Managing Life Insurance

The aim of the book is to provide an overview of risk management in life insurance companies. The focus is twofold: (1) to provide a broad view of the different topics needed for risk management and (2) to provide the necessary tools and techniques to concretely apply them in practice. Much emphasis has been put into the presentation of the book so that it presents the theory in a simple but sound manner. The first chapters deal with valuation concepts which are defined and analysed, the emphasis is on understanding the risks in corresponding assets and liabilities such as bonds, shares and also insurance liabilities. In the following chapters risk appetite and key insurance processes and their risks are presented and analysed. This more general treatment is followed by chapters describing asset risks, insurance risks and operational risks - the application of models and reporting of the corresponding risks is central. Next, the risks of insurance companies and of special insurance products are looked at. The aim is to show the intrinsic risks in some particular products and the way they can be analysed. The book finishes with emerging risks and risk management from a regulatory point of view, the standard model of Solvency II and the Swiss Solvency Test are analysed and explained. The book has several mathematical appendices which deal with the basic mathematical tools, e.g. probability theory, stochastic processes, Markov chains and a stochastic life insurance model based on Markov chains. Moreover, the appendices look at the mathematical formulation of abstract valuation concepts such as replicating portfolios, state space deflators, arbitrage free pricing and the valuation of unit linked products with guarantees. The various concepts in the book are supported by tables and figures.

Focusing on life insurance and pensions, this book addresses various aspects of modelling in modern insurance: insurance liabilities; asset-liability management; securitization, hedging, and investment strategies. With contributions from internationally renowned academics in actuarial science, finance, and management science and key people in major life insurance and reinsurance companies, there is expert coverage of a wide range of topics, for example: models in life insurance and their roles in decision making; an account of the contemporary history of insurance and life insurance mathematics; choice, calibration, and evaluation of models; documentation and quality checks of data; new insurance regulations and accounting rules; cash flow projection models; economic scenario generators; model uncertainty and model risk; model-based decision-making at line management level; models and behaviour of stakeholders. With author profiles ranging from highly specialized model builders to decision makers at chief executive level, this book should prove a useful resource to students and academics of actuarial science as well as practitioners.

th This book is published to commemorate the 50 Anniversary of the S.S. Huebner Foundation for Insurance Education. Administered at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Huebner Foundation was established in 1941 to strengthen insurance education at the collegiate level by increasing the number of professors specializing in insurance and enriching the literature in the field. The financial support of leading life insurance companies has enabled the Foundation to provide post-graduate education for prospective insurance teachers and scholars. Through its fellowship program, the Foundation supports students in the Ph.D. program in Risk and Insurance at the Wharton School. The success of the Foundation is measured by the accomplishments of its alumni. Former Huebner Fellows play leading roles in every major area of insurance education. Fellows teach insurance to tens of thousands of undergraduate and MBA students each year and have written hundreds of books and thousands of articles on insurance. Fellows hold leadership positions at the American College, the Life Office Management Association, and the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist Program. The Foundation was created in honor of Dr. Solomon S. Huebner, a pioneer in insurance education. Dr. Huebner taught the first organized course on the economics of insurance ever offered at the collegiate level in 1904. An internationally recognized author and teacher, Dr. Huebner had a profound impact on both insurance education and the insurance industry. He served on the faculty of the Wharton School for more than nearly fifty years.

With the liberalization of the Indian economy, the insurance sector has opened up, and a lot of new players, both multinationals and Indian companies with foreign collaboration, have entered this arena realizing the vast potential in life insurance. A basic knowledge of life insurance has therefore become essential for the students opting for this course as well as for the practitioners. With this view in mind, Dr. Kutty gives in this text a masterly analysis and a holistic view of every dimension of life insurance management in the sequence of 6Ps—purpose, principles, purchase, products, process and people, in an easy to understand language. He strives to demystify the complex world of life insurance and present its fundamentals to all the readers. Based on the author’s rich experience in insurance sector over the two decades, the text provides new research insights in the areas such as product comparisons, e.g. portfolio approach to purchase of life insurance. It covers the actuarial dimensions of life insurance, with the minimum use of mathematics. Besides, the text discusses in detail the two core operations of an insurance company—underwriting and claims. The hallmark of this book is its attempt to transform the way marketing and operations in life insurance are approached and its sure guidance on how a professional should approach and manage sales, service, process and people. Key Features  Separate chapters are devoted to topics such as general insurance, risk management, underwriting, claims and financial management.  The nature of contracts in general and life insurance contracts in particular is explained.  Different traditional insurance products such as term insurance and non-conventional products like unit-linked policies are dealt with in detail. This book is primarily designed for students of management, commerce and those pursuing specific insurance courses. It can also be profitably used by industry practitioners. Finally, the book will be invaluable to managers of Life Insurance companies, Banks (engaged in Bancassurance), and Security firms.

