Join the conversation as host Jackie Lee talks about the future year with the current SOA President & Chair, Amanda Hug. They discuss upcoming strategic initiatives for the SOA for the coming years.

In this podcast episode, Ashley Bybee, ASA hosts Max Martinelli, who takes us through his transition from an actuary in a traditional pricing role at a large insurance carrier to an actuarial data scientist in tech. Max provides insight into how the actuarial skill can provide value to a variety of industries and roles.…

Roger Loomis interviews Randy Beams and Tanner Boyle about how they use data science to measure the effectiveness of wellness programs.

In this episode, Reko Daye, The Actuarial Foundation STEM Stars Program Manager talks with STEM Star, Emily Roman about how the STEM Stars program has positively changed her life.

Title: Cell and Gene Therapies Description: Listen as host Jackie Lee discussed Cell and Gene Therapies with Ankit Nanda. They explore what they are, regulations, and how the FDA is handling these therapies. https://www.soa.org/sections/health/health-newsletter/2024/may/hw-2024-05-nanda/

What is your brand? How did you get to be there? What was the moment? Whatever point of your career you are in, your brand is yours to define, to model, to sell. Tasso Bountouvas, FSA, CERA hosts Mitch Stephenson, FSA, MAAA to delve into the notion of one’s personal brand and its development. Building off of Mitch's recently published article: Defi…

Join Host Jackie Lee in a discussion of ACA hot topics in preparation for the upcoming CY 2026 filing season with Lydia Tolman.

In this episode, host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA explores impacts of interest rate changes on insurance market, specifically on marketing and distribution.

Listen in as host Jackie Lee talks to Suzanna-Grace Tritt about Medicare Stars again. We first began this discussion with the 2020 podcast, Health Section: Medicare Star Ratings. Is it a STAR(T) of a new era? What has happened with Stars since Covid? What happened during the summer of 2024 that was unprecedented? Also, here are other articles from …

Join us for the September edition of the YPAC podcast as host Derek Camenga, ASA, is joined by Ross Starfeldt, FSA, who discusses the various roles and challenges he has encountered throughout his career as an actuary. From his start in consulting to traditional actuarial functions to strategic leadership positions, Ross has seen a wide variety of …

In this episode Roy Ju, FSA, CERA, MAAA, joins host Nick Kocisak, ASA, to discuss how to build credibility early in your career and accelerate your professional growth. Roy shares his experience through his exam journey and highlights some of the key actions and perspectives that have fueled his success.…

Join Anders Larson and Shea Parkes as they delve into the technical aspects of large language models (LLMs); this episode focuses specifically on the process of tokenization. They discuss how understanding the workings of these models can aid in interpreting their outputs and integrating them into actuarial work. The conversation covers the evoluti…

In this podcast episode, join host Tiana Zhao, FSA, CERA and guest Leyla Lesina, Head of Individual Markets Distribution at Guardian Life, to take an in-depth look at the current state of the US individual insurance market, including the key trends, challenges, and opportunities facing insurers. We'll explore the evolving consumer landscape, the im…

Join us for another exciting episode of YPAC podcast as host Yisi Wang, FSA, CFA sits down with Blake Hill, FSA, FCIA, a distinguished leader in the insurtech industry. Discover the transformative power of technology in insurance, and the unique challenges and opportunities within the insurtech sector. Blake also shares invaluable career advice for…

Host Nick Kocisak, ASA, is joined by Austin Kang, FSA, MAAA, CERA, to discuss the importance of being more than just a "number cruncher" as you fulfill your actuarial duties. Austin shares his experience working in the health consulting industry and provides lessons learned on how to leverage your actuarial background to gain trust and confidence w…

In this podcast episode, Virginette Scott, The Actuarial Foundation’s Stem Stars/Math Motivators Program Specialist sets the spotlight on The Actuarial Foundation’s Math Motivators program. Virginette’s guests are Barry Jacobson, retired actuary and the visionary founder of Math Motivators, and Jill Geritano, the parent of a former and a current Ma…

In this episode, we explore the rapidly evolving landscape of emerging risks and how they are impacting the world of marketing and distribution. From climate change and artificial intelligence to financial volatility and geopolitical landscapes, we'll dive deep into the key challenges and opportunities facing businesses today.…

In this podcast episode, Jonas Brobbey hosts Elizabeth Dietrich FSA, CERA, MAAA, who takes us through her career journey from Actuary to CFO and provides actionable tips on navigating and forging a successful career as an Actuary.

