Workshops

Date Details
Day two 10:50 - 11:40 Workshop session A
 

Monday 11 November

A1: Personal impact – the importance of words, voice tone and body language

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Organisations lose billions of pounds every year because of poor communication with customers. Good communication happens when you convey what you mean politely and respectfully and are understood accurately. This session will demonstrate both good and bad examples of the above and demonstrate how you can have a positive personal impact. The session will be interactive.

Speakers: Tracy Sinclair, NVI Trainer and Coach and Helene Swan, Talent Learning and Development Consultant, Munich Re

 

A2: Taking the lid off Least Squares Monte Carlo

Level: Some previous knowledge requried, technical

LSMC is gaining attention as a tool for fast asset and liability revaluations. This session works through spreadsheet examples, available for download, fitting polynomials to an annuity and an equity option. We show how to calculate sampling error, spanning error, different optimisation methods, Achilles probabilities and statistical information criteria.

Speaker: Burak Yelkovan, Deloitte

 

A3: Materiality and expert judgment frameworks

Level: Introductory, non-technical

During the internal model validation process many companies have struggled to define the granularity of the validation, and the level of justification for each element of the model. In this presentation we discuss how robust materiality and expert judgement frameworks can help. We will cover:

  • What a good materiality and expert judgement framework looks like
  • How this can be effectively built
  • the benefits of these frameworks for your internal model validation process, wider business processes and interactions with the regulator

Speakers: Michael Ashcroft and Debbie MacDonald, KPMG

 

A4: Predictive modelling around the world 

Level: Introductory, technical

For many years the non-life industry has harnessed the power of predictive modelling to understand and manage risk, and it has become one of the buzz words in life insurance in recent years.  But how is predictive modelling actually being used in the global life industry?  This session will provide an overview of how life insurers are using predictive modelling in a range of areas, including underwriting, pricing and customer segmentation.  We will illustrate the key areas with a selection of case studies drawn from around the world.

Speakers: Peter Banthorpe, RGA and Kevin Manning, Milliman

 

A5: Recent developments in the ICA+ regime

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

Following recent delays in Solvency II, the ‘ICA+ regime’ has quickly emerged in the UK as a critical area of focus for life insurers.  The speakers will share their experiences of focusing on ICA+ developments during 2013 which will include: - Areas that have been beneficial to focus on - Practical lessons learnt - Making the most of previous Solvency II projects - Approach to data, modelling and documentation  – getting the right balance.

Speaker: Dom Veney, PwC and Jonathan Pears, Standard Life

 

A6: Current Issues in With Profits

Level: Advanced knowledge required, non-technical

This session will highlight and discuss the key issues currently affecting the management of with-profits business and provide an opportunity to discuss the best way to address these going forward.   Where possible, we will cover:

  • industry developments to improve the policyholder proposition
  • regulatory developments
  • the impact of operating under a dual regulation regime since 1 April 2013.

Speakers: Matthew Lee, PwC and Speaker TBC

 

A7: Market Trends in M&A

Level:Some previous knowledge required, technical

What market trends are being observed in insurance deals? We will consider in this presentation:

  • the changing rationale for the deals
  • the trend in pricing level
  • the discussion of the considerations being made regarding future capital requirements.

Speakers: James Isden and speaker tbc,  KPMG

 

A8: Employer sponsored benefits - the impact on the wider life market

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The launch of auto-enrolment pensions is seen by many as a threat to the provision of protection benefits; at the same time the Simple products initiative looks to be focused on individual term assurance only from a protection perspective. However, in due course the combination of these two initiatives may prove to be the catalyst for fundamental changes to, and material growth in, the amount of protection cover provided via Employers (including Employer paid, flex, voluntary, Employer facilitated and workplace marketing).

This session will explore this potential in more detail and will draw on international comparisons to show how things could change in the UK protection market in the future

Speakers: Lee Lovett, Munich Re and Paul Avis, Canada Life

 

A9: The New UK Life Tax Regime   

Level: Introductory, technical

  • How well did it go?
  • Practical issues emerging from the introduction of the new regime and issues still to be resolved
  • Onmibus 2, tax within Solvency II reporting
  • Accounting changes: - IFRS ED Insurance Contracts - UK GAAP FRS 103.

Speakers: Matthew Little, actrima; Andrew Rendell, Pearl Group and Matthew Taylor, Ernst & Young.

 

A10: The Auditor - A Challenging Friend?  - CANCELLED WORKSHOP

Speakers: Lindsay Gardiner and Andrew James, PwC

 

A11: Uncertainty in longevity assumptions

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

We will illustrate the stability of the CMI’s mortality projections model since its release, looking at how the results have developed year by year.  We will then consider, in an accessible way, how “wrong” these projections could prove to be when applied to common insured portfolios.

