responsibilities of risk managers, risk
management consultants, accountants and brokers also increase. A solution
for managing these new responsibilities is the experience of a casualty
actuary. Ways to make working with an actuary as seamless as possible are
included in this checklist.
full article
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Analysis
of Catastrophic Risks
The devastation and ongoing recovery from
Hurricane Katrina has served as a somber reminder -
catastrophic risks
aren't limited to hurricanes, and organizations increasingly realize the
importance of understanding and quantifying a daunting list of man-made
and natural hazards. Risk management professionals frequently ask "How
can something that has never happened be analyzed?" SIGMA's own Michelle
Bradley addresses that question in this article first published by IRMI
in 2005 and reprinted in 2006 with a terrorism example.
full
article (reproduced with permission from IRMI)
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Applying Risk
Management Metrics
A risk manager shows how
sound risk management enhances shareholder value through lower costs and
decreased earnings per share risk. In a time of unprecedented investor
pressure on CFOs for consistent earnings coupled with higher retentions
triggered by firming insurance markets, risk managers would be wise to
employ total measurement systems in leading their programs.
full article
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Benchmarking
Improved Loss Experience Due to a Loss Control Program
Use a benchmark to track
the improvement in loss experience due to the implementation of a loss
control program. The steps involved to quantify improvements, as well as to
calculate the dollar savings, are included in this article.
full article
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Captives
and the Middle Market
As you are probably
aware, the soft insurance market remains the dominant feature in the lives
of insurance and risk management professionals. So why have middle market
captives grown in popularity over the last ten years? This article explores
what motivates the development of captives regardless of the market cycle.
full article
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A
Checklist on Negotiating Security Requirements
The risk manager or
broker can be even more effective in negotiating a security requirement when
they understand the biases and anomalies that adversely affect the
calculation. This checklist discusses eleven issues and adjustments needed
to more accurately measure loss experience.
full
article
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Components
of a Loss Analysis
A loss analysis can be
utilized for a reserve certification, satisfaction of self-insurance
requirements, negotiation of security requirements and to determine if
premiums are reasonable. This article explains each step of a loss analysis,
and includes a visual guide for easy reference.
full
article
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Do
You Need Protection From Employee Lawsuits?
Employers and their
management are increasingly being sued by their employees alleging sexual
harassment, wrongful termination and discrimination. This article analyzes
the causes of increased litigation from employer lawsuits, types of
judgments awarded and risk management tools used to resolve these disputes.
full article
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The
Insurance Professional's Loss Development Primer
Unique development
factors, as opposed to using industry factors, allow for a more accurate
reflection of the entity’s specific loss development patterns.
Theoretically, the use of unique factors produces a more accurate projection
of ultimate incurred losses. This article gives a general discussion on the
theory and uses of loss triangles.
full
article
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Loss
Portfolio Transfer - A Simplified Guide
An LPT, or loss
portfolio transfer, is a method for one party to transfer future claims
payment obligations to another party for a fixed sum. The difference between
an LPT and a traditional insurance program is that an LPT is for claims that
have already occurred and a traditional insurance program is for events yet
to occur. This article explores how this type of transfer is one of the few
insurance products that can be a "win - win" deal for both parties.
full article
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Meeting
the Requirements of GASB 10
GASB 10 has changed the
way public entities account for risk management and risk financing
activities. The fundamental byproduct of GASB 10 is the requirement that
actuarial techniques be utilized to evaluate liabilities. This article gives
a brief overview of GASB 10 and discusses some of the concepts relating to
the actuarial techniques utilized to meet GASB 10 requirements.
full article
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Understanding
the Workers Compensation Modification Factor
The workers compensation
experience rating formula is an actuarially based method of determining if a
specific risk's loss experience is better than expected or worse than
expected. This quick discussion of the mod formula will help lay the
foundation for understanding what drives the mod up or down.
full article
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The
Value of a Cash-Flow Analysis
One of the more valuable
analyses a broker, actuary or risk management consultant can provide to a
client involves the impact of cash-flow. Consideration of when losses are
expected to be paid can affect everything from the premium on a guaranteed
cost program to a letter of credit requirement on a loss sensitive program
to budgeting for a completely self-insured program. This articles describes
how a cash-flow analysis provides a valuable tool for management’s decision
making process.
full article
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The
Value of a Confidence Interval
Confidence intervals are
an interesting concept. While they can be used to show how much analytical
work went into a conclusion, they could easily be interpreted as a way to
weasel out of being tied to any conclusion. It is a fine line usually left
for others to straddle. Unfortunate, because a point estimate does not show
the complete information an end user, such as a CFO or risk manager, needs
to make an informed decision. This article discusses what issues arise when
calculating the spread of potential loss.
full article
