Chicago Actuarial Association 2023 Workshop Descriptions
Session 1, 1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
1-A Project Management 101 for Actuaries
Jackie Desmond, FSA
Discover the “101” basics of project management including developing project plans, monitoring progress relative to timelines, facilitating meetings, communicating with the project team and stakeholders, and effective tools to support project management. There will be a focus on the type of technical work actuaries are often asked to manage, such as actuarial modeling projects
Jackie Desmond is a Senior Manager at the US Life Practice of Oliver Wyman Actuarial and is located in Chicago, Illinois. As an actuarial consultant for the past 10 years, her main area of focus is large-scale project execution, holding many internal and client-facing project management roles to help clients in the life and annuity industry achieve their objectives. She has served as a project manager for international insurers and reinsurers for a variety of projects, including onboarding large blocks of acquired business, sell-side appraisals, and implementing new financial reporting standards.
1-B Race, Actuarial Science, and Acting in the Public Interest
Jay Jaffe, FSA, MAAA
The session will discuss how race and actuarial science have intersected over the past 125 years. It will then explore how “acting in the public interest” should be considered by all actuaries. The session should qualify for some of the credits needed to meet for both the professionalism and bias CE topics.
Jay Jaffe is President of Actuarial Enterprises, Ltd. His firm provides actuarial and marketing consulting services to insurance companies, banks, and insurance agencies.
Mr. Jaffe received his undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1962 and a M.S. in 1964 from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. He became a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries and a Member in the American Academy of Actuaries in 1969. He has served in leadership positions in several actuarial organizations including as a SOA Vice President.
Jay has been a frequent speaker at actuarial meetings and numerous insurance and marketing conferences throughout North American, Europe, and Australia. He has authored articles for several actuarial and insurance related publications.
In the past few years, Jay has made several presentations to actuarial organizations pertaining to professionalism — particularly as it applies to the actuarial profession. As he began to learn more about the history of the actuarial profession, he recognized the importance for actuaries to learn more about the history of the profession because it will make us better prepared to provide better actuarial services to our principals and the public.
Jay works and resides in Chicago, Illinois.
1-C Society of Actuaries Health Research Update
Achilles Natsis, FSA, MAAA
Yi-Ling Lin, FSA, MAAA, FCA
The Society of Actuaries launched its Health Care Cost Trends (HCCT) Strategic Research Program in 2020, coinciding with the 10 year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program was designed to
provide relevant industry research to inform the profession on the latest trends impacting healthcare costs. This session will consist of an introduction to how health research is done at the SOA and will feature two recently released research reports focusing on Social Determinants of Health and Long Term Effects of COVID-19.
Achilles is a Health Research Actuary on Staff at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute and has been with the SOA for 5 years. Prior to the SOA, Achilles worked as a Plan Actuary for a Medicaid Managed Care Organization. His other experience includes work in Commercial Health Care products as well as in Group Life and Disability insurance.
Yi-Ling is a healthcare actuary and financial strategist. She is a pioneer in the development of sophisticated analytics to help organizations navigate the complexities of the healthcare landscape. She heads up The Terry Group’s analytics, risk management and litigation consulting in the health area. Yi-Ling leads a team of actuaries performing a wide variety of services from strategy and planning to pricing to model development. Prior to joining The Terry Group, Yi-Ling was a vice president at Aon Hewitt where she was the lead healthcare actuary for clients ranging from jumbo to mid-market. Yi-Ling holds a degree in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences from Northwestern University.
1-D Retirement in a Changing America
Daniel E. Winslow, CPA
How is retirement changing in light of the difficult 2022, Social Security financial challenges and changes in birth rates and mortality in USA and many countries? How are different segments of USA retirees doing? How is the investment world changing?
