Dynamic Financial Analysis - Understanding Risk and Value Creation in Insurance

The changing business environment in non-life insurance and reinsurance has raised the need for new quantitative methods to analyze the impact of various types of strategic decisions on a company’s bottom line. Dynamic Financial Analysis («DFA») has become popular among practitioners as a means of addressing these new requirements. It is a systematic approach based on large-scale computer simulations for the integrated financial modeling of non-life insurance and reinsurance companies aimed at assessing the risks and the benefits associated with strategic decisions. DFA allows decision makers to understand and quantify the impact and interplay of the various risks that their company is exposed to, and – ultimately – to make better informed strategic decisions. In this brochure, we provide an overview and assessment of the state of the industry related to DFA. We investigate the DFA value proposition, we explain its elements and we explore its potential and limitations.reinsurance, dynamic financial analysis, insurance

Present status and perceived importance of computer skills in a Taiwanese service industry

The purpose of this study was to provide researchers,computer technologists, management and trainers with information concerning the current status and importance regarding computer skills for agents in the Taiwanese life insurance industry. In addition to identifying important computer skills for this population, this research investigated differences in perceptions of computer directors (major computer system developers), sales managers(major training providers), and life insurance agents(computer end-users) regarding the current status and importance of computer skills for life insurance agents. Survey instruments were developed through the literature review as well as through expert interviews and validations. Investigated samples include all 30 computer directors of member companies of the Taipei Life Insurance Association, 200 randomly selected members of the General Agents and Managers Association, and 400 randomly selected members of the Life Underwriters Association in Taiwan. A 55.2% usable return rate was reached. Based on the data analysis, 49 important skills were identified in 8 categories including basic computer skills, database management, spreadsheet, word processing, communication, presentation, computer-based training, and artificial intelligence. Using a five-point Likert Scale,the means for importance level were found to be between 3 (moderate) and 4 (fairly high): 3.29 from agents, 3.71 from sales managers, and 3.59 from computer directors. The mean for levels of current expertise were between 2 (low) and 3 (moderate): 2.38 from agents, 2.60 from sales managers, and2.46 from computer directors. One-way ANOVAs at the .05 level were used to detect the existence of differences of perceptions among the three groups. The Fisher\u27s Least Significant Difference Procedure (three t-tests at the .01 level) was used for all significant ANOVAs found in previous stages to identify the significant differences between each two groups. The majority of significant differences, 28 out of 49 regarding importance level and 8 out of 49 regarding level of expertise, were found between sales managers and agents; 4 significant differences concerning importance level and 1 concerning level of expertise were found between sales managers and computer directors; only 4 items related to importance level were found significantly different between agents and computer directors. However, the ranking of both levels of importance and expertise showed more consensus between agents and sales managers than agents and computer directors. However, because of the difference in sample sizes, this finding should be interpreted with caution

Austria's Competitiveness in Trade in Services

Trade in services is a rapidly growing phenomenon. Consequently, the question of individual countries? competitiveness in trade in services is of increasing importance. In this paper we describe patterns of competitiveness in services sectors for EU members over the period 1995 to 2005, differentiating between 11 individual service activities. We find a clear East-West divide in general and especially for Austria's strengths and weaknesses in the services sector. Austria's competitiveness lies in traditional, yet globally declining sectors such as transport and travel and is weak in industries such as insurance, computer and information, communication services and royalties and licence fees. The latter two industries are characterized by above-average levels of competitiveness within the EU. We then investigate the influence of factors such as labour productivity, unit labour costs, industry size and skill endowments for services sector competitiveness in the EU member states.export of services, trade in services, comparative advantage, competitiveness

Interdependent Security: The Case of Identical Agents

Do firms have adequate incentives to invest in anti-terrorism mechanisms? This paper develops a framework for addressing this issue when the security choices by one agent affect the risks faced by others. We utilize the airline security problem to illustrate how the incentive by one airline to invest in baggage checking is affected by the decisions made by others. Specifically if an airline believes that others will not invest in security systems it has much less economic incentive to do so on its own. Private sector mechanisms such as insurance and liability will not necessarily lead to an efficient outcome. To induce adoption of security measures one must turn to regulation, taxation or institutional coordinating mechanisms such as industry associations. We compare the airline security example with problems having a similar structure (i.e., computer security and fire protection) as well as those with different structures (i.e., theft protection and vaccinations). The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.

