Session 2: The Art of Persuasion

Relevant to: General Business and Professionalism
Of interest to: All
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Emile Elefteriadis (FCIA), senior vice-president, life & health products, Swiss Re
Speakers:
Emile Elefteriadis
Frank Grossman (FCIA), principal, Linden Grove Group

Being persuasive is an essential leadership skill for fulfillment in life as well as success in business. Increasingly in business today, interdependence and collaboration prevail over autonomy and authority. Persuasion is often more effectual than force, as Aristotle, Aesop, and others recognized over 2,500 years ago.

In this interactive session, we will scratch the surface of this ancient art by providing you with a few principles, techniques, and illustrations of effective persuasion. By the end, we hope to persuade you that the art of persuasion is a skill worth mastering. And we will provide you with a short list of resources to help you continue learning.

Session 3: The Impact of Pension Legislative Changes in Ontario

Relevant to: Pension
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Jason Vary (FCIA), president, Actuarial Solutions
Speakers:
Allan Shapira (FCIA), managing director, Aon Hewitt Canada
Michel St-Germain (FCIA), partner, Mercer
Jason Vary

This session examines the workings behind the development of the new Ontario regulations on the provision for adverse deviations (PfAD) as well as other elements of the changes, and compares the new funding rules in Ontario and Québec. The panellists will also discuss the implications of the changes and how they will impact pension plans in Ontario and Québec going forward.

Session 4: ERM Value Creation (JRMS)

Relevant to: Enterprise Risk Management
Of interest to: All
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Frank Reynolds (FCIA), president, Reynolds, Thorvardson
Speakers:
Mario DiCaro*, vice-president, capital modelling and analytics, Tokio Marine HCC
Sim Segal*, president, SimErgy Consulting
Ella Young*, corporate director, ERM, and director, care continuum and actuarial analytics, Vancouver Coastal Health

Come and hear a distinguished and very experienced panel share their perspectives from casualty, consulting, and the public sector around the key success factors and challenges to making an enterprise risk management (ERM) program demonstrate tangible value for an organization.

Session 5: Why Actuaries Should Care about Cancer

Relevant to: Reinsurance
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Patrick Charbonneau (ACIA), project director, development, Optimum Re
Speakers:
Matthew Smith*, head of global R&D, Pacific Life Re
John Schoonbee*, global chief medical officer, Swiss Re

In contrast to cardiovascular disease, efforts in tackling cancer mortality have proved challenging. Mortality and morbidity due to cancer affects all product lines including mortality, longevity, critical illness, and disability and actuaries should make a greater effort to understand future trends and the risks around screening, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The presentation will cover the following: why we should focus on cancer; what happens when our assumptions go wrong; and correlations and dependencies across product lines.

Session 6: Technology – Blockchain and AI Technology

Relevant to: Life and Health
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Laura Anders (FCIA), assistant vice-president and actuary, Canadian division oversight, Manulife
Speakers:
Laurent Féral-Pierssens*, executive director, emerging tech and blockchain advisory, KPMG Canada
Vikas Shreedhar*, managing director, financial services Canadian tech advisory lead, Accenture         

As the financial services industry goes through an unprecedented transformation, rooted in digital disruption and the adoption of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of things (IoT), it is imperative that finance, risk, and compliance teams reinvent and transform to provide business advice and profitable growth while ensuring resiliency and compliance. In this session, Mr. Shreedhar will discuss the adoption of AI within the finance and risk function.

Mr. Féral-Pierssens will talk about recent developments in, and applications of, blockchain. His session will provide an overview of the key concepts and opportunities the innovation presents for our economy. A few real-world use cases will illustrate how and where blockchain networks are likely to trickle down into our day-to-day lives and profession.

Session 7: Climate Change and Extreme Weather: Not Adapting is Not an Option

Relevant to: All
Of interest to: All
Moderator:
Caterina Lindman (FCIA), retired actuary
Speaker:
Natalia Moudrak*, director, infrastructure adaptation program, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo

The costs of natural catastrophes in Canada have escalated to historical highs. Flooding is one of the key drivers behind this trend, leading to increased insurance premiums, a growing risk of mortgage defaults, lawsuits, and psychosocial distress to those impacted. How can we reduce risk and become more resilient? This presentation will outline the need for climate adaptation and the work underway to reduce flood risk for homes in new and existing communities in Canada. Ms. Moudrak will discuss the critical role that the insurance sector and capital markets play in advancing climate adaptation, and outline the need for nationally recognized codes, standards, and guidelines to drive resilience.