Daniel E. Winslow is a Fee Based Financial Planner
• Founder Winslow Financial LLC 2005
• Certified Public Accountant since 2007
• Trustmark Insurance Company, 1987 to 2005 Vice President and Actuary from 1992
• Northwestern University Kellogg Executive Development Program
• Northwestern University, B. A., Economics 1984
• Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, 1989 to April 2022, Resigned April 2022
• Continuing Education (Florida and Illinois Ins Agent)
• 401(k) and Chicago Actuarial Association Seminars, Network of experts
• Continuous research in world events, investments, and tax law
2A Innovative Retirement Research from the Society of Actuaries
Anna M. Rappaport, FSA, MAAA
The Society of Actuaries Aging and Retirement Strategic Research program focuses on a variety of stakeholders: individuals, benefit plan sponsors and administrators, financial service companies and society at large. The program partners with other SOA strategic research programs and it also partners with outside organizations. It builds on 25 years of work from the Committee on Post Retirement Needs and Risks and many of its projects have a multi-disciplinary focus. The presentation will highlight areas of research and consumer education, describe what the SOA is doing and present some key findings from the projects. Some of the topics to be covered include:
Using conjoint analysis to understand what employees want in retirement benefits
Public perceptions and actions with regard to retirement planning
A focus on late-in-life decisions
Observations on the initial impact of COVID on retirement
A focus on the future
Diversity, equity and inclusion and its link to retirement security
Climate change and retirement security
Anna M. Rappaport, F.S.A., M.A.A.A. is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on the impact of change on retirement systems and workforce issues. She is a past-President of the Society of Actuaries, was the first chair of the Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program Committee and chairs its Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks. She has been very active in the planning for Aging and Retirement sponsored consumer research and information, and in project oversight groups for many of the SOA research projects. She is the author of a series of Summary reports bringing together much of the post-retirement risk research from the last twenty-five years. She is a phased retiree and formed her own consulting firm after retiring from Mercer at the end of 2004. She has won many awards including the SOA Lifetime Volunteer Award in 2001. She has an MBA from the University of Chicago.
2-B Actuarial Innovation and Technology Research: Bias in AI models and in Facial Recognition Models – Causes, Consequences and Possible Remedies
Lisa Schilling, FSA, MAAA, EA, FCA
David Schraub, FSA, CERA, MAAA
Leveraging the research done by PWC Avoiding Unfair Bias in Insurance Applications of AI Models | SOA and by Victoria Zhang Data Challenges in Building a Facial Recognition Model and How to Mitigate Them | SOA, as well as the expert panel discussion captured Validating Algorithmic Underwriting Models – Expert Panel Report | SOA this session will discuss the origin of the bias that can creep into models, the consequences and the possible remedies. At every stage of the model build is a need for being purposely vigilant as unintentional consequence can have devastating consequence.
David Schraub is Senior Practice Research Actuary, responsible for the Actuarial Innovation and Technology strategic research program. In addition, he supports the InsurTech initiative which goal is to both showcase the actuarial profession to the InsurTech ecosystem and to educate actuaries about InsurTech. David also provides support to risk, technology and innovation oriented sections. Prior to joining the SOA, David worked for life insurance companies and consulting companies in various risk positions, focusing on Solvency II, NAIC ORSA and risk reporting in general. David is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst of the Society of Actuaries, an Actuaire Qualifie of the Institut des Actuaires (France) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He graduated from the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique, one of the French Grandes Ecoles focused on economics, statistics and actuarial sciences.
In the role of Senior Research Actuary at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, Lisa Schilling manages research focused on diversity, equity & inclusion aspects of the products and services with which actuaries work in the insurance, retirement and financial industries. She also manages the annual Student Research Case Study Challenge. She brings more than 35 years of experience to this role, having previously served as a retirement research actuary, chief actuary for a large pension fund and a retirement actuarial consultant at a large consulting firm.