After being in effect for over three years, the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) expired in May 2023. From the start of the PHE, state Medicaid programs applied continuous coverage (or non-termination) requirements to access additional federal matching funds provided through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The Consolidate…

Join host Nick Kocisak, ASA and guest Taylor Pickett, FSA, MAAA for a discussion of the importance of leveraging foundational actuarial principles and communicating effectively when working in innovative areas of the profession. Taylor shares his experience working with accelerated underwriting programs around the industry and provides insights int…

Join us for a conversation that journeys from the 1980’s to today, exploring how technology along with the nature of actuarial work has evolved. On this podcast, Bill Sayre, FSA (an actuary with decades of experience) will take Shang Xu, FSA (a Gen Z actuary) into the past, examine how the nature of actuarial work changed with the advancements in t…

In this podcast Joe Alaimo interviews Rahul Nawab, SVP, Analytics at EXL to discuss cyber insurance evolution, risk mitigation, and emerging trends. They explore emerging trends, adaptive strategies, data analytics, and insurer innovations in cyber insurance and risk mitigation.

In this episode, Dave Dillon has a conversation with Ashwag Alzahrani; Saudi Arabia’s First Female FSA.

Join us for a conversation dedicated to helping actuaries navigate the complexities of “managing up” in their profession. On this podcast, Tasha Boland, FSA and Morgan Zuidema, FSA will delve into practical strategies and insights for building effective relationships with managers, understanding leadership styles, and achieving career growth within…

In the next installment in a series to further explore and differentiate the regulatory bodies and rating agencies overseeing the insurance industry, this podcast presents a conversation with Fred Anderson, Chief Life Actuary for the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Fred describes his role as the Chief Life Actuary for the state as well as the int…

Join new host Nick Kocisak, ASA, and Mike McPhee Anderson, FSA, to learn about Mike's unique educational background and the importance of data science know-how in the actuarial world. In this episode, Mike discusses some advantages of continuing education and dispels data science "dirty words" like Poisson distribution and decision tree in hopes th…

In this episode, Dave Dillon discusses some basics of gene and cell therapies with Marnie Bute of AON and Kristi Bohn of RGA, including a summary on the science, costs, as well as network and coverage concerns.

In this episode Joe Alaimo interviews Joan Barret, Achilles Natsis and Tony Pistilli to discuss total risk analysis, a technique that provides a consistent methodology for answering questions like “what are the chances we will lose more than $1 million?”

Roger Loomis gets to know Mike Bergerson and learns about the upcoming webcast “LTC M&A—Are the Floodgates Opening?” The webcast is on May 23rd 2024 from 12:00 to 1:15 PM ET. Please register here: https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/webcasts/2024-ltc-floodgates/

Listen as host Jackie Lee discusses GLP-1s and their role in Weight Loss Management, with Tyler Engel. They discuss how these drugs are being used and what actuaries should consider when assessing their costs and implications.

In the final episode of this mini-series, Shea and Anders cover the other common tree-based ensemble model, the Gradient Boosting Machine. Like Random Forests, GBMs make use of a large number of decision trees, but they use a “boosting” approach that cleverly makes use of “weak learners” to incrementally extract information from the data. After an …

Nichole Semprit, The Actuarial Foundation Senior Program Specialist and Channy Cornejo, AP Calculus and AP Statistics Instructor at Santa Teresa High School discuss how the Foundation math competitions, Modeling the Future Challenge and The Hardest Math Problem Student Contest help students expand their skills, build confidence and win college scho…

Listen in as host Jackie Lee talks with Joan Barrett about the recent research paper, “Calculated Risk: Driving Decisions Using the 5/50 Research.” The discussion and report will help you answer key questions like “what are the chances we will lose more than $1million.”