Speakers: Jonathan Hughes, RGA and Sacha Dhamani, Partnership Assurance

 

A12: Financial repression – is it inevitable and what will it mean for insurers    

Level: Introductory, technical

  • Financial repression: Government measures that effectively channel funds that, in an unregulated market, would go elsewhere, and are typically associated with negative real yields.      
  • Historic precedents for using financial repression to liquidate government debt
  • The impact of regulation on investment strategies  
  • Impact of unconventional monetary policy e.g. QE
  • Lessons from the Japanese "lost decades"

Speakers: Paul Fulcher, Nomura International and other Financial Repression Working Party members

Date Details
Day two 11:55 - 12:45 Workshop session B
 

Monday 11 November

B1: Influencer: the power to change anything

Level: Introductory, non-technical

What does it take to change human behaviour at work or at home?  Is there any way that people will change their behaviour to get things in on time, do what they say they will, deliver the project on time and on budget.   Using the lessons learnt from the world’s best Influencers you will develop the skills to dramatically improve your chances of bringing about sustainable change. Based on the New York Times Best Seller: Influencer.

Speakers: Grahame Robb, Grahame Robb Associates Ltd

B2: Friendly Societies - how are they surviving

Level: Introductory, technical

A look at the world of small Friendly Societies, how they are coping with the increasing volume of regulation, how they are managing to find markets for their products and how they continue to provide value for money to their customers.

Speaker: David John Lechmere, OAC Actuaries and Consultants

B3: Operational Risk Modelling – spuriouser and spuriouser

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

There are a number of drivers of operational risk capital, some of which are quite subtle. Maintaining the quality of the capital calculation, and the value add to the business of engaging business risk owners in the process, while also calculating a capital amount that is acceptable to both the board and the regulator is not a trivial task.  Sandy Trust and Pete Docherty look at the key assumptions in the Op Risk capital calculation, the impact of capital of flexing these assumptions and some thoughts around best practice and how to avoid capital add-ons in this area.

Speakers: Peter Docherty and Sandy Trust, KPMG

B4: Constructing lapse stress scenarios    (ERM)

Level: Introductory, technical

  • Lapse risk classification: Regular & catastrophe lapses, level & trend stresses
  • Reconstructing and analysing historic A/E, including interpretation of historic basis changes
  • Product granularity and number of risk drivers  
  • Overcoming data limitations by combining different sources  
  • Choice of probability distributions
  • Parameter uncertainty and the T-effect  
  • Satisfying statistical quality standards

Speakers: Andy Dickson, Aegon and Andrew D Smith, Deloitte

B5: The Rise and Rise of Stress and Scenario Testing    (ERM)

Level: Introductory, technical

Stress and Scenario Testing (SST) continues to gain prominence, with regulators emphasizing its importance and insurers enhancing their SST processes. This talk by the Actuarial Profession's member-led Stress and Scenario Testing Working Party will consider current techniques and topical issues, such as:

  • Scenario selection
  • Use of SST as an early warning indicator
  • War gaming
  • Improving effectiveness of SST
  • Insights from other industries and applicability to insurance

Speakers from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Stress  and Scenario Testing Working Party

B6: Cognitive, Psychological and Social Drivers of Mortality   (ERM)

Level: Some previous knowledge, non-technical

Recent medical discoveries suggest an important role for the brain in the control of ageing.  This workshop focuses on cognitive, psychological and social drivers of longevity.  A human resiliency metric is defined in terms of these drivers, which are recognized by geriatric psychologists to be increasingly important in old age.  The use of this metric in annuity pricing is discussed.

Speaker: Gordon Woo, RMS

B7: Equity Release - why it remains a solid investment in Europe's turbulent economy

Level: Some previous knowledge, technical

With the recent economic downturn and uncertainty in equities and bonds, the Equity Release Member Interest group takes a look at why lifetime mortgages remain a good and appropriate investment for life companies with annuity liabilities, The group will consider issues around matching, diversification and liquidity, and will look at the cost- and risk-adjusted yields available on lifetime mortgages compared to other asset classes.

Speakers: Gina Craske, KPMG and Ged Hosty, Partnership and Mikir Shah, representing the Equity Release Members Interest Group

B8: All Annuities, All Underwritten – All Right?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The expansion in underwritten annuities is certain to continue, not least due to a number of initiatives – e.g. ABI retirement code, FSA annuity market review, calls for all annuities to be underwritten.    This session will consider both social and actuarial impacts, including:  

  • Who will win and lose?
  • Will policyholder behaviours regarding retirement provision and annuitisation change?
  • Implications for  advisers
  • Challenges for insurers including underwriting /pricing issues
  • Parallels with term, motor, home insurance etc.

Speakers: David Dunn, Making Sense of Retirement and Chris Lewis, Milliman

B9: Insights into policyholder behaviour

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

Policyholder behaviour can have a significant impact on the fortunes of an insurance company. Given its unpredictability, what happens when unexpected events occur? How do policyholders react, how do they “misbehave”, and what does policyholder mass behaviour mean for the company? The Policyholder Behaviour in Extreme Conditions Working Party aims to understand how policyholder behaviour can impact an insurer and the drivers of such behaviour, to help companies prepare for unexpected outcomes when extreme conditions arise. In this presentation, members of the working party will share their findings so far, together with the next steps in their research.