2-C U.S. Population Mortality Observations – Updated with 2021 Experience
Pete Miller, ASA, MAAA
In January, the SOA released the U.S. Population Mortality Observations report, updated with 2021 experience. In addition to overall experience, the top 10 causes of death were covered, including COVID-19, as well as a section on opioid deaths. Mortality was analyzed over time (1999-2021), by gender and by income level. This session will cover the highlights of the report and discuss the methodology used in the analysis.
Pete Miller, ASA, MAAA, is an Experience Study Actuary with the Society of Actuaries. He manages the SOA’s Individual Life Experience studies and previously for disability and long-term care studies. Prior to joining the SOA in August, 2015, Pete worked for PolySystems for nearly 14 years, where he primarily supported PolySystems’ experience study system, Measure. He also has a deep background in life insurance and annuity valuation from his previous employment at two insurance companies.
2-D Moving into the C-Suite
Sally Ezra
Are you looking to work well with leadership, or make it into the C-suite? If so, this session is for you! A lively discussion about the importance of things beyond the technical including communication, leadership, strategic focus, understanding business, decision making, and beyond.
Sally Ezra, Partner, Ezra Penland, has been speaking with Actuaries almost daily for over 25 years, and thoroughly enjoys all aspects of her work, especially the strong, deep, and long-lasting relationships she has built with Actuaries and the employers of Actuaries, which are often one in the same. These candidates and clients are the backbone of Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment and have allowed the company to become a preeminent actuarial and data analytics recruitment firm. In her time in the industry, Sally has gained knowledge and insight that allow her to find creative solutions to challenging job searches that provide the best possible fit for the company and the candidate. In addition to Actuarial placements, she excels at finding placement at non-traditional companies ranging from data, enterprise risk management, and catastrophe analytics firms, to hospitals, start-ups, fintech, and more. She does practical work to expand the career options within the Actuarial field, and also does committee and ad-hoc project work for various Actuarial Societies and Universities. Ezra Penland provides sponsorship of a variety of Actuarial events and causes, and provides a twice a year scholarship via the LinkedIn group, The Entry-Level Actuary. Sally attends numerous Actuarial meeting and symposiums annually and also participates as a speaker, sponsor, and supporter in a wide variety of ways of the Actuarial profession.
Both companies and candidates alike value her commitment, resourcefulness, her personal attention, and her high level of professional ethics.
2-E (Valuation Topic)
Terry Long, FSA, MAAA
(More information to follow.)
3-A U. S. Healthcare System—Reality vs. Reform
Kevin Wolf, FSA
In March 2023, Health Watch—Society of Actuaries’ health section’s newsletter—published the article U.S. Health Care System: Reality vs. Reform (link is to the article) by Kevin Wolf. The article was a review of three graphic medicine books (Health & Wealth, Health Care Reform, and Field Guide to the U.S. Economy) going backward in time from our current healthcare system, to the founding of the Affordable Care Act, to the late 1990s/early 2000s in comic book, graphic novel and editorial cartoons with charts/graphs forms, respectively. This workshop will expand on that article, including provide background about graphic medicine, healthcare information in a probably-new-to-you medium, and much more.
Kevin Wolf, FSA, is retired from his sole-practice firm (Kevin Wolf & Associates, LLC) and currently is the book review editor at www.graphicmedicine.org.
3-B Top Existing and Emerging Technologies and their Impact on Actuarial Science
David Schraub, FSA, CERA, MAAA
Henry Chen, FSA, FCIA, MAAA
Leveraging the research done by Deloitte Emerging Technologies and their Impact on Actuarial Science | SOA, by LIMRA Top Actuarial Technologies of 2019 | SOA (refresh study pending completion), and by expert panel discussions captured here Actuarial Technology, A Roundtable Discussion on Current Issues – March 2022 Update | SOA and Actuarial Technology Issues – A Roundtable Discussion – August 2022 Update | SOA, this session will describe the technologies currently changing the actuarial function, data visualization, Predictive Modeling, cloud computing and collaborative tools, and the technologies coming down the pike, BI tools and report generator, collaborative tools, process and task mining and much more. We will explore what this means for the actuarial function, the type of skills actuaries needs and how to recruit and interest new talents in this environment.
