Dissues the factors that have led to a high life expectancy in Japan.

(i) List possible parameters within the event set of a hurricane catastrophe model. [1] (ii) List other natural perils for which a catastrophe model is commonly used. [1] [Total 2] (i) Define "risk factor" and "rating factor". [2] (ii) Explain, using examples, the difference between them. [3] [Total 5] A general insurance company plans to create a system for monitoring lapse experience at renewal for a book of business. (i) Describe, giving examples, the key features of a good system for this purpose. [7] (ii) List the data that is likely to be required for the system. [2] The company plans to introduce a range of operational initiatives designed to reduce the proportion of customers who do not renew their policies after receiving a renewal invitation. It wishes to monitor the effect of the initiatives as quickly as possible to help decide whether to continue them. (iii) Explain the difficulties that the company is likely to have with measuring the change in lapse experience and how these might be overcome. [S] [Total 14] (i) State what is meant by a soft insurance market. [1] (ii) Discuss the reasons why general insurance companies may wish to continue writing business during a soft market. [4] (iii) Describe and evaluate strategies that a London-market insurance company might adopt during a soft market. [7]