19th Groupe Consultatif Colloquium - Smoking is more important than sex!

The 19th Colloquium of the Groupe Consultatif was hosted by the Faculty of Actuaries in Edinburgh on 22 September, as part of the Faculty’s 150th celebrations. The subject was ‘Risk and capital management in insurance’ and over 100 actuaries from all over Europe attended to hear a top-quality panel of speakers. Hilde Hanssens of Belgium kicked off by analysing the implications of the changing environment and emphasised the importance of stochastic modelling and good communication. She was followed by Angus Macdonald from Heriot-Watt University, who gave us an update on mortality trends and the best soundbite of the day – ‘smoking is more important than sex’. We think he was talking about factors affecting longevity! We then had Paul Embrechts from Switzerland who gave a number of insights into operational risk. After lunch Kieran Barnes from the Financial Services Authority gave us the up-to-date position on individual capital assessments in the UK. Then Antoon Pelsser from the Netherlands talked about the challenges of ALM frameworks, including the principle of ‘reverse Robin Hood’ – taking capital from poor return areas and giving it to rich return areas. Finally Kurt Wolfsdorf from Germany gave some case studies on capital management, including the need for transparency in FOG – financial options and guarantees. Most delegates stayed on for a very enjoyable dinner in the atmospheric surroundings of The Hub, just below Edinburgh Castle. Copies of the presentations are available on the Groupe Consultatif website (go to www.gcactuaries.org/events.html and scroll down to Archives Colloquia 2006 – Edinburgh, UK, 22 September Risk and Capital Management in Insurance 'Presentations from this Colloquium').