Join us for another exciting YPAC podcast as host Shawn Stender, FSA, MAAA, discusses unique actuarial career journeys with Lana Marozava, ASA, CERA, and Joe Long, ASA, MAAA. This podcast will shed light on the numerous different paths that young professionals can take on their journey to become an actuary. Whether that means changing careers from …

Join Frank Yeager, FSA and Chris Smith, ASA for an insightful discussion about leadership, the future of actuarial consulting, and the value of strong relationships. Frank shares his advice for aspiring and early-career actuaries gleaned over the course of a two-decade long career at Mercer that has culminated in his latest role as US Health Actuar…

Listen as host Jackie Lee talks with SOA President and Chair, Tim Rozar. They discuss Tim’s actuarial and volunteer background and the SOA’s goals for the year to come. Be sure to check out Tim’s Presidential address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BG0AhwX6Ic

Podcast on the industry adoption of emerging data sets across the insurance value chain. The participants include recognized leaders from business, regulation, legal, and innovation. The discussion covers current adoption practices, business opportunity, regulatory and legal considerations.

Building on the discussion of individual decision trees in the prior episode, Shea and Anders shift to one of today’s most popular ensemble models, the Random Forest. At first glance, the algorithm may seem like a brute force approach of simply running hundreds or thousands of decision trees, but it leverages the concept of “bagging” to avoid overf…

Dave Dillion and Bryon Robidoux discuss the book Dare to Lead, which was the Joint Risk Management and Leadership & Development Sections book club selection for December. They discuss what it means for managers to be vulnerable. How to give and receive feedback from both a manager’s perspective and the direct report perspective. The end the podcast…

What is professionalism? Is it just following the law? The code/rules of professional conduct? Is it more than both of those? Listen to our podcast where YPAC member Patrick Samborsky, ASA, MAAA discusses professionalism with Charly J Pazdor, FSA retired, who has written about professionalism for The Actuary magazine as well as being a course direc…

Shea and Anders dive into tree-based algorithms, starting with the most fundamental variety, the single decision tree. We cover the mechanics of a decision tree and provide a comparison to linear models. A solid understanding of how a decision tree works is critical to fully grasp the nuances of the more powerful ensemble models, the Random Forest …

Join host Jackie Lee and guest Colby Schaeffer as they delve into the recent SOA research paper, “Modeling the Impact of the Great Unwinding on State Medicaid Programs.” They explore the model presented in the research paper and discuss the societal and actuarial implications of the Great Unwinding. Tune in to learn more about this important topic.…

Dave Dillon talks to psychologist Matt Fleischman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Neurofeedback Advocacy Project, and Charlie Doe, a retired group health actuary, about neurofeedback, infra-low frequency (ILF) neurofeedback, the data on over 500 clients who have completed 20 sessions of ILF neurofeedback, and the prospect to expand neuro…

In the first of a series to further explore and differentiate the regulatory bodies and rating agencies overseeing the insurance industry, this podcast presents a conversation with Matthew Mosher, MAAA, FCAS, CERA, President and CEO of AM Best Rating Services. Matt presents an overview of the goals of and approaches taken to evaluate insurance comp…

Join Jim Cristallo, FSA and Chris Smith, ASA for an insightful discussion as they dive into the topics of entrepreneurship, blockchain, baseball cards, and - of course - tips and tools for early-career actuaries.

Roger Loomis interviews Stephanie Moench about her research supporting the exploration of a statewide Long Term Care insurance program in California.

This is the first episode in a new mini-series, “Return to Trees”. In this series, Shea and Anders will be covering tree-based algorithms, including single decision trees, Random Forests, and Gradient Boosting Machines. In this episode, we discuss the rationale for re-visiting these models, which were covered in older podcast episodes in the mid-20…

Prepare for a dynamic conversation on the YPAC podcast as host Silver Zhou, FSA, engages in a rich discussion with special guest, Kelly Hennigan, FSA, CFA, a leader in business who transitioned away from traditional actuarial roles. From the impactful influence of mentors on career paths, navigating trust in the workplace, and the intricacies of wo…

Listen to Ashlee Borcan and Jennifer Howard of Milliman discuss the past, present and future of critical illness insurance. This podcast is based on the article, “Critical Illness Turns 40!”, written by Ashlee and Jennifer.

Jeff Johnson, The Actuarial Foundation immediate past board chairperson talks with Andy Ferris, current board chairperson and incoming board chairperson, Sharon Robinson about the vital work being done by the Foundation. The group highlights how the Foundation’s advancement efforts positively influence the lives of our students and how the actuaria…