Apparently, ANYTHING can be insured!

Here's an interesting one:  "Taobao Offers Moon Insurance for Mid-Autumn Festival."

Here's a quote:

People in 41 cities in China can insure their enjoyment of the full moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival from Monday... Internet users can insure themselves against inconveniences during their moon gazing at the Mid-Autumn Festival, and will be paid off if they cannot see the moon because of poor weather on the day.

- Rick

Gender Differences With Respect to Risk

An article from the Scientific American website, "Men and Women Gauge Risk Differently."  Here's a quote:

"When making financial decisions, men are more likely to focus on the bigger picture, whereas women more often pay closer attention to details."

At the Actuarial Research Conference in Philadelphia last week, I gave a presentation on hyperbolic / delay discounting -- basically, the idea that we often prefer smaller-sooner to bigger-later (leaving out all the economics and mathematics, which of course doesn't do the idea any justice...), even if a classical economic framework and interpretation would suggest that that's the wrong decision.  So that complicates the modeling of human behavior -- as does the research underlying this short article.

- Rick

What's Happened to Mr. / Ms. Right?

Consistent with recent past tendencies, marriage rates in the U.S. continue to decline.  Important for projecting future demographic variables -- although traditional marriage is less and less directly correlated with fecundity, or even with status as a retirement beneficiary.

- Rick

Being Cliche Doesn't Make It Less True

A nice, concise, direct post titled "Want To Be Taken Seriously?  Become a Better Writer."

The title says it all.  All students (among many, many others) should read and embrace every word.

- Rick

The Urban Institute today released a report titled "Lost Generations?  Wealth Building among Young Americans."  Here's a summary and representative passage:

For many, the American dream of working hard, saving more, and becoming wealthier than one's parents holds true.

Unless you're under 40.  Today, those in Gen X and Gen Y have accumulated less wealth than their parents did at that age over a quarter-century ago.  Their average wealth in 2010 was 7 percent below that of those in their 20s and 30s in 1983.

Certainly, this has implications for future actuarial applications in retirement, pensions, personal wealth, etc.  Not to mention just plain old personal considerations...

- Rick

Cat(Scan) Got Your Tongue?

It's not uncommon for people, especially earlier in their careers, to find themselves not saying much in group settings.  As this article, "Speaking Up Is Hard to Do: Researchers Explain Why" from The Wall Street Journal (Feb. 7, 2012) mentions, it is not always simple shyness at work.  Neorologically, it turns out that, under certain circumstances, we actually become less intelligent in group settings...

- Rick

In Case You're Dying for Cash

Here's a long, but good, article from the August 10 New York Times, titled "Are You Worth More Dead Than Alive?"  Some might indeed think it's a bit of an uncomfortable topic -- basically, people and companies betting on when someone will die.  But the world of viatical or life settlements is a growing reality, and of course it's related to actuarial science in both its reliance on life expectancy calculations, and its financial implications.

Essentially, someone in need of cash (perhaps for medical bills because of a terminal illness, or perhaps even for a healthy person's desire to, say, travel in her/his retirement years) sells their life insurance policy to the highest bidder.  The purchaser takes over the premium payments and becomes the beneficiary upon the death of the original insured.

Interesting subject from a number of perspectives:  cultural, financial, moral, regulatory,...

- Rick