Session 8: IFRS 17 – Introductory General Session

Relevant to: Life, P&C
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator: 
Les Rehbeli (FCIA), partner, Oliver Wyman
Speakers:
Simon Curtis (FCIA), CFO for the North American life business, Munich Re
Cynthia Potts (FCIA), principal, property and casualty, Eckler
Les Rehbeli
Lesley Thomson (FCIA), vice-president, actuary, Sun Life Financial

The new IFRS 17 accounting standard becomes effective on January 1, 2021, and will result in an overhaul of financial reporting requirements for insurance contracts. Canadian actuaries will be heavily involved in the implementation effort.

This session will provide an update on the latest international and Canadian developments on IFRS 17 from an actuarial perspective. It will include updates on necessary changes to CIA standards of practice and on the development of actuarial guidance, both internationally and from the CIA. Finally, the session will provide an update on some controversial topics that the Transition Resource Group for IFRS Contracts, a body that supports the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on the IFRS 17 implementation, has discussed.

Session 9: Testimony by Actuaries – What You Must Know about Fact and Expert Witnesses

Relevant to: Actuarial Evidence
Of Interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Craig Allen (FCIA), principal, Craig A. Allen, FCAS       
Speakers:
Hemant Tilak (FCIA), partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
Pooja Mihailovich*, partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt

Opportunity exists for actuaries in all areas of practice to provide testimony in legal proceedings. Actuaries’ skills, expertise, and professional reputation are sought after by lawyers and the courts. Such testimony can call upon the actuary’s quantitative skills or domain knowledge in such areas as insurance, pensions, reinsurance, and investments. Actuaries looking to act on this opportunity must be aware of the distinction between fact testimony and expert testimony. That distinction has an impact on legal procedure and actuarial standards of practice that the actuary must follow. Lawyers Hemant Tilak and Pooja Mihailovich provide guidance for the interested actuary.

Session 10: Annuities vs. Tontines in the 21st Century: a Canadian Case Study

Relevant to: Pension
Of interest to: Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Ayman Alvi (FCIA), senior manager and consulting actuary, life and pensions actuarial practice, KPMG
Speaker:
Thomas Salisbury*, professor, department of mathematics and statistics, York University

This paper analyzes the practicalities of reintroducing retirement income tontines (RITs) into the financial supermarket of the 21st century. Tontines—similar to life annuities—were quite prevalent in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and then America, but fell into disrepute and essentially disappeared by the early 20th century. A recent resurgence of interest in tontines has seen articles in the popular media, historical magazines, and technical outlets, mostly aimed at actuaries and pension specialists.

Our objective is to go beyond the (well-established) theory or economic history and address the practical mechanics of RITs and how and why they might coexist with their better-known cousin, the single premium immediate annuity (SPIA). The fundamental question we attempt to answer is: would they yield more? With a focus on the Canadian marketplace, we also touch on the (thorny) regulatory, technological, and risk management issues associated with such a venture.

The presentation is based on joint work with M.A. Milevsky, G. Gonzalez, and H. Jankowski.

Session 11: Annual Renewal Methodologies Used in Group Renewals, and Group Predictive Analytics 101

Relevant to: Group
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Edward Tsu-Jen Kuo (FCIA), director, business development, Sun Life Financial
Speakers:
John Have (FCIA), president, Have Associates
Stephen Swenarchuk, senior actuarial consultant, Worden Zaluski Consulting Actuaries
Clayton Zaluski (FCIA), consulting actuary, Worden Zaluski Consulting Actuaries

Mr. Have will discuss group life and health portfolio management and the role of group insurance renewals. One of the important tools in achieving a profitable portfolio and fair renewal actions for the group is using claims experience credibility.

Mr. Zaluski and Mr. Swenarchuk will provide an introduction to predictive analytics and how one can apply it to the group marketplace.  

Session 12: The Importance of Genetics on Mortality and Morbidity Risk

Relevant to: Reinsurance
Of interest to: Life and Health, Pension
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Lynn Grenier-Lew (FCIA), head of global products and market intelligence, RGA
Speaker:
Richard Russell*, health data scientist, global research and data analytics, RGA

Dr. Russell will introduce the results of a new study predicting mortality and morbidity outcomes in a data set of 500,000 lives. Using medical, lifestyle, and genetic data, the research demonstrates how adding knowledge of a person’s genetics, assessed using polygenic risk scores, to conventional rating factors significantly changes the prediction of an individual’s risk of  developing heart disease and cancer. The impact on the critical illness and life insurance industry will be discussed with particular focus on the potential for anti-selection if insurers cannot access the same genetic information during underwriting.

Session 13: Behavioural Economics and Real-Life Applications

Relevant to: Life and Health
Of interest to: Reinsurance
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Martyn Gilling (ACIA), vice-president, business development, RGA Reinsurance Canada
Speakers:  
Matt Battersby*, vice-president, chief behavioural scientist, RGA UK
David Rains*, managing director, healthcare and life specialty practice leader, Guy Carpenter

People often behave in surprising and irrational ways. Consumers do not always switch to a better or cheaper product. Few of us save, exercise, or eat as healthily as we know we should.