Speakers: Jean Eu, Correlation Risk Partners and members of the Policyholder Behaviour in Extreme Conditions working party

B10: Getting used to EU driven legislation

Level: Some previous knowledge, technical

As the mist of delay, and the fog of uncertainty, obscures the view of eventual Solvency II implementation for a UK actuary it is easy to forgot that much of the legislative landscape is clear. The main source of future Solvency II legislation is the raft of provisions coming through the EU procedures as what are termed the level 2 and level 3 texts. These are on subjects as diverse as acceptable documentation of management actions for a with-profits fund, when contracts should be unbundled and valued separately, and, of course, the discount rate that should be used in assessing liabilities.

Speakers: Ross Gardiner, Lloyds Banking Group and James Tuley, PwC

 

B11: Bank deleveraging – a diversification opportunity for with-profits and annuity funds    (ERM)

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

As banks seek to strengthen both their capital base and liquidity position, the supply of credit remains constrained which in turn is impacting economic growth and presenting challenges to traditional investment strategies for insurance companies. This session will highlight the investment opportunities that bank deleveraging will create for UK life insurers in terms of:

  • evolution of the corporate bond market;
  • emergence of new fixed income classes such as loans;
  • greater diversification of insurance fixed income portfolios; and
  • structural evolution of the loan market towards a model that better fits the needs of annuity and with-profits funds.

Speaker: Etienne Comon, Goldman Sachs

 

B12: Portfolio-specific mortality modelling    (ERM)

Level: Some previous knowledge, technical

A portfolio's own experience data is clearly most relevant for the liabilities.  However, this raises practical questions:    

  • At what point does the portfolio's own data become credible?
  • When can a portfolio's own experience be analysed on a stand-alone basis?
  • How can you compare with a reference data set?
  • How can you create a meta-model from combining data sets?    
  • We examine these points and illustrate with experience data from several pension schemes of various sizes.

Speaker: Stephen Richards, Longevitas

Date Details
Day two 15:00 - 15:50 Workshop session C
 

Monday 11 November

C1: Data visualisation for business insight

Level: Introductroy, technical

Much time and energy is spent building models, setting assumptions, validating input data and then undertaking time and processor intensive runs.  But do we put the same amount of effort into bringing the results to life to provide business insight to their users?    Drawing on research from other fields, this session looks at innovative methods of visualising data and results, and their application to life insurance modelling.

Speakers: Julian Ellacott, Just Retirement and Paul Teggin, Teggin Consulting


C2: Projection of the With-Profits Balance Sheet Under ICA+   (ERM)

Level: Advanced knowledge required, technical

Projecting the with-profits balance sheet under ICA+ involves several components such as management actions, cost of guarantees, derivatives.  We discuss a possible approach of the projection, taking into account the practicality issues surrounding the projection methodology.

Speakers: John Lim, KPMG and Richard Taylor, Aegon


C3: Reverse Stress Testing: A Case Study   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, technical

To improve its ERM framework, the Pension Protection Fund undertook a project to explore its risk profile and develop a suite of reverse stress test scenarios. The analysis provided insight into its risk profile, the scenarios leading to potential “failure” and interactions between these scenarios. We will review the principles and objectives of RSTs in the special case of the PPF and illustrate the application of complex system science techniques for this purpose.

Speakers: Lucy Currie, Pension Protection Fund and Fred Vosveniek, Milliman

C4: How insurers make money - Is the value chain broken?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

This talk will look at how the margins in products break down across the value chain, and how this has evolved as product margins have become squeezed and the activities insurers do in the value chain have changed.  The talk will ask whether the distribution of margin is 'fair' and whether insurers can be a relevant part of this chain in a new, capital and guarantee light world.

Speakers: Andy Reed, Prudential and Gary Warman, Deloitte

C5: Irish Life Closed With Profits Fund

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

  • In 2012, Irish Life successfully converted its closed with-profits fund to non profit.
  • The number of policies had fallen below 1,000, triggering a provision in the Scheme of Transfer to allow the wind up of the fund.
  • This talk covers the key aspects of the conversion and the associated considerations of fairness to policyholders.
  • Also covered will be the role and reporting produced by the Appointed Actuary and the Peer Reviewer.

Speakers: Simon Hogley, KPMG and John Paul Noonan, Irish Life

 

C6: Long Term Care - an international perspective

Level: Introductory, technical

This session will consider Long Term Care from an international perspective.  In particular we'll consider:

  • the development  of LTC in different markets;
  • where it's worked and where it hasn't;
  • the current position in the markets;
  • possible future developments;
  • the potential implications for the UK following announcements on the funding of Long Term Care.

Speakers: Edd Moyle and Chris Reynolds, PartnerRe

 

C7: Professional Skills for Experienced Members


Level: Introductory, non-technical.  Professionalism session

We all strive to be professional at all times.

