Editor’s note: Society of Actuaries (SOA) CEO Greg Heidrich originally presented some of this content about the changing industry landscape during the 2026 ReFocus Conference, which was sponsored by the SOA and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). We live in a world of great change that is often disorienting, confusing and at times…
In many insurance lines, periods of stress follow a familiar pattern: deteriorating experience prompts corrective action, which alters behavior, and those behavioral changes further destabilize results. At times, actuaries recognize this dynamic in hindsight, after loss ratios, lapses or utilization trends have already exceeded expectations. In the post-pandemic environment, this pattern has become more pronounced…
As reports and articles detail, Canada’s retirement system is evolving, driven by shifting demographics, market conditions, and longer lifespans, all of which are reshaping what retirement looks like and how Canadians and their employers prepare for it. In this environment, innovation in plan design, investment strategy and plan management is a key pillar that helps…
In recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, I connected with Jon Wu, FSA, MAAA, CERA, to gain his insights into an actuarial career guided by curiosity, honesty and a commitment to always helping others. Here, Jon, who retired in 2024 from his consulting practice that focused on enterprise risk management…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, promising faster results and more intelligent decisions, among other things. I have spent a lot of time experimenting with AI in my own work, from Excel and Power Query to editing and analysis. What I’ve learned is straightforward: Current, widely deployed AI systems perform exceptionally well when tasks are structured,…
Humans have long sought to understand death, whether caused by natural factors such as aging or disease, or by unnatural events such as accidents or wars, through various fields, including biology, pathology, philosophy, metaphysics, spirituality, psychology, sociology, law, ethics, technology and economics. Besides natural and unnatural causes, suicide—the voluntary and deliberate act of ending one’s…
International Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17), as detailed by the IFRS Foundation, marks the most significant transformation in insurance financial reporting in decades. For insurers in IFRS 17 jurisdictions (which include at least 169 countries), implementation may feel complete, but in my experience, many stakeholders (such as investors) are only now encountering IFRS 17…
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) established the Greater Asia Committee in 2015 to serve SOA members and candidates and to coordinate activities across nine key regions in Asia. This committee supports the Asian actuarial community in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and helps inform SOA members and…
Look up, the future is coming. And it looks increasingly certain that the future will include artificial intelligence (AI). Certainly, as articles show, the folks investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI believe that. And a Gallup poll says that in late 2025, 45% of employed people report using AI for work, up from…
In my experience, when people think about insurance, education rarely comes to mind. Insurance exists primarily to protect against life’s major risks: premature death, illness, disability or the destruction of valuable property. Yet for many individuals, as the Federal Reserve notes, the single largest investment they make before middle age is neither a home nor…