Looking Beyond the Numbers

A sound reserving approach for long tailed lines of business typically requires the application of several accepted actuarial techniques to a significant amount of data. However, in most cases a reserve process is incomplete and potentially misleading should the analyst not also consider the claims settlement environment, the characteristics of the underlying business, and the surrounding economic and legal circumstances that may not be adequately reflected in the data. It is therefore important that the proper qualitative information be gathered to supplement the quantitative data used in analyzing reserves. Accordingly, this session will discuss areas where qualitative information is critical regarding the claims and business environment, and will provide insights into effective approaches for gathering such information. The session will include a discussion of how to structure requests for information that will succeed in obtaining the right details, without unintentionally affecting operation procedures.