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2024 Reserving Call Paper Program on Technology and the Reserving Actuary

 

Deadline extended to January 5, 2024 and prize fund increased to $15,000!

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the CAS Reserves Working Group are pleased to issue a call for papers on reserving topics, with a focus on technology and the reserving actuary. The goal of this call for papers is to facilitate the publication of clear, practical, and accessible papers. Proposals should be submitted by January 5, 2024.

We invite submissions of research papers on cutting-edge topics at the intersection of technology and the reserving actuary role. The aim is to explore innovative solutions, share practical insights, and enhance the overall sophistication of reserving practices with the use of new and rapidly evolving technology. Examples of topics that could be addressed include:

  1. Advancements in Technology for Reserving Actuaries:
  • New tools available for reserving actuaries
  • Software applications for reserving
  • Enhancing sophistication of analysis through innovative technology
  • Machine learning techniques in reserving
  • Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in reserving
  • Application of new technology to individual claim reserving methods
  • Introducing a toolkit for actuaries incorporating the latest technology.
  1. 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
  1. Sparse Data Utilization:
  • Leveraging new technology in the presence of sparse data
  • Techniques for estimating reserves with sparse data

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

  • Originality of ideas;
  • Clear presentation of concepts;
  • Thoroughness of ideas expressed;
  • Timeliness, relevance and applicability of research;
  • Contribution to reserving literature.

Proposals related to any reserving-related matters are welcome. Both members and non-members of the CAS are invited to submit proposals.

Authors should focus on presenting ideas in a logical manner accessible to readers with experience in reserving. Authors are encouraged to submit with their paper a practical tool (e.g. R/Python code, or a spreadsheet) to add to the educational value of the paper.

Accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum, and authors of accepted papers may be invited to present at the 2024 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS). In addition, a prize fund of $15,000 has been established for papers that make a particularly strong contribution to the reserving literature.

Review of Papers

Each author whose proposal is accepted will be assigned two or three members of the Reserves Working Group who will serve as reviewers. Reviewers will read drafts, give feedback, and provide assistance to the author as he or she works toward producing a final draft. The goal of the review process is to help the author submit a final paper that is acceptable for publication in the E-Forum. If the paper presents interesting concepts but isn’t 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 Reserves Working Group will be eligible for a cash prize. Awards from the prize fund will be granted at the sole discretion of the Reserves Working Group.

Timetable

  1. Deadline for Proposals
    By January 5, 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 submitted electronically via email to Elizabeth Smith, Director of Publications and Research at esmith@casact.org. Please put “2024 Reserving Call Paper Proposal” in the subject line of the email message.
  1. Acceptance of Proposals
    The Reserves Working Group will decide to accept or reject each proposal. The number of accepted proposals may be limited. Authors will be contacted by January 19, 2024, regarding their proposals. A review team will be assigned to work with each author whose proposal is accepted.
  1. Monitoring Progress
    The author and review team will establish a mutually agreeable schedule for the production of interim drafts. By April 19, 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 this time. Each paper will be screened by the review team to assure its quality of exposition, relevance to the call and to reserving 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 in which 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.

  1. By May 17, 2024, the review team will send comments on the first draft to the author.
  1. Completion Date
    By June 14, 2024, the Reserves Working Group must receive the completed paper (and tools, if any) for its review.
  1. Approving the Completed Paper
    By July 5, 2024, all authors will be notified as to the acceptability of their final submitted paper. Authors will be required to upload their final paper electronically in the ScholarOne system. After copyediting by the E-Forum Working Group is completed, accepted papers will be published in the CAS E-Forum.

    The Reserves 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.
  1. Presenting the Paper
    Authors may be invited to present their papers at the 2024 CLRS.
  1. 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 Reserves 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 Elizabeth Smith, Director of Publications and Research at esmith@casact.org. Your participation in this effort will contribute to the written body of knowledge of the CAS and to the success of the 2024 Reserving Call Paper Program.