Image of woman clutching her back in pain
Articles May 2019
PART I: Proposed New Classifications And Nomenclatures for Chronic Pain
¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Dr. Newman Harris offers part one of a two-part series that outlines the latest ways to define and classify chronic pain as laid out in ICD-11. Understanding how pain informs impairment is an essential piece of our work, and this article provides additional clarit... Read More
EKG and heartbeat records in ER
Articles May 2019
Myocardial Infarction: The Fourth Frontier

¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Sandeepan Basu provides an overview of the Fourth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. This well-researched article delves into key aspects of the updated definition, explores its complexity, and presents potential implications for the life insurance ...

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Articles May 2019
New Digital Transformation Research: Carriers Are Falling Behind Customers ​
The life and health insurance customer journey can be an emotional experience. RGAX's Charlie Matthews believes that in digitizing that journey carriers should begin by identifying customers' wants, needs, and expectations and then work to create an experience that addr... Read More
Innovation and design for mobile device blue print
Articles May 2019
More than Skin Deep: Automated Underwriting and the Customer Purchasing Process

Insurers seem to be chasing appearances, but sleek, web-based systems can mask a distressing reality: Underwriting technology underpinning the decision process is not attracting the same attention. ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Bruce Bosco calls for a greater emphasis on automated underwrit...

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Publications May 2019
ReFlections Volume 47, May 2019
In this issue, explore topics from chronic pain and myocardial infarction to applying behavioral economics to non-disclosure. 
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Genetics collage in a lab
Research and White Papers April 2019
Genetics and Insurance: Challenges and Opportunities II
The impact of genetic testing on the insurance industry will continue to be an important topic of actuarial research for some time as insurers address its effect on pricing and valuation. Insurance product development opportunities may also emerge to capitalize upon the... Read More
Research and White Papers April 2019
Technology in Claims – 2019 Global Claims Survey

RGA has conducted a global survey of technology use in claims, spanning 107 companies. To learn more about ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP key findings, download the

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Grouping of Japanese professionals brainstorming in a glass walled office
Articles March 2019
The Future of Insurance Product Development in Japan: RGA Product Development Survey

Where is product development for insurance headed in Japan? RGA asked 30 major Japanese insurers in a comprehensive survey, and the company also conducted a complementary survey of approximately 4,800 policyholders of life products in Japan. The results were ill...

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Genetics coding and DNA
Articles March 2019
Polygenic risk scores – A useful tool in our risk prediction toolkit?

The wider implications of recent advances in genetics and genomics, including polygenic risk scores, need to be considered in the context of the protection industry. ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Heather Lund and Richard Russell explore the topic in depth in the Journal of the Asso...

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Eyeglasses looking at data
Articles March 2019
TransUnion’s TrueRisk® Life: Creation and Validation of the Industry’s Leading Credit-Based Insurance Score
Similar to the protective value analysis RGA completed on other key data sources used in life insurance underwriting, such as motor vehicle records and prescription drug scoring, RGA’s goal was to understand the relationship of credit to mortality outcomes. Given credit... Read More
Fetal ultrasound
Articles March 2019
Global Health Brief: Fetal Testing
For more than half a century, ultrasound and Doppler have been the two main technologies used to administer screening and diagnostic tests during pregnancy. Explore these technologies with Dr. Elizabeth Gil Agular in Global Health Briefs. 

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Watercolor image of counseling between two people
Articles March 2019
Case Management: Oh No, Now What! When Mental Health Affects Medical Case Management

Discussing a medical condition with a stranger – such as a case manager – can be daunting. This is doubly difficult when it comes to feelings of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions.  Melinda Baxter of the ROSE® Consu...

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View of a credit card transaction
Articles March 2019
Modernizing Insurance Fraud Prevention

RGA kicks off a four-part series of articles on the topic of fraud in ON THE RISK, the Journal of The Academy of Life Underwriting. Featuring experts from insurance and other industries, the series will explore new ways fraud is being committed and share bes...

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Dubai Middle East Outlook
Articles March 2019
Middle East Outlook: Key Life Insurance Industry Product Trends
Life insurance remains a tough sell in MENA, but changes are afoot, creating opportunities for players able to adjust their strategies for business development. ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Tamer Saher spoke to Read More
Articles March 2019
Global Claims Views: Suicide Trends and Risk Factors
Around 800,000 people commit suicide every year1 – one person every 40 seconds. Suicide has a profound impact on family and friends that are left behind following the unexpected death of a loved one. Explore risk factors. Read More
A woman at work in a busy office
Articles March 2019
The Changing World of Work

This is especially true in the world of work, as we find that occupations and industries that existed for decades are now slowly falling away: think landline telephony in this era of smartphones, or VCRs and video rental stores in the age of Netflix and online streami...

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Immunotherapy illustration
Articles March 2019
Precision Medicine and Targeted Cancer Therapy

Genomic medicine promises to change the way oncologists assess, treat, and follow patients with cancer. How will advances in targeted drug therapy, including immunotherapeutic agents, influence the mortality and morbidity of certain cancers? ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Dr. Lisa Duckett sh...

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Child receiving oxygen ventillation
Articles March 2019
Juvenile Asthma

The chronic respiratory condition asthma poses unique challenges when it appears in children. Elite Sales Processing Chief Underwriting Officer Dennis Gunderson shares what every underwriter should know about the causes, symptoms, treatment and mortality risk of juve...

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Graphic of cancer cells
Articles March 2019
Cancer and the Statistic of One
Rapid medical advances, as well as growing volumes of health and mortality data, are transforming cancer risk assessment. ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP Neil Parkin explores our deepening understanding and insurance implications.   Read More