  • Just how easy is it to achieve?
  • What are the pitfalls?
  • How do you remain professional through work/life conflicts, personality conflicts?
  • Do you ever stop and think - not just do?

This is the opportunity to debate some of the challenges using video case studies, bearing in mind the underlying rules and regulations . This session will qualify for one hour’s Professional Skills CPD (two hours are needed annually under new rules from 1 July 2013).

Speakers: Members of the Professionalism Content Development Working Group

 

C8: Mutual benefits-participation for all?

Level: Introductory, technical

This session will cover:

  • problems caused for mutuals by current  COBS Regulations as volumes of with profit new business decline
  • Project Chrysalis
  • CP12/38  
  • development of new forms of with profit business -a description of what the UK’s largest mutual  is doing in this regard, the benefits in terms of wider membership and the actuarial and other challenges to be overcome

Speakers: Brian Murray and Stephen Wilson, Royal London Group

C9: IFRS 4 Phase II is coming – are you ready?

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

The IASB is expected to publish an exposure draft (ED) of a new standard on IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts (Phase II) in June 2013.  Planned changes in IFRS will significantly impact financial statements globally.  Andrea Pryde, IASB insurance contracts project leader and guest speaker, will summarise the Phase II ED and industry feedback from outreach.  The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Financial Reporting Group (FRG) will provide a technical view on these developments, plus a practical one - what should insurers be doing now to prepare?

Speakers: Andrea Pryde, IASB and the FRG Working Group led by Kamran Foroughi, Towers Watson

C10: Interest rate risk management: What can we learn from the active LDI managers

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

The LDI community tends to be more opportunistic around interest rate and inflation risk management than many life insurers.  The talk will illustrate some of the techniques used by the large active LDI funds when managing interest rate and inflation risk for their pension fund clients - eg. the use of swaptions  We will then look at how these techniques could be employed in the context of a life insurer to enhance existing hedging strategies.

Speakers: Emily Penn, RBS, Neil Snyman, Aviva Investors and Tom Woodhouse, RBS

 

C11: The view from Asia: regulatory and strategic developments

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The insurance regulatory landscape is rapidly evolving across Asia as risk-based capital is adopted and policyholder protection enhanced. Meanwhile established companies are aggressively targeting growth and acquisitions in the highly competitive Asian markets. We provide an update on the major regulatory and strategic developments across the Asian market.

Speakers: Martin Noble and Patrick Rowland, KPMG and Brad Harris, Prudential Corporation Asia

 

C12: Ireland - five years on from the crisis

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

Presentation on the impacts and evolutions in the domestic and international life insurance market from Ireland. The presentation will provide a brief summary of economic landscape before developing analysis of change in the life insurance market structure including products, players, employment and outlook.

Speakers: Mark Burke, Central Bank and James Maher, Ernst & Young

Date Details
Day two 16:30 - 17:20 Workshop session D
 

Monday 11 November

D1: Presenting with impact to Boards and Committees

Level: Introductory, non-technical

This presentation will cover how to present information and proposals to Boards and Committees, in particular:

  • Preparation, including defining the purpose of your presentation and what you want to achieve.
  • How to ensure you present with impact and clarity
  • The specifics of presenting to Boards and Committees and how to tailor your presentation to fit their needs
  • Achieving the outcome you are looking for
  • How to gain and retain the confidence and trust of Boards and Committees

In this session Debbie MacDonald and John Jenkins will cover the above aspects, and will provide some practical examples of what they have seen work well and not so well.

Speakers: John Jenkins and Debbie MacDonald, KPMG

D2: Two hats on one head: balancing the interests of the entity and the group

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

In an increasingly global assurance environment, multi-national groups are all around us, particularly in Ireland where “passporting” and cross border assurance companies are common. The presenters will explore the challenges, regulatory and legal constraints affecting those tasked with the management of entities within a group. Considering best practice and common pitfalls, this session will attempt to balance two hats on one head.

Speakers: Derek Wright, Deloitte Canada and Harold Snow, Canada Life

 

D3: Financial reinsurance – market activity, regulatory and technical aspects

Level: Introductory, technical

What is meant by Financing Reinsurance

The differences between cash and non-cash financing:

  • Analysis of the risks involved
  • Description of the advantages and liabilities of financing reinsurance for insurers and reinsurers
  • Current interest of insurers to transact in the UK and continental Europe
  • How reinsurers answer the demand
  • Regulators perspective (in the solvency one environment and the future solvency two framework)
  • Type of transactions which are taking place in the UK and in continental Europe
  • International case studies

Speakers: Stephane Iotti, PartnerRe and David Walton, Munich Re

 

D4: Impact of EMIR and Basel III on European Insurer ALM and Risk Management

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

The session will focus on practical implications for insurers.  For example:

  • Impacts on the liquidity and pricing of many derivatives typically used by insurers and implications of daily marking-to-market for liquidity management
  • Areas where there may be new opportunities for insurers in asset classes previously retained on banking balance sheets and some key considerations for insurers in assessing these new opportunities
  • how insurer ALM and dynamic hedging programmes will need to adapt.

