Mathematical Limits to the Judgment Factor in Fire Schedule Rating [Discussion]

This paper involves certain aspects of higher algebra which have received an impetus in the last decade from the developments in the field of Linear Programming. As yet these techniques have had limited application to actuarial problems--but this may soon be rectified since the author of this paper, Kenneth L. McIntosh, is an active participant in the CAS recently appointed Special Committee on the Mathematical Theory of Risk. The hub of the McIntosh paper is the application of linear algebra to the underlying philosophy of fire schedule rating. Undoubtedly the transition to matrices and vectors can be disconcerting for actuaries whose previous interests may have gravitated towards statistical distributions and probability theory. There are certain tangible aspects of probability theory which can be most pleasing.