Yet too often, products, policies, and communications are based on how we think people should behave rather than how they really do behave. Behavioural insights reveal that most human behaviour is driven by automatic, instinctive, and intuitive thought processes. Even decisions we believe people make rationally are often automatic, influenced more by context than by consciously thinking something through. This is as true of business professionals as it is of consumers.

The latest insights from behavioural science help us understand how people actually think and act in real life, and how we can influence this. Mr. Battersby and Mr. Rains will outline the benefits that applying behavioural science can bring to insurers and where best in the value chain to focus efforts, highlighting existing successful real-life applications.

Session 14: IFRS 17 – Risk Adjustment P&C – Part 1

Relevant to: P&C
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Raul Martin (FCIA), consulting actuary, J.S. Cheng & Partners
Speaker:
Jacqueline Friedland (FCIA), chief risk officer, chief actuary, chief compliance officer, RSA Canada

Risk adjustment for non-financial risk is one of the key concepts in IFRS 17, part of both the liability for remaining coverage and liability for incurred claims. This first of two sessions on risk adjustment for P&C insurers will introduce the requirements under IFRS 17, and provide a summary of the key issues and where one can find guidance for addressing them. Ms. Friedland will also present an example of how to use current margins for adverse deviation (MfADs) to distribute the new risk adjustment for non-financial risks to reserving segments. The second session will include a practical application of the IAA’s guidance.

Session 15: IFRS 17 – Risk Adjustment – Life

Relevant to: Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Les Rehbeli (FCIA), partner, Oliver Wyman
Speakers:
Jacques Boudreau (FCIA), actuary, Europe and Reinsurance, Great-West Life
Eric Chuen Cheong (FCIA), assistant vice-president, actuarial policy, Manulife Financial
Lesley Thomson (FCIA), vice-president and actuary, Sun Life Financial

Setting a risk adjustment, including the requirement to assess the entity’s compensation requirements for taking risk, is one of the more complex topics in the IFRS 17 implementation.  There are a number of approaches that could potentially be used.

This session will provide an overview of the IFRS 17 requirements with a focus on life insurance products. It will also discuss the CIA’s latest thinking on whether its current approaches to setting margins for adverse deviations (MfADs) satisfy those requirements.

In addition, the session will cover some of the considerations around confidence level disclosure.

Session 16: Tailoring Your Communication to Your Listener Using Think on Your Feet® Techniques

Relevant to: General Business and Professionalism
Of interest to: All
Moderator:
Alicia Rollo, director, education and international affairs, Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Speaker:
Susan Lynne*, consultant/coach, Susan Lynne Development

Sample the globally acclaimed workshop, Think on Your Feet®; a workshop that teaches you to organize your thoughts and ideas quickly, on the spot. This 75-minute session will showcase a number of key techniques to help you be more clear, concise, and memorable.

This session has reached capacity. Priority will be given to those who selected this session during registration; tickets will be provided with your name badge. Additional attendees may be admitted on site, space permitting.

Session 17: Possible Reforms to Better Protect Pension Plan Members from Corporate Bankruptcy

Relevant to: Pension
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Alan Cooke (FCIA), board director and actuary, Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia
Speakers:
Andrew Hatnay*, partner, Koskie Minsky
Michel St-Germain (FCIA), partner, Mercer
Laura Strachan (ACIA), consultant, Eckler

The panel debates possible changes to the regulatory framework for pension plan terminations that could mitigate the pension loss to members when their employer files for bankruptcy. The speakers will also examine how viable some of the approaches used in other countries are for use in Canada.

Session 25: Healthcare Cost – The Canadian Landscape

Relevant to: Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Michèle Boivin (FCIA), actuary, principal, Mercer
Speakers:
Michel Grignon*, professor, department of economics and department of health, aging and society, McMaster University
Peter Muirhead (FCIA), actuary, PBI Actuarial Consultants

A lot of rhetoric surrounds healthcare in Canada. This session will compare Canadian healthcare expenditures and outcomes to the US and other developed countries. Then, to project costs forward, the panel will discuss the 2018 research paper, Model of Long-Term Health Care Cost Trends in Canada.

Session 19: What Consumers Want – Do We Really Know?

Relevant to: Reinsurance
Of interest to: Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Blake Hill (FCIA), assistant vice-president and head, Manulife Vitality program, Manulife
Speakers:
Julianne Callaway*, strategic research actuary, global research and data analytics, RGA
Josh Dobiac*, consultant, Milliman
Blake Hill

The life insurance industry faces several converging trends: demographic differences between millennial and baby boomer generations, technological advances enabling innovations, and changing consumer expectations. Insurers have responded to these pressures by investing in accelerated underwriting and creating online insurance distribution capabilities. Despite these efforts, life insurance sales continue to stagnate.This session compares insurance product and service innovations designed to satisfy consumers’ protection needs.