Speakers: Lucian Rautu, BNP Paribas and Russell Ward, Milliman

 

D5: The UK Life Market in 2013 and Beyond – A Rating Agency Perspective

Level: Introductory, technical

This session will include:

  • How UK life insurers have fared during 2013 - a whistle-stop tour of capital, earnings, sales and margins.
  • A look behind the headlines – what insurers don’t want you know.
  • Who will be the winners and losers from market and regulatory reforms?
  • Some predictions for 2014.
  • And what does it all mean for credit ratings?

Speakers: Clara Hughes and David Prowse, Fitch Ratings

 

D6: The effect of austerity scenarios - CANCELLED WORKSHOP

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Speakers: Donald Budge, Standard Life and Gustavo Martinez-Najera, Deloitte

 

D7: Social Use - the next area of scrutiny?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Following the financial crisis there is an increasing focus from politicians, regulators and the media on the social usefulness of financial services.  This session considers the social use of insurance including:

  • how to maximise consumer access
  • the rights and wrongs of individual risk pricing
  • the responsibility placed on insurers given our central role in providing protection and wealth accumulation.

Speakers: Greg Clare and Kiran Kamath Aviva UK Life

 

D8: The FCA's Thematic Review into Unit Linked Fund Governance

Level: Introductory, technical

The new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a number of thematic reviews into certain aspects of the insurance industry in 2013.  The reviews announced include the area of unit-linked fund governance, including investment management, fund administration and pricing, and the controls and governance around these to understand the potential for customer detriment.  This session aims to provide an overview of the FCA's approach to this topic, and some insights of the method and lessons to-date.

Speakers: Mike Hawes, PwC and Caroline Gardner, FCA

 

D9: Locked in the black box: releasing business insight from your model   (ERM)

Introductory, non-technical

Your models are a powerful tool for understanding your business but many things (time pressure, culture, history, inefficiency) can get in the way. We explore how your modelling and your business can work together to get useful answers to the right questions.

Speakers: Malachy Magennis, Standard Life and Ian Rogers, KPMG

D10: ORSA - an international development   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The ORSA is rapidly becoming an international requirement. The presentation will compare and contrast the requirements applying in various territories and outline the key challenges faced by all companies. The presentation will specifically focus on those issues which are common across territories and examine how companies are addressing the practical challenges.

Speakers: Shane Fahey, New Ireland and Padraic O’Malley, Milliman

 

D11: Risk Appetites - how to set and how to use   (ERM)

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

This talk will consider ways in which risk appetites can be set, and how to use them to help drive business performance, drawing on the practical experience of the speakers.  As well as considering financial risk appetites, it will consider some of the trickier risks such as operational risk appetites.

Speakers: Alastair Clarkson, Standard Life and David Hare, Deloitte

 

D12: PS12/04 - stick or twist?

Level: Introductory, technical

Further to PS12/04 (protecting with profits policyholders), merger or acquisition may become more appealing to some mutual insurers.  Some non-mutual insurers may also look to offload parts of their with profits book.  The presentation will discuss:   

  • why that is the case
  • what factors should be taken into account when considering a transfer of with profits business.

Speakers: Donald Macleod, Scottish Friendly and James Hillman, Ernst & Young

Date Details
Day two 17:35 - 18:25 Workshop session E
 

Monday 11 November

E1: What will the Life Industry & Actuaries look like in 2025?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

After an overview of how we got to where we are, this session will feature a discussion on how the life insurance industry might change over the next decade or so, and how actuaries and the actuarial qualification system will have to adapt to the new world.

Speakers: Gina Craske, KPMG and Lindsay Smitherman, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

E2: Aggregation of market risk capital and credit risk capital assessments

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

This presentation discusses the calculation of risk capital under a combination of market and credit risks:

  • We describe how market and credit risk scenarios produced by separate scenario generators can be combined by a process of reordering, in a way that captures key target dependency relationships between market and credit risks.  
  • We compare results with a correlation matrix based aggregation formula
  • The method is illustrated using a number of case studies.

Speaker: Steven Morrison, Moody’s Analytics

E3: With Profits Restructuring - from feasibility to implementation

Level: Introductory, technical

As With Profits Funds increasingly enter run off is there an alternative way to manage these policies and provide better performance for customers and reduced risk to life companies.  The talk investigates the:  

  • history of With Profits Restructuring
  • options available for With Profits Restructuring
  • benefits of With Profits Restructuring for both customers and companies
  • the practical challenges of implementing a With Profits restructuring exercise
  • the presenters share their own experiences and market insights.

