Reserve Analysis Systems features explained
for Actuarial Department
Every feature we track for Reserve Analysis Systems products, with a description of what each one means.
Collaboration and Workflow
Capabilities fostering the sharing of work, review, and teamwork across actuarial and finance departments.
- Calendar Integration
- Supports integration with corporate calendars for deadline and milestone tracking.
- Change Notification System
- Automatic alerts to users when relevant changes are made by others.
- Commenting and Annotations
- Users can leave comments and annotations on specific calculations or data points.
- Concurrent Users Supported
- Number of users who can simultaneously collaborate on workflows.
- Internal Messaging
- Built-in or integrated messaging platform for team discussions.
- Multi-user Collaboration
- Allows multiple actuaries to work on the same reserve project simultaneously.
- Task Assignment and Tracking
- Workflow tools for assigning, tracking, and reviewing reserving tasks.
- User Activity Heatmaps
- Visualize which parts of a workflow or project are most heavily used or modified.
- Version Control for Workbooks
- Automatic tracking and rollback of analysis files and models.
- Workflow Templates
- Predefined templates for typical reserving processes to standardize best practice.
Core Reserve Calculation
Features directly related to the calculation of insurance reserves, including support for various actuarial reserving methods and assumptions.
- Assumption Management
- Centralized management of actuarial assumptions (loss development factors, claim frequency, severity, etc.).
- Bulk Valuation Runs
- Ability to process reserve calculations in bulk (e.g., many portfolios or lines at once).
- Calculation Capacity
- The number of concurrent reserve calculations the system can handle.
- Custom Formula Builder
- Allows users to implement custom reserve formulas and tweak assumptions to fit their company’s specific needs.
- Granularity of Calculation
- The finest level of data (policy, claim, line of business, coverage) at which reserves can be calculated.
- Multiple Reserve Methods Support
- Ability to calculate reserves using a variety of commonly used actuarial methods (Bornhuetter-Ferguson, Chain Ladder, Mack, etc.).
- Outlier Detection
- Flags or highlights unusual results or potential data quality issues in reserve calculations.
- Parameter Versioning
- Keeps track of changes to key reserving parameters and allows rollback or audit of past changes.
- Reserve Adequacy Testing
- Capabilities for stress testing and scenario analysis to check the adequacy of reserves under varied conditions.
- Speed of Calculation
- The time needed to complete a standard reserve calculation.
Data Handling and Integration
Features focused on importing, validating, managing and exporting large actuarial datasets and integration with other insurance systems.
- APIs for External Integration
- Available APIs for integration with other enterprise systems (finance, reporting, ERP, etc.).
- Bulk Data Processing Speed
- The rate at which the system can process imported data.
- Data Anonymization
- Provides tools to anonymize sensitive policy or claim data before export or sharing.
- Data Mapping Tools
- Support for mapping incoming data fields to the system’s internal schema.
- Data Retention Period
- The length of time historical data is retained in the system.
- Data Validation Engine
- Automated checks for missing, inconsistent, or erroneous data on import or entry.
- Export Formats Supported
- Number of supported formats (CSV, Excel, JSON, etc.) for data export.
- Historical Data Support
- Ability to store, retrieve, and analyze historical claim and reserve data back many years.
- Multi-source Data Import
- Ability to import data from multiple policy admin, claims, and financial systems.
- Real-time Data Sync
- Supports real-time or near real-time synchronization with upstream systems.
Deployment and Scalability
Options and features supporting how the system is deployed, scaled, and maintained in an insurance enterprise environment.
- API Throughput
- Sustained requests per second the API can process.
- Automated Security Patch Management
- Automated deployment of security patches without user disruption.
- Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid Deployment
- Available for deployment in the cloud, on-site, or hybrid models.
- Disaster Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
- Maximum expected time to restore service after major failure.
- Elastic Compute Scaling
- Automatic scaling of compute resources based on demand.
- Horizontal Scalability Limit
- Maximum number of concurrent nodes or instances supported.
- Load Balancing
- Load automatically distributed to prevent overloads.
- Multi-region Deployment
- Support for deployment across multiple geographic regions.
- Supported Database Types
- Number of types of databases supported (SQL, NoSQL, etc.)
- Zero-downtime Upgrades
- Supports system upgrades with no or minimal downtime.
Governance and Auditability
Factors ensuring the system provides transparency, compliance, and effective audit trails for regulatory and internal review.
- Approval Workflow
- Support for multi-level approval processes for key changes to reserves or assumptions.
- Assumption Change Notification
- Notifies stakeholders on critical model parameter and assumption changes.
- Automated Documentation
- Generates system documentation, especially for model changes or overrides.
- Change Log Retention
- Number of years audit logs are retained.
- Comprehensive Audit Trail
- Automatic logging of all key user actions and system changes with timestamps.
- Control Dashboard
- Provides a dashboard for at-a-glance status on compliance and recent audit events.