Session 20: LICAT Live!

Relevant to: Life
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Wallace Bridel (FCIA), corporate actuarial vice-president, Munich Re
Speakers:
Michael Butler (FCIA), assistant vice-president, capital management, Equitable Life
Michael Promislow (FCIA), senior manager, advisory services, KPMG
Johan Janse van Vuuren*, vice-president, ORSA and LICAT, corporate actuarial, Sun Life Financial

This session will discuss topics related to the new regulatory capital standard (Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT)) that came into effect January 1, 2018. Topics include lessons learned during the implementation process and challenges still to come, tips from the auditor’s perspective on model review, and approaches to forecasting/projecting capital on a LICAT basis.

Session 21: IFRS 17 – Considerations in Method Selections – P&C

Relevant to: P&C
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Houston Cheng (FCIA), consulting actuary, senior manager, P&C actuarial, KPMG
Speakers
Anna Marie Beaton (FCIA), actuarial expert, The Co-operators
Houston Cheng
Raul Martin (FCIA), consulting actuary, J.S. Cheng & Partners

This Committee on Property and Casualty Insurance Financial Reporting (PCFRC) session will walk you through a case study on how to assess whether a group of multi-year contracts would satisfy the standard eligibility criteria (IFRS 17.54) for using the simplified measurement approach (i.e., premium allocation approach (PAA)). The PAA may be applied on multi-year contracts if and only if the entity can demonstrate that the simplified model produces a series of measurements (both at initial recognition and at subsequent periods) of the liability for remaining coverage that is not materially different from the measurements produced by applying the general measurement model. We will discuss challenges we have encountered and insights we have gained. The session is designed to be an interactive one, where discussion among the participants is encouraged.

Session 38: IFRS 17 – Contractual Service Margin (CSM)

Relevant to: Life
Of interest to: All
Moderator:
Trevor Howes (FCIA), vice-president and actuary, Moody’s Analytics
Speakers:
Robert Berendsen (FCIA), principal, Oliver Wyman
Trevor Howes
Amal Rajwani (ACIA), delivery leader, Marsh Risk Consulting

Contractual service margins (CSMs) are a relatively new concept for Canadian actuaries, representing the unearned profits arising from insurance contracts that are recognized in profit and loss over time as the insurance services are provided. IFRS 17 lays out the requirements for establishing CSMs at contract inception, and for recognizing the release of these CSMs into profit and loss.

This session will provide an overview of the requirements, including aggregation and grouping, onerous contracts, loss recognition, coverage units, and amortization of CSM, and other related topics.

Session 23: The Power of the Collective: The Death of the Collective

Relevant to: P&C, Life
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Craig A. Allen (FCIA), principal, Craig A. Allen, FCAS
Speakers:
Craig A. Allen
Rob Brown (FCIA), retired

Traditionally, insurance risk classification and  pricing were done on a broad collective basis. A large group of people paid equal premiums while a small group collected benefits when they qualified. There were few cells in the risk classification template, and the law of large numbers created a stable result for the collective of such risks. Recent advances in data mining and predictive modeling have enabled insurance pricing specific to smaller, more homogeneous groups, thus promoting individual equity for policyholders. But will this increase in individual equity destroy the basis of insurance? Do recent consumer trends show lower-risk individuals declining to pool their risks with higher-risk individuals? Rob Brown will present his concerns for the future of the collective and the insurance mechanism, while Craig A. Allen will present his contrasting view that the collective is on solid ground.

Session 24: Trends in Mortality by Pension Level: Evidence from the CPP and QPP

Relevant to: All
Moderator: 
Tulio Walles Mora (FCIA), actuary, Eckler 
Speaker: 
Andrew Cairns*, director of the Actuarial Research Centre, Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

This presentation provides an analysis and discussion of pensioners' mortality data provided by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Québec Pension Plan (QPP). The presentation covers three aspects of the ongoing analysis of the CPP and QPP data: empirical analysis of historical data and comparison of CPP/QPP; process of fitting multi-population mortality models to the historical CPP/QPP data to determine the best choice of model, number of subgroups needed, and most appropriate historical period for calibration; and insights into forecasting mortality improvements at the subgroup level.

The underpinning research is part of the Modelling, Measurement and Management of Longevity and Morbidity Risk research program funded by the Actuarial Research Centre of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and co-funded by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Session 18: Long-Term Disability (LTD) Study

Relevant to: Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Peter Muirhead (FCIA), actuary, PBI Actuarial Consultants
Speakers:
Denis Garand (FCIA), president, Denis Garand and Associates
Frank Reynolds (FCIA), president, Reynolds, Thorvardson

A new LTD study has been conducted, covering the period 2008–2015. This session presents the highlights of the study and discusses what aspects we should consider in future studies.

