The results of four major insurance research projects led by faculty from Drake University’s School of Actuarial Science and Risk Management were published in prestigious academic journals during the last 12 months. The papers, which cover topics ranging from the impact of increased insurance consumption in China to how insurers and regulators are responding to the transition to a new benchmark for pricing risk, reflect the challenges and opportunities in the increasingly dynamic and globally connected insurance market.

“As one of a select group of the Society of Actuaries’ Centers of Actuarial Excellence, we are committed to exploring the issues and trends that drive the insurance sector” said Alejandro Hernandez, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, which is home to Drake’s actuarial science program. “Our continued success in publishing relevant and timely research also informs the business-centric curriculum that we deliver to our actuarial science students.”

The four recent peer-reviewed journal articles (in order of publication) include:

• “The Changing of the Guard (from LIBOR to SOFR) and How Both Insurers and Regulators are Responding” authored by Toby White (of Drake University) published in Journal of Insurance Regulation
• “Estimating Spillover Effects in Property Casualty Insurance Consumption” authored by Douglas Bujakowski (of Drake University) and Shinichi Kamiya (of Nanyang Technological University) published in North American Actuarial Journal
• “Insurance Research in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe: What We Can Learn from XPRIMM Data” authored by Douglas Bujakowski (of Drake University) and Patricia Born (of Florida State University) published in Risk Management and Insurance Review
• “An Asymptotic Study of Systemic Expected Shortfall and Marginal Expected Shortfall” authored by Yiqing Chen (of Drake University) and Jiajun Liu (of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University) published in Insurance: Mathematics and Economics

The research work conducted by the School of Actuarial Science and Risk Management is made possible by support from the Principal Financial Group.

— Alejandro Hernandez, Dean, CBPA

Drake University has received University-Earned Credit (UEC) status from the Society of Actuaries (SOA). This will enable students in the university’s School of Actuarial Science and Risk Management to earn credit for select SOA exams by attaining required UEC scores in related courses. The SOA’s Exam FM (financial mathematics) and Exam SRM (statistics for risk modeling) will be included in the initial roll-out of the program which is made possible by Drake’s elite standing as an SOA Center of Actuarial Excellence (CAE).

“This new pathway demands a high academic standard to ensure that the same exam rigor is present in our curriculum so Drake’s CAE status provides our students an ideal foundation for success,” said Alejandro Hernandez, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, which is home to Drake’s actuarial science program. “The UEC is the first step in the SOA’s new modernized and modularized education system designed to empower students. We are eager to be on the leading edge of this initiative to offer new options and opportunities for students and employers.”

The leadership and faculty of Drake’s actuarial science program completed a comprehensive application process to earn the UEC status. This submission included evidencing work done to structure the related courses to meet standards established and monitored by the SOA. This new option, available starting in the fall 2022 semester, will allow students enrolled in the university’s actuarial science program to earn credit for the FM and SRM exams after receiving required scores in respective courses that cover the exam’s syllabus. The development work conducted by the School of Actuarial Science and Risk Management to achieve the UEC status was facilitated by support from EMC Insurance Group, Inc.

— Alejandro Hernandez, Dean, CBPA