- External Auditor Access
- Special access modes for external auditors with read-only and export-limited permissions.
- Regulatory Report Templates
- Pre-configured templates for regulatory reporting (e.g., Solvency II, IFRS 17, NAIC).
- Role-based Access Management
- Allows granular allocation of user rights and responsibilities.
- SOX Compliance Support
- System supports controls and workflows relevant for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance.
Reporting and Visualization
Tools and features for producing, customizing, and distributing reserve-related reports and visualizations.
- Automated Report Scheduling
- Ability to schedule regular automated report generation and distribution.
- Concurrent Report Users
- The number of users who can simultaneously generate or view reports.
- Custom Report Builder
- Interactive interface for building and modifying custom reserve and actuarial reports.
- Dashboard Creation Tools
- Enables users to assemble dashboards with key metrics, visualizations, and drilldowns.
- Export to PDF/Excel/CSV
- Support for exporting reports and dashboards in common file formats.
- Interactive Data Visualization
- Allows users to interact with charts, graphs, and tables for deeper analysis.
- Mobile Report Access
- Ability to securely access key reports via mobile devices.
- Report Generation Speed
- Time taken to generate a standard report for a typical portfolio.
- Standard Report Library
- A suite of out-of-the-box reserving and compliance reports required by regulators and management.
- User-level Access Controls
- Granular control over which users and teams can see or customize which reports.
Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis
Functionality for stress testing, alternative scenarios and evaluating the impact of varying actuarial assumptions.
- Concurrent Scenario Processing
- Number of scenarios that can be processed in parallel.
- Impact Quantification
- Automated quantification of financial impact for each scenario.
- Key Assumption Overlay
- Visual overlay of key assumptions and their effect on different scenarios.
- Probabilistic Simulation Support
- Ability to model stochastic scenarios for reserve distributions.
- Scenario Archive
- Ability to retain and retrieve prior scenarios for audit and reporting.
- Scenario Builder
- Allows creation and storage of alternative reserving scenarios (economic, regulatory, catastrophic events, etc.).
- Scenario Run Speed
- The time needed to complete a scenario analysis run.
- Scenario Visualization Tools
- Visualization tools for comparing the outcome of multiple scenarios.
- Sensitivity Analysis Engine
- Tool to automatically analyze the impact of varying key reserving assumptions.
- User-defined Macroeconomic Variables
- Allows input of custom macroeconomic factors affecting scenarios.
Security and Privacy
Measures in place to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive actuarial data.
- Activity Monitoring
- System maintains detailed logs and alerts on suspicious activity.
- Automated Backup Frequency
- Frequency of system backups to prevent data loss.
- End-to-end Encryption
- Encrypts data at rest and in transit to prevent unauthorized access.
- Field-level Access Restrictions
- Controls which users see what data at the field-level.
- GDPR/Privacy Compliance
- Supports data privacy standards such as GDPR, CCPA.
- IP Whitelisting
- Restricts logins to approved networks or devices.
- Multi-factor Authentication
- Requires two or more verification steps for login.
- Ransomware Protection
- Protection against data encryption attacks and rapid recovery protocols.
- Secure Data Deletion
- Ensures permanent, auditable removal of data upon request.
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Supports integration with corporate identity and access management
Support and Vendor Services
Ancillary capabilities and services provided by the vendor to support system use and client needs.
- 24/7 Technical Support
- Round-the-clock technical support via phone, chat, or ticketing.
- Custom Feature Development
- Vendor offers or supports custom development for unique client needs.
- Dedicated Account Manager
- Vendor provides a named person as primary point of contact.
- Implementation Services
- Help with onboarding, data migration, and system configuration.
- Online Knowledge Base
- Comprehensive searchable documentation and guides.
- Onsite Training
- Vendor-provided training at client location.
- Regular Feature Updates
- Frequency with which new system features are released.
- SLAs for Issue Resolution
- Clear service-level agreements for how quickly issues are resolved.
- Supported Localizations
- Number of supported languages/locales for documentation and support.
- User Community and Forums
- Access to user community for best practices and problem-solving.
User Experience (UX) and Accessibility
Features that make the system easy and efficient to use for diverse actuarial teams.
- Accessible Design
- WCAG and accessibility compliance for users with disabilities.
- Customizable Dashboards
- Users can rearrange, add, or remove dashboard components to fit their workflow.
- Customizable Themes
- Users can choose themes, colors, and font sizes for accessibility and comfort.
- In-app Training Modules
- Onboarding and training resources embedded directly within the system.
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Provides productivity-enhancing shortcuts for frequent tasks.
- Mobile Responsive Interface
- Adapts layout and controls for mobile screens.
- Modern User Interface
- Intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface suitable for actuarial work.
- Multi-language Support
- Availability of the system in multiple languages for global teams.
- Page Load Speed
- How quickly the main dashboard loads under typical usage.
- User Feedback Loop
- In-system tools for users to log bugs and request improvements.