Speakers: James Crispin, Aegon UK and Philippe Guijarro, PwC

E4: Resource and environmental limits to economic growth   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, non-technical

There is a risk that resource and environmental issues, especially high oil prices caused by constraints to the global oil supply, might reduce the trend growth rate of the economy.  This talk explores these issues and refers to research on the potential causes and effects of limits to growth, which was commissioned by the actuarial profession and published by the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University.

Speakers: Elliot Varnell, Resource and Environment Group (REG)

E5: How ICAs will need to evolve

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

  • With the Solvency II delay UK companies will focus on their ICA regimes to provide a risk based capital assessment.  
  • Knowledge gained through Solvency II modelling developments have changed perceptions and potentially moved the goal posts for ICA.  
  • This talk explores current best practices to give firms a view of how high or low the bar maybe set.

Speakers: James Latto, KPMG and Nigel Spencer, Aviva

E6: Sex is overrated! – Why were we so worried about the Gender Directive?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Since the introduction of the Gender Directive what has changed in the market and what have we learnt? Some of the areas we will explore are:

  • How the underwriting pipeline was dealt with
  • What were the pricing issues?
  • How mix the of business has changed
  • What’s next for the market?

Speakers: Rushika Dheir, Munich Re and Alastair Gerrard, Gen Re

E7: The continuing evolution of the pension buyout market

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Based on their experience with some of the new entrants into the pension buyout market, Andrew and Ed will discuss:

  • the continuing evolution of the pension buyout market;
  • their experience of start up companies; and
  • lessons learnt.

Speakers: Ed Jervis and Andrew Stoker, Ernst & Young

E8: If only life was that simple:

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Recent Munich Re research states that life insurance is a waste of time, and that people don’t need it. Is it the product, the sales process, the cost? Our research shows why people drop out of the sales process at different stages and what stops them ultimately purchasing life products. Where should we as an industry be focussing our attention in order to overcome the barriers to buying life assurance? The answer is not necessarily simple.

Speakers: Adrian Stevenson, Munich Re and Speaker TBC

E9: IFRS 4 Phase 2: practical implications#

Level: Introductory, non-technical

This talk will be a practical discussion of how to start an IFRS 4 Phase 2 implementation, from both an industry and a consultancy view.

  • What will be the big changes?
  • What is the impact on your P&L and Balance Sheet?
  • How will the transition work?
  • Which functions should be in your IFRS 4 Phase 2 team?  
  • Which areas should you be concentrating on first?  
  • How should I engage with investors and analysts?

Speakers: Tamsin Abbey, Deloitte and Speaker TBC

E10: Three lines of defence – Where does the CRO’s role start and end?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The three lines of defence are increasingly considered the gold standard in risk management but are the lines parallel or do they overlap? The presenters will consider the challenges and opportunities faced by the CRO and other function holders in fulfilling their distinct responsibilities and understanding each other. Drawing on their experiences, the presenters will explore the obstacles which threaten even the smoothest risk environment.

Speakers: Keith Bevan, Deloitte UK and Sinead Kiernan, Deloitte Ireland

E11: Balancing oversight with insight from the risk function

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Risk management is crucial to providing assurance that the business has considered what might go wrong. But to add value the risk team also need to add insights that can help to be more efficient and ensure risks are rewarded. This session discusses practical insights about the challenges and opportunities to build a high performance risk function that balances oversight and insight.

Speakers: Neil Cantle, Milliman; Simon Davis, Guardian and Jon Macdonald, Royal London

E12: Towards an Industry Standard to Assess Longevity Basis Risk

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

In February 2013 the joint LLMA / Institute and Faculty of Actuaries working party on longevity basis risk issued a tender for research to produce an applicable framework to assess basis risk.  This session will feature the winning party of that tender reporting back on their initial research and will include:

  • A review of the evidence of differential levels of mortality improvements between different sub-populations;
  • A review of the different models for doing linked mortality projections for different sub-populations;
  • An early view on the proposed methodological approach that will underpin the proposed framework.

Speakers: Members of the research team

Date Details
Day three 10:15 - 11:05 Workshop session F
 

Tuesday 12 November

F1: How to do a deal and win

Level: Introductory, non-technical

How to pull a cross-practice deal team together  How to assess and manage the risks involved  How to get management sign-off  Recent case studies.

Speakers: Kevin O’Regan, PartnerRe

F2: Liquidity Risk - a growing challenge in Insurance

Level: Introductory, technical

Traditionally, liquidity risk has not required close management by life offices. This is changing, with Regulators giving the issue greater attention, and historically low interest rates and commoditisation of liquidity driving companies to less liquid asset strategies. We will discuss some of the fundamental principles of good liquidity risk management and practical challenges faced.

Speakers: Michael Ashcroft, KPMG and Graeme Wilson, LBG Insurance

F3: Global regulatory developments, OTHER than Solvency II - CANCELLED WORKSHOP

Level: Introductory, technical

Speaker: Theresa Chew, Towers Watson and Dylan Brooks, Phoenix Group

F4: Turning the Spotlight on Expert Judgement

Level: Introductory, technical

Expert judgement is relevant for all firms, is challenging, and will be an area of significant Board and regulatory focus under ICA+ and Solvency II. We consider the issues that insurers have faced, how they have dealt with these and emerging best practice, including:

  • definition
  • practical application.
  • development of best practice tools
  • validation and what makes a good expert judgement.

