Insurance Industry’s Reserving Research Hall of Fame Recognises Exceptional Talent From Willis Towers Watson

LONDON, England, Sept. 11 -- Willis Towers Watson, an advisory, broking and solutions company, issued the following news release:

The reserving expertise and exceptional thought leadership of two senior consultants at Willis Towers Watson has been officially recognised by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), which has inducted their pioneering research into the organisation's Reserving Research Hall of Fame (RRHOF).

The RRHOF was established by the CAS in 2016 to honour and draw attention to important reserving-related papers and research in the field of property/casualty insurance; the selection process for the RRHOF is overseen by the CAS Committee on Reserves.

Andy Staudt, who is based in London and leads the consultancy's UK P&C practice, and Tapio Boles, based in San Francisco and specialising in workers' compensation, wrote a paper in 2010 in which they evaluated the performance of various loss reserving methods and their associated parameterisations under a number of environments (e.g. changes in case reserve adequacy).

In the paper, they simulated proxy loss development data for each environment, which enabled them to measure the accuracy of various actuarial projection methods. Based on their results, they were then able to offer a roadmap for reserving actuaries to use in order to select appropriate methodologies and parameterisations given the current, past, and expected future environmental conditions affecting the reserving process. Staudt and Boles are both Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS).

Alice Underwood, Global leader, Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson, said: "I am delighted Andy and Tapio have been honoured with this award, which is a tremendous achievement. It's a testament to their outstanding work and the team's commitment to continually go above and beyond to make an impact that matters for our clients and the industry as a whole."

"It was an honour just to have been nominated, especially considering the exceptional talent of those previously selected, so to get this ultimate recognition from those we work with in the reserving industry is incredible," said Andy Staudt. "The sector is on the cusp of a wave of innovation, driven partly by greater regulation that has sharply increased scrutiny of reserving adequacy and reporting, further ramping up pressure on insurers to deliver results faster, with greater accuracy and confidence."

Tapio Boles said: "Loss reserves are one of the largest and most difficult risks on insurance companies' balance sheets, and inaccurate projections can lead to insolvencies. At the same time, we are seeing new technical and software capabilities offering insurers efficiency through automation, better diagnostics, and improved data visualisation, enabling actuaries to make better decisions when selecting methods and assumptions."

"The Casualty Actuarial Society is proud to foster a vibrant research community in which our members continue to push the boundaries of actuarial science," said CAS President Brian Brown. "We are pleased to highlight exemplary work on reserving through our Reserving Research Hall of Fame, and we applaud Andy and Tapio on achieving this level of recognition for their excellent work."

Staudt and Boles were honoured for their work at a ceremony that took place at the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) in Anaheim, California on September 6, 2018. The CLRS is jointly sponsored by the CAS and the American Academy of Actuaries.

The selection process

Specific criteria have been established as guidance for RRHOF membership, including:

* Originality and value added - Does the research introduce new concepts or provide a new and interesting perspective on existing research?

* Wide applicability - Can and have the concepts presented in the research be applied to a wide number of property/casualty business situations?

* Frequently referenced - Has the research been frequently referenced by (and perhaps incorporated into) other research?

* Readability - Is the research well written and presented in a way that is reasonably easy to grasp and put to use?

* Lasting Influence - Has sufficient time passed to allow the research to be considered critically and put to use? During that time, has the research stayed relevant or at least avoided early obsolescence?