Henry Chen is an actuarial consulting manager in EY’s Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services organization and based in the firm’s Chicago office. He has over 10 years of experience in the insurance industry, both in consulting and corporate roles. Henry specializes in actuarial transformation, actuarial technology and innovation, modeling and accounting change. Henry has led and assisted with multiple large-scale actuarial transformation programs for different life and annuity insurers in the united states. Henry is a frequent speaker at SOA events and an active volunteer in various leadership roles at the SOA, including Technology section council, Chair of the Actuarial Innovation and Technology Research Committee, and currently serve as the vice-chair of the Entrepreneurial & Innovation (E&I) section . Henry is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA). and member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). Henry earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, majoring in Actuarial Science, Financial Analysis and Risk Management, and Statistics from the University of Waterloo in Canada.
David Schraub is Senior Practice Research Actuary, responsible for the Actuarial Innovation and Technology strategic research program. In addition, he supports the InsurTech initiative which goal is to both showcase the actuarial profession to the InsurTech ecosystem and to educate actuaries about InsurTech. David also provides support to risk, technology and innovation oriented sections. Prior to joining the SOA, David worked for life insurance companies and consulting companies in various risk positions, focusing on Solvency II, NAIC ORSA and risk reporting in general. David is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst of the Society of Actuaries, an Actuaire Qualifie of the Institut des Actuaires (France) and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He graduated from the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Économique, one of the French Grandes Ecoles focused on economics, statistics and actuarial sciences.
3-C Actuarial Careers
Margaret Resce Milkint
DEI&B Forum—What’s New & What’s Next in the Actuarial Insurance Ecosystem?
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging is an evolving journey of learning and transformation. In this interactive session we will:
Explore the current issues & trends in DEI &B specifically in insurance and the role of thActuary in STEM initiatives and branding.
Discover the Ecosystem in DEI&B and ways to engage.
Participate in Small Group Micro-Discussions to share best practices, lessons learned & actionable steps to advance on the journey.
Create a DEI dashboard of modern ideas and practical next steps
Margaret Resce Milkint is a talent strategist, a DEI champion, and an evangelist for talent innovation, transformation, and excellence. Margaret’s 35-year executive search career has focused on insurance and healthcare in the C-suite (notably CEO, COO, CFO, Chief Actuary, CIO, CRO, Chief Medical Officers/Physician Executives) and in the boardroom on Director searches. She offers depth in the property and casualty, life, health, and reinsurance sectors, including insurtech. She has successfully conducted searches in disciplines such as actuarial, analytics, underwriting, claims, operations, risk, finance, investment, legal, technology, sales/distribution and marketing.
Margaret serves as a Board Advisor to the Society of Actuaries Board of Directors (appointed, volunteer, non-voting).
Margaret is Immediate Past Chair and Trustee for The Actuarial Foundation. She is a Board Member for the Museum of Broadcast Communications and for the Executive Sisterhood, an organization promoting female leadership in businesses.
Margaret is also a member of the advisory council of UpspiralLeadership™, a custom leadership Additionally, she serves as an Advisory Council Member for the Women’s Business Collaborative and holds membership in the Chicago Finance Exchange (CFE) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Margaret is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the insurance industry and has been action-focused in her efforts. She served as the North America Co-Champion for Dive In, the global festival for DEI in insurance, growing the reach of the event since 2015. She co-founded the Women’s Insurance Networking Group, a platform for networking and career development among female and enlightened male insurance professionals.
Margaret is the current U.S. Chair of ISC Group, a global business community for women operating in or involved with insurance. She chairs the Women in Insurance Initiative of Million Women Mentors/STEMconnector and is the recipient of their Champion of Industry Award.
