Successful actuarial, IT, and compliance services are a result of certain basic approaches, attitude, and principles – whether a life insurance company, a fraternal benefit society, or even a successful athletic enterprise. These basics do not vary. The following is an overview intended to describe the approach AB&A has used successfully for 30+ years to help our clients grow profitability.
Fundamentals. Any effort to build new products and programs is doomed to failure without first establishing the fundamentals, such as sound analytics and metrics, from which these programs should be developed. Any individual client’s experience with regard to mortality, lapses, expenses, investment income, and cost must be determined and established in order to properly price any new products. AB&A has established models and templates that can be used to determine what emerging experience is for each of these items and it has the ability to implement the associated processes and clearly communicate the results.
Tools. We are aware of no other actuarial firm who invests more material sums in procuring and maintaining state-of-the-art tools to assist their professional staff in various projects, be they product development or financial reporting. As an example, AB&A maintains the two most recognized (and expensive) software tools in the industry to perform asset liability matching (or cash flow testing – CFT). Our firm is dedicated to putting in the hands of its professionals the most technologically advanced tools available in its trade. There are many other examples of tools purchased by this firm to maintain a cutting-edge advantage over its competition. This will never change.
Service. This firm was founded in 1985 with no clients. In order to set itself apart and to sincerely impress its desire to serve potential clients, AB&A has built its success on unparalleled service. Any phone calls not answered immediately will be returned within a matter of minutes. All questions or issues posed to AB&A are responded to in clear and direct language in as short order as is humanly possible. Our professionals care about each and every assignment, and clients are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. Most importantly, a sense of urgency pervades all of our work, irrespective of the size of the assignment or the client involved.
Technical Competence. AB&A has been very selective in its hiring. Our professionals’ experience, combined with the tools available and sincere desire to serve, has earned this firm very visible and extremely responsible assignments. As an example, AB&A has performed actuarial examinations for many of the largest insurance companies in this country. Metropolitan Life, New York Life, Hartford, Penn Mutual, TIAA Cref, Transamerica, and many, many more extremely large domestic carriers have been assigned to this firm for determination and certification of the level and adequacy of liabilities. These carriers represent a preponderance of the insurance market in this country. But this technical competence is not demonstrated only in performance of work for various state insurance departments. We are the Appointed Actuary for numerous fraternal benefit societies and life insurance companies. These relationships have spanned many years. Not once has any state examination or independent audit uncovered any sort of material errors in our work.
Value Added. Any actuarial firm you may be considering for service can no doubt provide the basic actuarial functions that any society or life insurance company must annually perform (e.g., actuarial opinion, cash flow testing, reserve certification, etc.). So why choose AB&A over any of these other competitors?
For years our firm has very successfully brought new, practical, inexpensive marketing ideas to fraternal societies and insurance companies alike. These programs have led to immediate growth in life insurance production in a short period of time with no surplus drain.
Many clients find themselves with inordinately sized blocks of annuity business. We have developed several programs to help convert this annuity business, where appropriate, into meaningful single premium life insurance business. This has many positive benefits (e.g., reserve reductions, implementation of new surrender charge periods, etc.). This is just one example of the programs we have readily available that can be implemented quickly with very limited actuarial expense.
For years our firm has very successfully brought new, practical, inexpensive marketing ideas to fraternal societies and insurance companies alike. These programs have led to immediate growth in life insurance production in a short period of time with no surplus drain.
Many clients find themselves with inordinately sized blocks of annuity business. We have developed several programs to help convert this annuity business, where appropriate, into meaningful single premium life insurance business. This has many positive benefits (e.g., reserve reductions, implementation of new surrender charge periods, etc.). This is just one example of the programs we have readily available that can be implemented quickly with very limited actuarial expense.
Soup-to-Nuts. AB&A has the ability to take a product from conceptual discussion with marketing through development of the policy form, application, filing in all jurisdictions in the U.S. and, if desired, implementation on an illustration platform for use by our client’s agents. This is demonstrative of the breadth of services offered by the professionals at AB&A.
Our longevity in providing top-quality actuarial service for over a quarter of a century speaks for itself.