Are you intimidated by life insurance? From questions about the amount and type of insurance coverage needed and the credit and investment risks involved to choosing a type of policy and carrier, the topic involves a multitude of issues and choices that can overwhelm the advisor. Yet it is an important planning vehicle: Life insurance is a form of intangible personal property that can solve both personal and business needs and problems. In many cases, life insurance is the most effective and efficient option.The many questions and issues involved with choosing life insurance are answered in plain and understandable language in Understanding Life Insurance and Rethinking Policy Management and Evaluation: Explaining the Unexplainable. Written by one of the leading authorities in the field, this accessible guide examines the critical topics of fiduciary risk management and the creditable evaluation of the nonguaranteed elements of life insurance, focusing in large part on flexible premium (universal life) products. Among the topics covered include:The building blocks of life insurance, including mortality charges, life expectancy, and the mathematics of term and permanent insuranceRisks, advantages, and disadvantages of the various life insurance policies, including term, whole, universal, and variable life policiesHow to manage a policy after it is purchasedMonitoring and evaluating policies--an essential but often overlooked aspectPractice-based guidelines and answers many questions about acquiring and managing life insurance to avoid a client crisisAdding valuable insights on these life insurance topics, this volume also includes a selection of relevant articles by some of the most distinguished attorneys and financial authorities in the area, along with Gary Flotron's introduction for each: Guy E. Baker, MBA, MSFS, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC, CFP, AEP (Distinguished)Ben G. Baldwin, Jr., MSFS, MSM, CLU, ChFC, CFP, AEP (Distinguished)Jonathan G. Blattmachr, JD, AEP (Distinguished) and Marc A. Pasquale, CPAChristopher H. Hause, FSA, MAAA, CLUDonald O. Jansen, JD, LLM, AEP (Distinguished)Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, M.TAX, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASLMartin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, JD, AEP (Distinguished)Charles M. "Mark" Whitelaw and E. Randolph Whitelaw, AEP (Distinguished)E. Randolph Whitelaw, AEP (Distinguished) and George P. Whitelaw

Major challenges for life insurance companies have been posed by an unprecedented wave of mergers and acquisitions in the insurance industry and the emergence of non-traditional competitors such as banks, mutual fund companies and investment advisory firms. This is the first book to analyze the determinants of firm performance in the life insurance industry by identifying the `best practices' employed by leading insurers to succeed in this dynamic business environment. The book draws upon data from insurer financial statements as well as upon an extensive survey of life insurer management practices and strategic choices in distribution systems, information technology, mergers and acquisitions, human resources and financial strategies. Generic strategies such as cost leadership, customer focus, and product differentiation are analyzed as well as strategic practices specific to the insurance industry. Best practices are identified by measuring the economic efficiency of insurers and by comparing firms across the industry. Both cost and revenue efficiency are measured relative to best practice efficient frontiers consisting of the industry's dominant life insurance firms. Economies of scale and the effects of mergers and acquisitions on efficiency are also analyzed. Financial strategies are examined with specific reference to pricing policy, valuation of assets and liabilities, and the current state of firm-level risk management systems. The benchmarks established are the result of extensive fieldwork that identifies key financial risks and methodologies to both measure and manage them at the firm level. The results discussed in the book indicate that firm performance is significantly correlated with management practices and strategic choices. Thus, life insurers can improve profitability by adopting optimal combinations of strategies. The book contains important new material on the effects of strategic choices in product distribution systems, information technology, mergers and acquisitions, human resources, and financial risk management policies. In the area of efficiency, the methodology provides a new approach for identifying peer groups of insurers and measuring the performance of individual insurers relative to their peer group. On the topics of risk and pricing, new insights are offered relative to current methodologies and in regard to areas where improvement is clearly warranted. The book concludes with an analysis of the future opportunities and challenges in the life insurance industry facing managers, and the strategic options available to them to cope with these changes.