Margaret was honored to receive a 2020 President’s Award from the Society of Actuaries. She was also named to the Elite Women 2022 list by Insurance Business America (IBA).
3-D LDTI: Done with Implementation–What Next?
Sean Granley, ASA, ACIA
Join for a lively and in-depth discussion on the lessons learned from, and future implications of, LDTI implementation. Topics to be covered include:
Recap LDTI transition impact for public companies
Discuss the most important “Day 2” items, touching on data, automation, reporting, and KPI redesign
Reflect on the lessons learned from LDTI implication at public companies
Potential impacts on reinsurance, M&A, and pricing
Sean Granley is a Consultant with the Actuarial Practice of Oliver Wyman and is based in Chicago. He has been providing actuarial consulting services to a variety of insurance organizations, and specifically relating to LDTI for a wide range of products, including LDTI implementation and reporting. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Sean provided actuarial consulting services to employer-sponsored pension and post-retirement medical plans in Canada and the US at Mercer, a multinational consulting firm.
3-E Mortality Patterns at Advanced Ages
Dr. Natalia S. Gavrilova, Ph.D.
Dr. Leonid A. Gavrilov
Session outlines results and conclusions for a new project “Mortality of 1898-1902 Birth Cohort” sponsored by the Society of Actuaries. Project describes mortality after age 85 years by gender and geography based on data from the Social Security Administration Death Master File. Effects of errors in age reporting on late-life mortality are also presented. Project report is now available at https://www.soa.org/research-reports/2018/birth-cohort/. Mortality modeling, analyses of late-life mortality trajectories and historical changes of mortality at extreme ages are discussed. New findings on the gompertzialization of the late-life mortality presented at the 2023 Living to 100 Symposium will also be presented.
Dr. Natalia S. Gavrilova, Ph.D., is an expert in demographic methods, biomarkers of aging and early-life effects on longevity. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. She received her Ph.D. in anthropology and population science at the Moscow State University in Russia and her master degree in computer science at the University of Chicago. Her research projects were funded by national and international funding agencies, including the International Science Foundation, the European Union, Society of Actuaries and the National Institute on Aging. She was a Principle Investigator of NIH-funded project “Biodemography of Old-Age Mortality” and project “Mortality Analysis of 1898-1902 Birth Cohort” supported by the Society of Actuaries. She is an Editorial Board Member for international journal “Demografie” and grant reviewer for the National Institute on Aging and the Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel. Dr. Natalia Gavrilova is currently working at NORC at the University of Chicago. She is a frequent speaker at the Society of Actuaries Living to 100 symposia and other actuarial meetings. Read more at: http://longevity-science.org/CV-gavrilova.htm
Dr. Leonid A. Gavrilov is an expert in biodemographic studies of human aging, mortality and longevity. Dr. Gavrilov has over 30 years of professional experience in this area of research and published more than 100 scientific papers on the related topics in collaboration with Dr. Natalia S. Gavrilova. Their book ‘The Biology of Life Span: A Quantitative approach’ is cited as a recommended reference by Encyclopedia Britannica.
Dr. Gavrilov was the Principal Investigator of several award-winning research projects, funded by the Society of Actuaries, National Institute on Aging, European Union (INTAS program) and the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF). He was a Principal Investigator of the NIA-funded research project “Biodemography of Exceptional Longevity in the United States” and Co-Investigator on the NIA-funded project on late-life mortality. He is a regular invited speaker at the Annual meetings of the Chicago Actuarial Association and international meetings “Living to 100” organized by the Society of Actuaries. Dr. Gavrilov is an Editorial Board Member of the scientific peer-reviewed journals “Journals of Gerontology – Biological Sciences,” “Gerontology” and “Journal of Demographic Economics”. Dr. Gavrilov is currently working at NORC at the University of Chicago. Leonid Gavrilov is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. Read more at: http://longevity-science.org/CV-gavrilov.htm