2025 Ratemaking Call Paper Program on Technology and the Ratemaking Actuary

Ratemaking for property-casualty insurance is being transformed through technology. From predictive modeling and artificial intelligence to smart homes and telematics, technology continues to unlock new approaches for actuaries who develop P&C rates. 

The Casualty Actuarial Society’s (CAS) Ratemaking Working Group is issuing a call for papers regarding technological applications for ratemaking to publish clear, practical and accessible papers for actuaries.  The CAS is encouraging submissions of paper proposals addressing ratemaking and technology in Canada. Proposals should be submitted by Monday, September 16, 2024. 

The CAS Ratemaking Working Group invites submissions of research papers to explore innovative solutions, share practical insights and enhance the overall sophistication of ratemaking practices by using new and rapidly evolving technology. Examples of potential topics include: 

1. Advancements in Technology for Ratemaking Actuaries: 
   • Approaches to evaluate new tools 
   • Software applications  
   • Enhancing analysis sophistication through innovative technology 
   • Machine learning techniques for different situations 
   • Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
   • Application of new technology to ratemaking methods 
   • A toolkit for actuaries incorporating the latest technology 
   • Effective measures of new ratemaking approaches. 
2. Data utilization and formatting for data, including very large data sets: 
   • Cloud computing and database design for actuaries 
   • Strategies for organizing data into a usable format 
   • Efficient manipulation of data sets 
   • Data compilation strategies 

3. Sparse Data Utilization:

• Leveraging new technology in the presence of sparse or conflicting data 
• Approaches and techniques for estimating rates with sparse data that can satisfy regulatory requirements. 

The Ratemaking Working Group will review papers for acceptance based on the following criteria: 

• Idea originality. 
• Clear concept presentation. 
• Thoroughness of ideas. 
• Timeliness, relevance and applicability of research. 
• Contribution to ratemaking literature. 

Proposals related to any ratemaking-related matters are welcome. Both members and non-members of the CAS are invited to submit proposals. The CAS is encouraging submissions of paper proposals addressing ratemaking and technology in Canada.

Authors should focus on presenting ideas in a logical manner accessible to readers with experience in ratemaking. To aid research adoption, the CAS encourages the final work product’s code and data be placed in the CAS’s GitHub repository, https://github.com/casact, under the MPL2.0 license (as applicable).  

Accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum, and authors of accepted papers may be invited to present at the 2025 Ratemaking, Product and Modeling Seminar in early March. In addition, a prize fund of $15,000 has been established for papers that make a particularly strong contribution to the ratemaking literature.

Review of Papers 

Each author whose proposal is accepted will be assigned two or three members of the Ratemaking Working Group who will serve as reviewers. Reviewers will read drafts, give feedback and assist authors who work toward producing a final draft. The review process helps authors submit final papers acceptable for publication in the E-Forum. If a paper presents interesting concepts but is not appropriate for the E-Forum, reviewers will help the author find a more suitable medium for publication. 

Awards 

All papers submitted and accepted in response to the call and meeting the minimum standards established by the Ratemaking Working Group will be eligible for a cash prize. Awards from the prize fund will be granted at the sole discretion of the Ratemaking Working Group. 

Timetable 

1. Deadline for Proposals 
   By Monday, September 16, 2024, authors should submit a one- to two-page proposal including the paper title, a short description of the topic(s) to be addressed, the approach to be taken and a survey of existing actuarial literature on the subject (title and abstract of a maximum of the five most relevant papers). Proposals should be emailed to Annmarie Geddes Baribeau, Research Manager, with “2025 Ratemaking Call Paper Proposal” in the subject line of the message. 

2. Acceptance of Proposals 
   The Ratemaking Working Group will decide whether to accept or reject each proposal. The number of accepted proposals may be limited. Authors will be contacted by Monday, September 30, 2024, regarding their proposals. 

   A review team will be assigned to work with each author whose proposal is accepted. 

3. Monitoring Progress 
   The author and review team will establish a mutually agreeable schedule to produce interim drafts. By Monday, November 18, 2024, a first draft of the completed paper (including an abstract of no more than 200 words) should be submitted to the review team.  

   A draft version of the companion practical tool, if any, should also be submitted at that time. Each paper will be screened by the review team to assure its quality of exposition, relevance to the call and to ratemaking research, and adherence to requirements described below. The review team may require rewriting of the paper to bring it to an acceptable standard.  
   Note: Authors are no longer required to format papers in a specific template, but submissions must include the following: 

   • A final electronic file of the paper in Microsoft Word or LaTeX.  
   • An accompanying pdf of the final paper. 
   • Separate files for figures in JPEG or PNG format in at least 300 dpi. 
   • Supplementary attachments/datasets (R files, .xls, etc.). 

   Authors should be prepared to provide any supporting documentation granting permission for the use of any proprietary or copyrighted material used in the paper. Permissions documentation must also be included instances when the author is not the copyright holder of the paper (i.e., the author’s employer owns copyright to the work). See the E-Forum Submission Guidelines for complete information.

4. Comments on First Draft 
   By Monday, December 9, 2024, the review team will send comments on the first draft to the author and return the drafts to researchers. 

5. Second Draft 
   By Monday, January 6, 2025, the Ratemaking Working Group must receive the second draft of the completed paper (and tools, if any) for review. 

6. Approving the Completed Paper 
   By Wednesday, January 22, 2025, all authors will be notified as to the acceptability of their second draft and will be asked to submit the final paper by Monday, February 3, 2025, to allow the Ratemaking Working Group to determine the prize-winning paper.   

   Authors will be required to upload their final paper electronically in the Scholar One system. After copyediting by the E-Forum Working Group is completed, accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum. 
    
   The Ratemaking Working Group may reject papers that are submitted late, do not align with the accepted proposal, do not incorporate material suggestions from the review team or contain deficiencies in clarity, substance, style, or grammar. 

7. Presenting the Paper 
   Authors may be invited to present their papers at the 2025 Ratemaking, Product and Modeling Seminar held March 9-12, 2025. 

8. Submission Guidelines 
   Papers should be no more than 10,000 words and should be prepared in accordance with the procedures in the Guide for Submission to CAS E-Forum on the CAS website. 
    
   Authors will be required to upload an electronic copy of the paper and will be asked to sign the "Permission to Publish" form, which formally grants the CAS permission to publish the paper. 

The Ratemaking Working Group looks forward to receiving proposals in response to the call and is happy to respond to inquiries from interested parties. Questions may be addressed to CAS Research ManagerAnnmarie Geddes Baribeau. Your participation will contribute to the written body of knowledge of the CAS and to the success of the 2025 Ratemaking Call Paper Program.