In the television drama, "Person of Interest," massive amounts of surveillance data, complex algorithms, and some interesting special effects help us imagine just how far data analysis and predictive analytics might someday go in order to predict risk. While the show’s early 2011 premiere was purely fictitious, the explosive case of N.S.A. whistle-blower Edward Snowden […]

Last month, I introduced the concept of an “analytical broker” and discussed the push for analytics from the C-Suite down through the organizations that are your clients. I also used a small vignette to raise the question, “what is an analytical broker?” This month, I introduce enterprise risk management from a new perspective. One of […]

Imagine that you are sitting across from a risk manager during a sales presentation. The company is a fast growing manufacturing firm and would be the largest new account for your agency this year. You’ve covered your firm’s capabilities and are optimistic about the account’s acquisition. Then, the risk manager throws a potential wrench into […]

By Michelle Bradley, ACAS, MAAA, ERM, CERA and Enoch Starnes Through a series of blogs, SIGMA has begun to address some common questions, requirements, and issues based on our previous experience with clients and auditors. The first blog in the series focused on actuarial qualifications and an actuarial qualification statement. The second focused on auditor […]

I spent some time this week outlining a concept for my PhD dissertation. It concerns the decision process related to selecting a workers compensation large deductible policy. I’m still a long ways from getting a formal proposal written, but I loved the brainstorming this effort created in the office this week. If you work with […]

Business strategy is my favorite business subject. Recently, I started a doctoral program at Oklahoma State University to work toward a PhD in Business. Strategy is one of the first “deep dives” of the doctoral program and it seemed fitting to start off this year’s blog discussing strategy, specifically, how does SIGMA fit into your […]

Oceanus Partners recently published an article titled, "Utilizing Independent Actuarial Resources to Gain a Competitive Advantage."  The article provides an excellent summary of analytics as a differentiator. On August 30th, SIGMA will participate in an open webinar hosted by Oceanus Partners to discuss the actuarial advantage. For your convenience we have included the article below: Utilizing […]

Through a series of blogs, SIGMA has begun to address some common questions, requirements and issues based on our previous experience with clients and auditors.  The first blog in the series focused on actuarial qualifications and an actuarial qualification statement.  The second focused on auditor inquiries related to actuarial independence.  This blog will address the […]

This blog post addresses the issues of capital adequacy and surplus policy for specialized risk bearing entities (RBE). These can include captive insurance companies, public entity pools, and qualified self insurance plans. The term Surplus is not common among all RBEs. The excess of assets over liabilities is sometimes called Member Equity. The terms Fund […]

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with Powered by SIGMA brokers on a weekly basis as I travel around the country.  My goal is always to make sure I understand the challenges facing PBS brokers and how SIGMA and the PBS resources might best support our PBS members. Topics that are discussed […]