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Phoenix breathes new life into its actuarial systems
03 July 2013The UK closed-fund consolidator has replaced its myriad modelling systems with just one, in a huge three-year project that is said to have been on time and on budget. For Phoenix, the project was not only operationally necessary; it was a strategic imperative. InsuranceERM explains
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Model validation is a question of trust
07 June 2013It shouldn't just be about satisfying the regulators, argue Mike Wilkinson and Patricia Mackenzie. Models should be validated by developing management trust in them and embedding them in the business. The delay in Solvency II gives more opportunity to do this
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On the road to common standards for group capital
24 April 2013A recent Geneva Association report revealed some surprises in the capital management of global insurance groups - and a reluctance to rush towards global standards. Co-author Kathrin Hoppe explains to Christopher Cundy
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How the matching adjustment helps insurers in a crisis
28 February 2013Daily solvency monitoring offers valuable insights into an insurers' risk profile and its regulatory capital requirements – and demonstrates the potential power of the matching adjustment. Matthew Cocke, Russell Osman and Russell Ward explain
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The unresolved issues of Solvency II
21 February 2013The delay of full implementation to beyond 2014 will allow extra time for important details in all three pillars of Solvency II to be resolved – and may bring old niggles to the surface again. Lorna Davies looks into some of the outstanding issues, for policy-makers and insurers, that will be kicked over in the coming months
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Using least-squares Monte Carlo in a multi-year context
19 February 2013A year ago on this site, Michael Leitschkis and Mario Hoerig explained the advantages of least-squares Monte Carlo (LSMC) over other proxy modelling techniques for estimating capital. Here, with Florian Ketterer and Christian Bettels, they describe how to extend a one-year application of LSMC to scenarios of several years
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Insurance enterprise risk managment: the state it's in
14 February 2013Insurers' satisfaction with ERM grows, but plans for using economic capital stall - these are among the seven key findings from Towers Watson's recent worldwide survey. Christopher Cundy asks Laura Santori and Martin Pike to explain
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Searching for the right proxy approaches to life
29 January 2013Care has to be taken in using replicating portfolio techniques, least-squares Monte Carlo approaches and curve fitting for estimating the risk capital of a life insurer, as Tigran Kalberer and Zeljko Strkalj explain