Session 26: Model and Assumption Governance

Relevant to: Corporate Life
Of interest to: Enterprise Risk Management, Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Alison Rose, senior manager, life and pensions actuarial practice, KPMG
Speakers:
Trevor Howes (FCIA), vice-president and actuary, Moody's Analytics
Alison Rose

With increasing focus on models as a high-risk area for financial reporting, this session looks at leading practices for controls and governance of both models and their assumptions. Governance will be discussed from the perspectives of people, processes, and technology, including practical applications.

Session 27: Survival of the Fittest: Unlocking Value from an Increasingly Complex Regulatory Environment

Relevant to: Life and Health
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Enterprise Risk Management
Moderator: Simon Girard (FCIA), senior manager, advisory services, EY
Speakers:
Hélène Baril (FCIA), associate partner, actuarial practice leader, Québec and Eastern Canada, EY
Bruce Langstroth (FCIA), associate partner, EY

Ever-increasing regulations and new accounting standards will present significant challenges and opportunities for insurers in the future. Insurers will need to rethink their business model to unlock value from the new environment in order to be the industry leaders of the future. The session covers the recent evolution of the insurance regulatory environment from both an international and Canadian perspective. The main drivers, goals, and principles behind the regulatory evolution will be discussed. Panellists will also present their views on the evolution of regulations in light of the rapidly evolving digital era where social media communications, wearable technology, insurtech, blockchain, and bitcoin, are changing the face of the insurance industry.

Session 28: Accelerated Underwriting Risk Management

Relevant to: Enterprise Risk Management
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Life, P&C
Moderator:
Vy (Ngoc) Le (FCIA), manager, enterprise risk management, London Life
Speakers:
Mathieu Charest (FCIA), assistant vice-president, risk management, Canadian division, Manulife
Maria Govorun*, director, integrated analytics, Munich Re

This session provides an overview of simplified (accelerated) underwriting, industry trends, and the associated risks that should be considered. Specifically, it examines the importance of reducing possible anti-selection and how to appropriately reflect the anticipated experience in the assumption development. Smoker prediction models can reduce the sentinel effect by identifying some of the smokers who self-disclose as non-smokers and routing them to full underwriting. The presentation aims to explore smoker models and how to apply them in the context of accelerated underwriting.

Session 29: IFRS 17 – Discounting

Relevant to: Life, P&C          
Of interest to: All
Moderator:
Amal Rajwani (ACIA), delivery leader, Marsh Risk Consulting
Speakers:
Matthew Garnier (FCIA), senior advisor, Deloitte
Cynthia Potts (FCIA), principal, property and casualty, Eckler
Amal Rajwani

The selection of discount rates is an important aspect of IFRS 17, and is very different from the current CIA approaches.

This session will provide an overview of the IFRS 17 requirements and approaches to set discount rates. It will also discuss practical issues that actuaries will face in Canada, such as determination of risk-free rates beyond the observable period, adjustment of reference portfolio yield rates for credit risk and market risk, and the estimation of illiquidity premiums. 

Session 32: Ethical Decision-Making for Actuaries

Relevant to: General Business and Professionalism
Of interest to: All
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Joe Nunes (FCIA), executive chairman, Actuarial Solutions
Speakers:
Frank Grossman (FCIA), principal, Linden Grove Group
Joe Nunes

Participants in this highly interactive workshop will discuss situations where decision-making and ethics combine forces to challenge even the most experienced actuary. A case will be shared with the participants in advance, and an open discussion will be held at the session. Participants can expect more than one “right answer” and there is sure to be disagreement on the best course of action.

This session has reached capacity. Priority will be given to those who selected this session during registration; tickets will be provided with your name badge. Additional attendees may be admitted on site, space permitting.

Session 33: Back to the Future: Pension Plan Edition
Relevant to: Pension
Of interest to: All
Level: Moderate
Moderator: 
Rob Brown (FCIA), retired
Speaker:
Derek Dobson (ACIA), CEO and plan manager, CAAT Pension Plan

Are defined benefit (DB) pensions the must-have package for all workplaces of the future?

Derek Dobson discusses the responsive changes being made to DB plan design that make it possible for more Canadians to benefit from sustainable DB pensions, without putting the employer’s sustainability or taxpayers at risk. The CAAT Pension Plan’s analysis and experience with developing an innovative second plan design will be shared. These innovations can be implemented at any employer in Canada, making the session of interest to all audiences.

