CRC Press Solvency: Models, Assessment and Regulation

Until now there were no published analyses of the recent solvency work conducted in Europe, specifically the risk categories proposed by the International Actuarial Association (IAA). Answering the insurance industry's demand in the wake of the EU Solvency II project, Solvency: Models, Assessment and Regulation provides a concrete summary and review of solvency and inspires additional work in the field.Following an introduction to the concept, the first section of the book provides a historical review of solvency, detailing solvency regulation and accounting within the EU. A review of the steps leading to Solvency II looks at accounting, supervision, the actuarial field, the first phase of Solvency II, international approaches to banking, and the solvency systems of 12 major nations.The second section explores the current basis for solvency modeling, focusing on the valuation of assets and liabilities, dependency and various conservative approaches, as well as a baseline and benchmark approach. This section also provides examples of risk structure and the effects of diversification.The final section discusses groups and internal modeling as it relates to EU Solvency II. It addresses insurance groups, financial conglomerates, reinsurance, the importance of internal modeling and stress testing, and the current state of the second phase of EU Solvency II. Review ..". a timely and thorough historical analysis of the recent European work on solvency and financial strength and related accounting issues ... The book provides readers with a veritable 'Who's Who' of the numerous organizations intimately involved in the EU solvency debate ... The author unquestionably succeeds, incorporating several detailed quantitative examples through a well-written and organized text. ... Overall, the book offers a thorough and thoughtful discussion of the current state of evolution regarding solvency regulation, theory, and research in the EU. Policymakers, insurance academics, researchers, students, and other interested parties around the world may find this book highly relevant in understanding solvency models, formulation, assessment, and the debate over alternative strategies for reform. The book offers an objective overview of the issues that is understandable to both technical and nontechnical readers as well as important insights into identifying the key players, theory, and application across diverse and potentially unfamiliar systems."--The Journal of Risk and Insurance, December 2009..".the first available reference to offer a comprehensive account of the recent solvency work conducted in Europe. It provides a nice and very useful summary of the recent developments in the important area of asset and liability management that have been carried out in recent years, answering the insurance industry's demand in the wake of the EU's Solvency II project. ... This book is well written, well organized and a very rich source of useful information for decision makers in the insurance industry, practitioners of the actuarial profession and financial asset managers. Researchers in both the fields of actuarial science and financial economics may find it informative and inspiring to further research in the field of asset and liability modeling."--Scandinavian Actuarial Journal About the Author Sandstrom, Arne