Brenda Winter

An expert in actuarial model design with over 20 years of experience, Brenda specializes in efficient, robust modeling techniques using AXIS, DataLink and other applications. Her broad project experience includes actuarial model conversions, financial reporting, dynamic capital adequacy testing, experience studies, embedded value determination, product development, audit reviews, actuarial business process re-engineering and M&As. Her actuarial conversion modeling expertise spans all types of products, including universal life, reinsurance, asset/liability management, long-term care and traditional life products. She also has deep experience programming specialized code in AXIS, documenting and enhancing the effectiveness of actuarial models, and generating custom reports.

Some of her accomplishments include:

• Contributing as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Modelling Task Force that produced the Educational Note on the Use of Models, and contributing to the Society of Actuaries Modeling Section newsletter
• Leading a team of actuarial professionals in the conversion of a large block of long-term care policies from a factor-based model to explicitly modeling product features and decrements in AXIS for Canadian GAAP purposes
• Directing multiple large AXIS conversion projects spanning all types of products, including a US GAAP conversion project for a large universal life block with secondary guarantees and multiple Canadian GAAP conversions for universal life, long-term care and traditional life products
• Managing and participating in the process of determining requirements, recommending the approach, validating cashflows and results, and developing controls to help manage model risk
• Updated a global insurance company’s AXIS models to meet IFRS 17 standards
• Conducted independent review of Asset EOIR spreadsheet models for multiple jurisdictions, as part of a multinational insurance company’s IFRS 17 readiness plan
• Managing and executing the build of a valuation model for a new Canadian life reinsurer, a project that involved building the liability and asset projection models in AXIS and setting up a process to run the Canadian asset and liability method (CALM) and other financial reporting quarterly and annually as required
• Identifying model and process improvements that resulted in the consolidation and redesign of the AXIS models for a large Canadian insurer’s universal life block, including providing AXIS expertise, developing the framework and directing the implementation team, resulting in an 80% reduction in run-time and a best practice framework used by the company to make improvements on other blocks
• Developing and overseeing the implementation of a modeling standard as part of a model risk framework for a large reinsurer’s US business
• Auditing the insurance liabilities for several insurance companies, which involved reperforming calculations for sample policies and reviewing the appointed actuary’s report, assumptions and modeling to ensure conformance with Canadian regulations