Speakers: Roger Austin, APR LLP and Richard Taylor, AEGON UK on behalf of the Solvency and Capital Management Research Group

F5: Pandemic panic   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, technical

Introduction into the modelling of pandemics.  How can such a model be parameterised, how should this reflect historical events and how reliable is this for predicting potential future events?

Speakers: Paul Morden, Munich Re and Speaker TBC


F6: Governance

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The PRA and FCA are continuing to place responsibility on senior managers for good governance arrangements. We would look at some of the key areas of governance that the regulator tends to focus on and its expectations in the following areas:  

  • The function of the board and its relationship with the group and any with-profits committee.  
  • 'Culture'
  • Corporate Governance
  • NEDs (including their obligations when managing risks to retail consumers)
  • Collecting and responding to Management Information
  • Managing risk.Speakers: Hammad Akhtar, Adam Levitt and Rob Moulton, Ashurst

Speakers: Adam Levitt and Rob Moulton, Ashurst

 

F7: Longevity Catalysts

Level: Some previous knowledge, non-technical

Members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Longevity Catalysts Working Party provide an update on their work.  This includes the latest schedule of published catalysts together with a variety of potential uses for these foreseeable drivers of future survival rates.


Speakers: Members of the Longevity Catalysts Working Party

F8: How will anyone pay for their social care?

Level: Some previous knowledge, non-technical

In accepting the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission on the funding of social care, the government has expressed a keen desire that the financial services industry devise flexible and innovative products to help people fund for their social care. What would these products look like and what is the Government's perspective?

Speakers: Jules Constantinou, Gen Re and Speaker from the Department of Health TBC

F9: Life Insurance and the 'New Normal'

Level: Introductory, technical

Charles Garnsworthy leads PwC's actuarial practice and Dr. Andrew Sentance is Senior Economic Advisor to PwC and served on the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee from 2006 to 2011.  He will outline his view that major economies now face a ‘New Normal’ of slow growth and increased volatility and they will discuss how this affects actuarial assumptions and the opportunities and challenges facing Life Insurers.

Speakers: Charles Garnsworthy, PwC and Dr Andrew Sentance, PwC Economics Practice

F10: Professional Skills for Experienced Members    


Level: Introductory, non-technical

We all strive to be professional at all times.

  • Just how easy is it to achieve?
  • What are the pitfalls?
  • How do you remain professional through work/life conflicts, personality conflicts?
  • Do you ever stop and think - not just do?

This is the opportunity to debate some of the challenges using video case studies, bearing in mind the underlying rules and regulations . This session will qualify for one hour’s Professional Skills CPD (two hours are needed annually under new rules from 1 July 2013).

Speakers: Members of the Professionalism Content Development Working Group

F11: Profit Reporting: Why can't anyone tell me how much we actually made?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

With a seemingly ever-increasing selection of profit metrics reported by life insurers, it is little surprise that there is often confusion around how companies are actually performing.  A number of metrics have been launched to try and address this issue, but there is still no uniformly adopted measure used by the industry.  This presentation considers what could be done to address this problem and help make profit reporting more useful for investors.

Speakers: Alan Rankine and Naomi Burger, Deloitte and co-author Andrew Sinclair, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

F12: New life tax regime, how actuaries helped make it a success and how actuaries will benefit

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

  • Actuaries helped implement the new life tax regime, particularly methodologies for the commercial allocation of profits and investment return
  • Both HMRC and the industry have benefited from this involvement, and actuaries will continue to have an important role going forward
  • The transformation to tax profiles is important to the work of actuaries. There is potential for simplification in modelling, calibration and validation.  

Speakers: John Duguid, HMRC and Steven Graham and Gordon Gray, KPMG

Date Details
Day three 11:45 - 12:35 Workshop session G
 

Tuesday 12 November

G1: Collaborative Leadership

Level: Introductory, non-technical

An interactive session introducing the 10 steps of active collaboration.  It will demonstrate that to develop a culture of collaborative working, leaders need to actively participate in collaborative activities. When leaders demonstrate positive collaborative behaviours they build credibility, because their actions are consistent with their words and they encourage others to be more collaborative.  As a case study, we will look at how Munich Re have adopted a collaborative approach within their culture.

Speakers: Helene Swan, Talent Learning and Development Consultant, Munich Re and Miles Hanson and Lucy Dinsdale, The Collaboration Company

G2: Internal model validation - what have we learnt and what next now?

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

A session covering the practical aspects of validating internal models based on our experience.

  • What new insights have we learned
  • what improvements can we make for the future
  • what are the next steps we could take, particularly in an ICAS+ world?