Session 34: Risk Management of the Predictive Modelling Function

Relevant to: Enterprise Risk Management
Of interest to: Life, P&C, Reinsurance
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Shannon Patershuk (FCIA), actuarial consultant, SEP Actuarial Consulting
Speakers:
Lloyd Milani (FCIA), senior vice-president and chief risk officer, Munich Re
Jean-Yves Rioux (FCIA), senior manager, actuarial, rewards and analytics, Deloitte

Predictive modelling is developing quickly. With the rapid change in the complexity of models, there is much to learn and anticipate about how organizations manage this new modelling practice from an enterprise risk management (ERM) perspective. It presents both an opportunity to improve accuracy in pricing and underwriting and a management challenge to ensure the efficacy of the predictive modelling function.

This session will explore the new and emerging practice of predictive modelling and how it is managed from an ERM perspective. It will address the concepts as well as provide a practical example of how a large international reinsurer has integrated predictive modelling into the ERM framework.

Session 35: Medical Innovations

Relevant to: Reinsurance
Of interest to: Life, Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Stephanie Banfield (FCIA), vice-president client markets, Swiss Re
Speaker:
John Schoonbee*, global chief medical officer, Swiss Re

Medical innovation is always a hot topic in life and health insurance. Curing cancer, nanobots, and using genomic medicine for designer kids are just a few of the headlines we often see. Today, there are some incredible new life-saving drugs, new ways of thinking about chronic diseases, and challenges to the current framework driving so-called medical innovation.

This session will challenge some of what we are witnessing, celebrate certain new technologies and innovation, and give some pause especially to those pricing and developing critical illness products or anyone questioning the future of mortality improvements.

Session 36: The Insurtech Landscape: Staying Relevant amid Opportunities and Challenges

Relevant to: Life and Health                                    
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Rachel Yap (FCIA), associate actuary, Manulife
Speakers:
Walter Rondina*, partner, KPMG
Catherine Falardeau*, senior manager, advisory, KPMG Canada

The session will provide an overview of the insurtech landscape using concrete examples and case studies to present key insurtech characteristics, opportunities, and challenges: enhanced customer experience; intelligent operations with automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence; new business models (peer-to-peer, auto-administration, etc.); and redesigned offerings (services and products) with the Internet of things and advanced analytics. It will also examine the impact of insurtech on the Canadian insurance industry.

Session 37: Retirement Consumption, Risk Perception, and Planning Objectives of Canadian Retirees and Pre-Retirees

Relevant to: Pension, Group Annuity         
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Chris Fievoli (FCIA), staff actuary, communications and public affairs, Canadian Institute of Actuaries 
Speaker:
Saisai Zhang*, PhD candidate in actuarial science, University of Waterloo

In this talk, we present the results from a 2016 Canadian study on retirement consumption, risk perception, and planning objectives. The study was conducted through an online survey of 1,000 randomly selected Canadian pre-retirees and retirees, to obtain a better picture of retirement experiences and objectives of Canadians, and to compare them with assumptions made in models of lifetime portfolio selection.

We are interested in three key areas. The first is the difference between expectations and experience among Canadian retirees, in particular, relating to longevity, consumption, and risk and variability of income. The second relates to the current level of wealth in retirement, or savings pre-retirement. The third addresses preferences and risk aversion, in particular in assessing whether the emergent preferences are well-represented by commonly employed utility functions. 

Session 22 • IFRS 17 – Considerations in Method Selections – Life  

Relevant to: Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Chris Piper (FCIA), head of IFRS 17 valuation development and implementation – North America, Munich Re
Speakers:
David Littleton (FCIA), assistant vice-president, IFRS actuarial policy, Sun Life Financial
Chris Piper
Lesley Thomson (FCIA), vice-president, actuary, Sun Life Financial

The general measurement method (GMM) is expected to be used for most applications in life insurance. However, the variable fee approach (VFA) or the premium allocation approach (PAA) would be used in certain situations. This session will provide an overview of the considerations of when to use the VFA or PAA for typical Canadian life insurance products. These approaches will be compared to the GMM.

Session 39: Future of Cyber Risk Management: Balancing Cyber Risk Resilience and Agility

Relevant to: Enterprise Risk Management
Of interest to: All
Level: Basic
Moderator:
Gaurav Upadhya (FCIA), CFO, North American life insurance & annuities, Foresters Financial
Speakers:
Sajith Nair*, partner, PwC
Kai Talarek*, partner, insurance practice, Oliver Wyman          

Insurers are facing disruption from new market entrants, emerging technology, and an ever-changing threat landscape. In order to stay competitive and innovate in the digital world, organizations need to pursue two parallel strategies: 1) building an agile and flexible risk management framework that can anticipate and prepare for the shifts that bring longer-term success, and 2) building the resiliency to enable those frameworks to mitigate risk events and keep the business moving toward its goal.

Session 40: Intergenerational Equity: Metrics for Conditional Indexation in Pension Plans

Relevant to: Pension
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Normand Gendron (FCIA), consulting actuary, Gendron actuaire-conseil
Speaker:
Louis Adam (FCIA), professor, Université Laval

Intergenerational equity issues arise in the conflicting objectives of three interested parties: minimize and stabilize future contributions, allocate cost between the plan sponsor and active members, and maximize the benefits that plan beneficiaries receive by modulating conditional indexation.

The presentation will describe the framework, define some metrics of cost and indexation, and show the simulation results of various indexation policies applicable to a mature plan. Metrics should capture the value to the plan retirees of these indexation policies over the course of the simulation horizon, while cost-funding metrics should measure the impact on active members and the plan sponsor, within the objective set out in the plan’s financing policy.

Session 41: Long-Term Disability Trends in Canada and the US

Relevant to: Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Frank Reynolds (FCIA), president, Reynolds, Thorvardson
Speakers: 
Peter Muirhead (FCIA), actuary, PBI Actuarial Consultants
Denis Garand (FCIA), president, Denis Garand and Associates

Long-term disability (LTD) studies have recently been conducted in both the US and Canada. This session will discuss the differences between US and Canadian LTD termination experience and the trends emerging in both countries.

Session 42: Pharmacogenetics – Personalized Medicine for the Masses

Relevant to: Life & Health, Group
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Enterprise Risk Management
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Candice Hung (FCIA), assistant vice-president, group actuarial, RGA Canada
Speaker:
Christopher Trevors*, national director, genetic health solutions, Dynacare

Everything you always wanted to know about personalized medicine. This session addresses key issues on pharmacogenetics. What role do pharmacogenomics currently play in healthcare delivery? How are pharmacogenomics evolving? What are the health economic arguments towards using pharmacogenomics?

Session 43: Hedging of Variable Annuities

Relevant to: Corporate & Life
Of interest to: Finance
Level: High
Moderator:
Mathieu Boudreault (ACIA), professor, Université du Québec à Montréal
Speakers:
Maciej Augustyniak (ACIA), assistant professor, Université de Montréal
Mathieu Boudreault

This session brings academics and professionals together on important issues related to the hedging of variable annuities. Some of the work presented here was accomplished in collaboration with Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec financial and insurance regulator). We will discuss (i) the robustness of hedging strategies to model risk, (ii) the impact of guarantee features (withdrawal versus living benefits), (iii) the importance of hedging interest rate risk in the ongoing low interest rate environment, and (iv) the choice of rebalancing frequency and volatility input.

Session 44: IFRS 17 – Risk Adjustment P&C – Part 2

Relevant to: P&C
Level: Basic
Moderator: 
Jacqueline Friedland (FCIA), chief risk officer, chief actuary, chief compliance officer, RSA Canada 
Speaker: 
Blair Manktelow (FCIA), principal, Eckler     

Risk adjustment for non-financial risk is one of the key concepts in IFRS 17. In this second of two sessions on risk adjustment for P&C insurers, we will look closely at using the cost of capital method, one of several acceptable approaches to determine the risk adjustment for non-financial risk. A brief discussion of equating the results from the cost of capital to a confidence level, which is required for IFRS 17 disclosures, will also be included.

Session 45: IFRS 17- Reinsurance – Life

Relevant to: Life
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Graham Sutton (FCIA), director, individual reinsurance pricing, Munich Re
Speakers:
Simon Curtis (FCIA), CFO for the North American life business, Munich Re
Paul Downes (FCIA), actuarial partner, Deloitte

IFRS 17 requires that reinsurance contracts be separately evaluated from the underlying direct contracts. This can create many practical issues, such as different measurement methods being applied, different contract boundaries, application of the contractual service margin (CSM), and more. This session will provide an overview of the IFRS 17 requirements related to reinsurance topics and related guidance that is being developed. Issues from both a reinsurer and direct writer perspective will be explored.

Session 46: Social Discounting and the Big Picture

Relevant to: General Business and Professionalism
Of interest to: All
Moderator:
Chris Fievoli (FCIA), staff actuary, communications and public affairs, Canadian Institute of Actuaries 
Speakers:
Frank Grossman (FCIA), principal, Linden Grove Group
Betty-Jo Walke (FCIA), transactional pricing actuary II, Zurich North America

There is growing public concern about the impacts of climate change. Decisions have to be made about how to marshal an effective response and who will foot the financial bill—both today and for generations to come. The speakers will examine social discounting and its interaction with traditional cost/benefit analysis using case studies in this context.

Session 47: Positioning Yourself for Interesting Opportunities in Retirement

Relevant to: All
Level: Basic
Moderator:
June Smyth (FCIA), senior consulting actuary, Baynes & White
Speakers:
Alan Cooke (FCIA), board director, Workers’ Compensation Board of British Columbia
Micheline Dionne (FCIA), board member, Assuris  
Dave Pelletier (FCIA), board member at Equitable Life of Canada and RGA Canada

Three actuaries share their experiences on how they used the skills and knowledge acquired during their working careers to position themselves for interesting professional activities during their retirements.

Session 48:Economic Capital: Unlocking Value in a Changing Regulatory Landscape

Relevant to: Corporate Life and Health and P&C
Of interest to: Capital Management and ERM, P&C, Life
Level: Intermediate/Advanced          
Moderator: Maja Dos Santos (FCIA), director, enterprise risk management, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance
Speakers:
Glenalan Cameron (FCIA), principal, Eckler
Joel Robin*, senior manager, BMO Insurance
Michael Wang*, vice-president, economic capital, Aviva

This session discusses the evolution of economic capital modelling in both life and P&C contexts, its current uses and practical application for management, and explores potential applications to capital management in a changing regulatory landscape.

Session 49: Longevity Developments

Relevant to: Reinsurance                
Of interest to: Pension, Life
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Eric Soehner (FCIA), director, pricing, defined benefit solutions, Sun Life Financial
Speakers:
Richard Brown (FCIA), longevity risk consultant, Club Vita, Eckler
Gavin Jones*, global head of longevity pricing, Swiss Re     

Re/insurance and pension industry views regarding Canadian longevity have evolved considerably over the past decade and so have the approaches available for developing longevity assumptions. This session discusses different potential longevity rating factors (e.g., affluence, postal codes, etc.), and advanced techniques for incorporating these into baseline mortality models, as well as their implications for longevity risk transactions. The session also explores considerations and recent developments related to Canadian longevity improvement trends, including the recent release of MI-2017 and the potential implications of the segmentation of longevity improvements.

Session 50: Advanced Analytics to Improve Growth and Profitability

Relevant to: Life and Health
Of interest to: Reinsurance, Group
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Jean-Pierre Cormier (FCIA), vice-president, product development and pricing, RGA
Speakers:
Dave Keirstead*, assistant vice-president, advanced analytics, Manulife
Kevin Pledge*, CEO, Claim Analytics

Join Dave Keirstead and Kevin Pledge as they discuss how advanced analytics can help drive growth, improve cost savings, and help you better understand and manage risk.The speakers will share their experiences embedding models into the insurance value chain, and unearth insight into the challenges and opportunities that exist in this space.

Session 51: Flood Risk and Eastern Canadian Earthquake Risk

Relevant to: P&C
Of interest to: Reinsurance
Level: Moderate
Moderator:
Nicholas De Palma (FCIA), senior treaty underwriter, vice-president, casualty underwriting, Swiss Re
Speakers:
Mathieu Boudreault (ACIA), professor, department of mathematics, Université du Québec à Montréal
Balz Grollimund*, head treaty underwriting, Canada/English Caribbean, senior vice-president, Swiss Re   

This session will address Canada's exposure to both flood and earthquake risk, by bringing greater awareness of the insurance gaps, modelling, and suggestions for improvement.

Flood Risk:

Most Canadians are not aware of their significant exposure to flood risk, and are not covered for water damage resulting from overland flood. As a result of recent events (Alberta 2013, Québec and Ontario 2017, New Brunswick 2018), provinces and insurers are slowly introducing flood compensation programs and insurance coverage. We will discuss modelling of riverine flood risk and analyze flood insurance for the Chaudière River in Québec. We will show how to compute the average loss and premiums, set territories, and determine the impact of climate change (in 2050) on flood insurance.

Eastern Canadian Earthquake Risk:

Montréal, Ottawa, and Québec City are located in the most earthquake-prone regions of eastern Canada. Given the high exposures (people and property assets), losses resulting from an earthquake and disruption in overall economic activity could be high. The majority of these losses would be uninsured because of low earthquake insurance penetration in eastern Canada. In this session, we will look into reasons for the low insurance take-up rate, and discuss potential means for improvement.

Session 52: IFRS 17- Case Study – Life 

Relevant to: Life
Moderator:
Kelvin Lam (FCIA), senior manager, Deloitte
Speakers:
Jenny Ge (FCIA), IFRS 17 senior director, RBC Insurance
Jack Walton*, global IFRS 17 expert, Deloitte
Raj Matharu*, senior manager, IFRS 17 accountant, Deloitte

This session will review the considerations on the transition to IFRS 17, including a review of the fully retrospective, modified retrospective, and fair value approaches. Topics will include considerations around when to apply each method, how to demonstrate whether a fully retrospective approach is impracticable, and related topics. The session will also give an example of the application of the fair value approach.