Offshoring of High-Value Functions: A Case Study of U.S.-India Trade in Medical Transcription Services

The offshoring industry in the developing world is rapidly moving into a higher gear. It started with relatively low-end works such as back-office support, customer service, and data entry. In recent years, developed-world-based firms are increasingly outsourcing more sophisticated work such as computer coding, insurance underwriting, claims processing, and medical transcription to developing economies (Reich, 2005). An estimate suggested that “high-value” business process outsourcing (BPO), such as accounting, paralegal, medical, research, and banking will reach $50 billion by 2010 (Mehta et al., 2006)

Insurance Industry Perspective on the Importance of Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering for Commercial Structures

Pricing in the commercial catastrophe insurance market is primarily driven by computer models. For the evaluation of commercial earthquake insurance risk, the majority of insurers, reinsurers and more recently, rating agencies, rely heavily on the output models developed by a few software vendors. Insurers and reinsurers evaluate their total risk based on output from one or more of these models, and develop prices that depend on the loss estimate data from the models. In an effort to most accurately potential, soil conditions and engineering practices are recognized by the model vendors and incorporated into the loss calculation algorithms.When an insurer receives information from a building owner regarding quality seismic engineering of their structure, such as geotechnical engineering to mitigate risk caused by insurer is able to input the data into the models and reduce the final loss estimate, thereby reducing the premium they charg risk. When premiums are affordable, a building owner is more likely to purchase adequate insurance. The consequence for a commercial building owner of not purchasing insurance and not mitigating earthquake risk through seismic engineering could be financial ruin. In addition, the widespread consequences of a devastating earthquake involving many unicommercial entities, or inadequately engineered structures, could have a significant negative impact on the economy, in additional loss of life. However, incorporating geotechnical engineering practices into the construction or retrofit of commercial structures benefits the building owner, insurance industry and the economy

Cyberinsurance Policy

Why cyberinsurance has not improved cybersecurity and what governments can do to make it a more effective tool for cyber risk management. As cybersecurity incidents—ranging from data breaches and denial-of-service attacks to computer fraud and ransomware—become more common, a cyberinsurance industry has emerged to provide coverage for any resulting liability, business interruption, extortion payments, regulatory fines, or repairs. In this book, Josephine Wolff offers the first comprehensive history of cyberinsurance, from the early “Internet Security Liability” policies in the late 1990s to the expansive coverage offered today. Drawing on legal records, government reports, cyberinsurance policies, and interviews with regulators and insurers, Wolff finds that cyberinsurance has not improved cybersecurity or reduced cyber risks. Wolff examines the development of cyberinsurance, comparing it to other insurance sectors, including car and flood insurance; explores legal disputes between insurers and policyholders about whether cyber-related losses were covered under policies designed for liability, crime, or property and casualty losses; and traces the trend toward standalone cyberinsurance policies and government efforts to regulate and promote the industry. Cyberinsurance, she argues, is ineffective at curbing cybersecurity losses because it normalizes the payment of online ransoms, whereas the goal of cybersecurity is the opposite—to disincentivize such payments to make ransomware less profitable. An industry built on modeling risk has found itself confronted by new technologies before the risks posed by those technologies can be fully understood

Understanding Occupational and Skill Demand in New Jersey's Finance Industry

The finance industry in New Jersey employs over 200,000 people. Many more workers benefit from the state's proximity to the finance industry in New York City. Jobs in the industry are evolving rapidly in response to national and global trends, such as deregulation, increasingly complex laws, and new technologies. As jobs change, skill requirements for both entry-level and incumbent workers increase. This report summarizes the skill, knowledge, and educational requirements of key finance occupations and identifies strategies for meeting the workforce challenges facing the industry