Speakers: Nick Ford, KPMG and Heloise Rossouw, Old Mutual

G3: Collateral Swaps and Stock Lending   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, technical

The session will discuss what these transactions are, why insurers engage in them, the risks that can result from the activity and some of the modelling challenges the transactions present. The session will also touch on how models can be used to improve business decision making on these transactions.

Speakers: Elliot Varnell, Milliman and Feifei Zhang, Aviva

G4: Liquidity Premiums - Update from Working Party

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

The liquidity premium is one of the most widely used and abused financial concepts in life insurance. What do we know about the liquidity premium, particularly:

  • its definition and constituent parts
  • what is the liquidity premium puzzle
  • the methods for quantifying liquidity premiums
  • the implications of liquidity premiums for product design, pricing and risk capital?   

This presentation will discuss the research carried out by the Liquidity Premiums Working Party, the conclusions to date, and consider areas for further work.

Speakers: Speakers from the Liquidity Premium Working Party

G5: Leveraging banking credit risk modelling tools within a Internal Model framework

Level: Some previous knowledge required, technical

Annuity providers are tackling the capital modelling challenges introduced by more interesting and illiquid asset classes.  Regulators require an assessment of credit risk that is independent of spread risk and builds on concepts more familiar to the banking sector and Basel framework – eg, PD, LGD, EAD.  We explore how the tools of banking credit risk can be exploited and combined with those of the actuarial community to build better credit risk and illiquidity premium models.

Speakers: Mark London, Ernst & Young and Speaker TBC

G6: Turning policyholders into customers

Level: Introductory, non-technical

All too often in the life industry, contact with the policyholder ends after the point of sale; it’s frequently seen as optimal if the insurer doesn’t hear from the policyholder again! Can we really call such policyholders ‘customers’? Come along and find out what other industries can teach us about creating quality interactions which enhance the customer experience and thereby improve retention, the likelihood of cross-sell and ultimately, the value of the customer.

Speakers: Susie Nursaw, Deloitte Customer Analytics and Colin Forrest and Kiran Sandhu, Deloitte

G7: Pensions vs insurance - a collision of actuarial thinking   (ERM)

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

A discussion of:

  • The differing treatment of risk by pensions and insurance actuaries
  • The drivers that have led to these different behaviours
  • How the two regimes have already come together for insurers with defined benefit pension schemes
  • What this all means for the management of pension risk for a regulated firm.

Speakers: Matthew Murphy and Tim Penning, KPMG

G8: Why BMI?

Level: Introductory, non-technical

Why does BMI always top the list as the most common reason for rated decisions? Has this always been the case, is it justified and what are the trends for underwriting BMI looking ahead?In this talk, Phil and Andreas will explore whether our industry philosophy on BMI has been accurate to date. The session will cover the latest research on BMI risks in isolation, as well as mortality expectations for BMI in combination with other relevant risk factors.  

Speakers: Dr Andreas Armuss and Phil Brown, Munich Re

G9: The shifting regulatory landscape

Level: Introductory, non-technical

The regulatory landscape for insurers has rarely been more in flux than it is today.  Some areas of change have been talked about in great detail for many years, others are less well known, but perhaps no less important.  In their talk Anthony and Andreas will cover what’s going on at the cutting edge of the new regulation, they will look at international work such as IAIS, European areas such as Resolution and Recovery, and the Green Paper on Growth, and the domestic landscape including a status report on the PRA/FCA.  The talk is deliberately not Solvency II focussed, but will touch on the up-to-the minute developments, including ICAS+, and the EIOPA interim project.

Speakers: Anthony Brown, Bank of England (PRA) and Andreas Viljoen, European Commission

G10: Reporting for duty: Moving to more efficient financial reporting

Level: Some previous knowledge required, non-technical

Financial reporting teams are under pressure, reporting more frequently and faster to market, reducing headcount, and required to add more value than purely producing accounts.  Firms are therefore rethinking how reporting teams and processes should fit together as the financial reporting team of the future requires integrated accountancy, tax, investment, data and actuarial teams.    We will bring together actuarial and accounting perspectives to consider:

  • how to reduce timelines
  • how to bring together multidisciplinary teams.

Speakers: J Paul Dobson, PwC and Veronique Gledhill, Zurich Financial Services

G11: RDR: increased transparency or added confusion? Lessons learned from overseas

Level: Introductory, non-technical

This the introduction of the RDR increased transparency across the industry, or simply added to the burden of regulation? This talk will examine the impact of the RDR in the UK and abroad, giving lessons learned and drawing implications for the future of the UK market.

Speakers: Alana Paterson, Deloitte and Elizabeth Hollinger, Deloitte

G12: How do you organize your risk function?   (ERM)

Level: Introductory, non-technical

This session will discuss the various ways in which risk functions can be structured across an organisation, their part in the provision of integrated assurance and the pros and cons of different approaches.

Speakers: Nick Dexter, KPMG LLP and Marcia Cantor-Grable, Prudential Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer)