appendix o delegate post-event survey responses · delegate post-event survey responses . response...

30 March to 4 April 2014 30th International Congress of Actuaries

Washington, DC

POST-EVENT DETAILED REPORT January 2016

APPENDIX O

DELEGATE POST-EVENT SURVEY RESPONSES

www.ICA2014.org

Response Percent

Response Count

47.6% 11131.3% 7316.7% 398.2% 199.0% 21

45.9% 10763

23348

Number Response Date Other Categories1 May 5, 2014 6:53 PM CAS meeting, CUSP meeting2 May 1, 2014 10:39 AM Previous participation in South Africa3 Apr 28, 2014 5:35 PM word of mouth4 Apr 25, 2014 1:31 PM Asked by the SOA tto make presentaion5 Apr 24, 2014 7:16 AM Collegues6 Apr 23, 2014 2:37 PM Canadian Acuary Friend, Mr. Andrew C. Musaib-Ali7 Apr 23, 2014 2:13 PM Previous ICA8 Apr 23, 2014 6:55 AM From a colleague9 Apr 22, 2014 9:26 PM Attended ICA 2010

10 Apr 22, 2014 7:31 PM colleague brought it to my attention11 Apr 22, 2014 4:17 PM recruited for risk committee12 Apr 22, 2014 3:38 PM Was aware that the Congress would be in hte US -- am a Past President of the SOA13 Apr 22, 2014 2:56 PM by regular joining ICA14 Apr 22, 2014 2:51 PM My boss15 Apr 22, 2014 2:45 PM why not relevant for more US actuaries to attend16 Apr 22, 2014 2:44 PM e-mail from CAS17 Apr 22, 2014 2:33 PM ICA conference 2010 held in Cape Town18 Apr 22, 2014 2:30 PM I attended the 2010 ICA at Cape Town19 Apr 22, 2014 2:29 PM spouse of attendee

skipped question

Email Announcement

IAA or other actuarial meeting

ICA 2014 Evaluation -- Question 1

Electronic bulletin or newsletter

answered question

Answer Options

Actuarial Journal

ICA 2014 Website

Other

How did you learn about ICA 2014? Choose all that apply.

Printed registration brochure or postcard

20 Apr 22, 2014 1:25 PM Invited as a plenary speaker21 Apr 22, 2014 1:02 PM googling22 Apr 22, 2014 12:47 PM through colleagues23 Apr 22, 2014 12:40 PM Looked it up myself24 Apr 22, 2014 12:38 PM Actuarial Society of South Africa Convention25 Apr 22, 2014 1:13 AM They are well known for being every 4 years!26 Apr 21, 2014 10:24 PM Contacted by organizers27 Apr 18, 2014 6:15 AM colleague notified me28 Apr 17, 2014 7:07 PM ICA 201029 Apr 17, 2014 4:29 AM AWB30 Apr 16, 2014 3:32 PM ICA 201031 Apr 16, 2014 12:31 PM introduction at ICA201032 Apr 16, 2014 8:37 AM A colleague told me about it33 Apr 16, 2014 7:37 AM Actuarial Society of South Africa34 Apr 16, 2014 7:30 AM Friend (University classmate)35 Apr 16, 2014 6:51 AM From colleagues36 Apr 16, 2014 6:47 AM Attended ICA 201037 Apr 16, 2014 6:47 AM colleague38 Apr 16, 2014 2:25 AM Friend's recommendation39 Apr 16, 2014 1:41 AM announcement from 2010 meeting40 Apr 15, 2014 7:58 PM Colleague41 Apr 15, 2014 6:52 PM Through the Norwegian Actuarial Society42 Apr 15, 2014 5:45 PM husband is an actuary43 Apr 15, 2014 4:07 PM Competition from the french Institute of Actuaries44 Apr 15, 2014 4:06 PM Announced at ASSA Convention45 Apr 15, 2014 3:42 PM Platinum Sponsor46 Apr 15, 2014 3:15 PM Worked on a committee47 Apr 15, 2014 2:58 PM CAS48 Apr 15, 2014 2:47 PM company49 Apr 15, 2014 2:33 PM CAS-related event compiled by my company50 Apr 15, 2014 2:28 PM Supervisor51 Apr 15, 2014 1:50 PM Attended ICA201052 Apr 15, 2014 1:39 PM By invitation53 Apr 15, 2014 1:17 PM Society of Actuaries - Annual Meeting 201354 Apr 15, 2014 1:00 PM Had attended the ICA2010 in South Africa at which the announcement was made55 Apr 15, 2014 12:47 PM Knowledge of the event from previous ICA's.56 Apr 15, 2014 12:42 PM colleagues

57 Apr 15, 2014 12:35 PM Co-Worker58 Apr 15, 2014 12:34 PM From my supervisor59 Apr 15, 2014 12:28 PM looked for next IACA conference60 Apr 15, 2014 12:25 PM Bob Conger and others61 Apr 15, 2014 12:23 PM My boss told me about it62 Apr 15, 2014 12:12 PM work63 Apr 15, 2014 12:07 PM Actuarial Society of South Africal meeting

Response Percent

Response Count

51.4% 14322.7% 6312.6% 355.4% 152.2% 65.8% 16

2783skipped question

Answer Options

5

2

answered question

Including this one, how many International Congresses of Actuaries have you attended?

4

This is the first.

More than 5


3

Response Percent

Response Count

27.4% 7644.4% 12370.8% 19629.6% 8251.6% 14336.5% 101


Answer Options

The program content related significantly to my work.

I was interested in the particular scientific program

answered question

Please select the top three reasons why you attended ICA 2014?

I was a speaker or moderator.

I needed to earn continuing education credits.

I liked the meeting location.

ICA 2014 Evaluation - Question 3

I wanted to network with my peers.

1-Poor 2 3 4 5-Excellent N/A Rating AverageResponse

Count3 6 40 122 101 4 4.15 2762 14 65 131 52 12 3.82 2763 6 45 122 94 5 4.10 2751 15 70 140 40 11 3.76 2772 7 36 112 109 10 4.20 2762 6 39 104 90 31 4.14 2721 5 21 91 159 0 4.45 2779 28 45 96 91 7 3.86 2764 13 39 90 73 52 3.98 2719 20 53 58 47 85 3.61 2722 2 12 49 133 74 4.56 272

12 24 42 70 73 54 3.76 27514 31 85 89 50 7 3.48 2761 4 26 90 97 54 4.28 2722 1 7 22 18 215 4.06 2650 7 52 113 73 23 4.03 2682 11 93 94 42 30 3.67 2724 16 68 56 31 94 3.54 2693 8 57 87 55 58 3.87 268


Answer Options

Lunches, Breaks and Breakfasts

Plenary Sessions

Town Square Poster Sessions

Closing Ceremony

Tuesday/Thursday Afternoon Tours

Availability of presentations in electronic format

Town Square Data Wallanswered question

Town Square Exhibits (Sponsors)


Welcome Reception at the National Museum of American

Networking Value

Town Square for Networking

Marriott Wardman Park

Educational Value

Optional Tours

Washington, D.C., as location

Please rate the following questions using the scale: 1 = Poor, 5=Excellent, or Not Applicable (N/A). Please mark only one response. Overall Evaluation of ICA 2014

Thursday Night Reception and Gala Dinner

Parallel Sessions

Opening Ceremony

Overall Evaluation of the Congress

Too Short Just Right Too Long Rating AverageResponse

Count4 245 23 2.07 2728 256 7 2.00 271

19 239 8 1.96 2666 223 35 2.11 264

2738

Please answer the following questions:

Length of Time for official announcements (opening,

Length of Time for Sessions (90 minutes)

skipped question


Length of Time for Social Events (Receptions, Gala,

Answer Options

answered question

Length of Time for Refreshment Breaks (30 minutes)

Response Percent

Response Count

23.9% 6353.8% 14216.3% 436.1% 16

26417

How do you prefer to ask questions in plenary sessions?

Questions submitted electronically in advance of the

Question Cards during the session

skipped question


Electronic Means (Meeting App, Twitter, etc.) during the

Answer Options

answered question

Aisle Microphones during the session

Yes No Rating Average Response Count

255 16 1.06 271259 9 1.03 268246 19 1.07 265253 16 1.06 269239 28 1.10 267

15274

7

Number Response DateOther (please specify) Categories

1 May 5, 2014 6:53 PM Quality was mixed. Networking was the greatest benefit.2 Apr 23, 2014 6:44 PM I liked the role the Scientific Committee gave to the IAA SectionsI am n3 Apr 22, 2014 3:38 PM Not enough discussion time during sessions; quality of sessions was mixed4 Apr 22, 2014 2:45 PM I would like to see more participation by the big firms5 Apr 17, 2014 11:42 PM It was hard to find a lot of good things in any particular discipline. It was very broad, but paid in some lack of depth6 Apr 16, 2014 8:56 AM Contents of some presentations not up to scratch7 Apr 16, 2014 3:10 AM .8 Apr 16, 2014 1:41 AM

9 Apr 15, 2014 9:09 PM Having more sessions related to more practical approaches to actuarial science would also be helpful.10 Apr 15, 2014 4:06 PM Cost of program is becoming excessive, especially when travel and hotel expenses are included.11 Apr 15, 2014 3:15 PM The program was much better than usual ... more useful.12 Apr 15, 2014 1:14 PM Too many of the precentations were not awaliable online13 Apr 15, 2014 12:34 PM The academic level of parallel sessions was too low.14 Apr 15, 2014 12:25 PM exceeded expectations15 Apr 15, 2014 12:20 PM Company travel budgets do not support attending continuing education sessions internationally.

I think the program needs a delicate balance of current events and the support of academic research, which becomes valuable years later

Overall ICA 2014 Scientific Program Evaluation Please answer yes or no to the following questions by marking only one response. Yes/No Answers

Overall, the program of the sessions was appropriate and

Would you recommend ICA 2018 to your colleagues?

Other (please specify)


Was ICA 2014 a valuable tool for continuing education?

skipped question

Answer Options

Overall, the program of the sessions met my

Were there adequate opportunities for participation?

answered question

Yes No Rating AverageResponse

Count201 58 1.22 259

70259

22

Number Response DateIf so, please explain:

Categories

1 May 5, 2014 6:53 PM Dependency uncertainty2 May 1, 2014 2:18 AM useful risk management perspective3 Apr 28, 2014 5:56 PM I learned a lot useful information about predictive modeling.4 Apr 28, 2014 5:35 PM description of risk appetite vs risk tolerance5 Apr 28, 2014 10:17 AM Longevity applications6 Apr 27, 2014 9:23 PM

7 Apr 25, 2014 5:37 PM

8 Apr 24, 2014 4:32 PM

9 Apr 23, 2014 6:44 PM

10 Apr 23, 2014 5:30 PM I lecturer and i will encourage my students to start writing FAP as soon as they obtain 2 professional passes11 Apr 23, 2014 2:37 PM Less models Theory and more marketing tools to know the market, especially on Latinomaerica!!!12 Apr 23, 2014 1:58 PM Health Analysis13 Apr 23, 2014 10:55 AM new actuarials methods14 Apr 22, 2014 10:04 PM New wasy of lo9oking at mortality inprovement and Post-level-term period mortality15 Apr 22, 2014 6:24 PM Concerning reinsurance modelling, and Poisson models for incidence.16 Apr 22, 2014 5:31 PM As an actuarial science teacher the presentation will go a long way to help my research and teaching .17 Apr 22, 2014 4:55 PM Markov chain Monte Carlo; new trends in Social insurance etc.

Experience from actuarial associations from other countries regarding licencing process of actuaries that they organisePractical actuarial work information, techniques, problems and challenges are inportant for me a theoretical mathematician who wants to do application in insuranceFirst of all Mr. Guntram Werther's advises, IAA advise and education committee’s guidelines, a lot of nuances from N, H, E and C tracks /use materials published in ica2014 website/, actuarial software etc.I am now particularly concerned with Education matters and in ERM.Partecipating in the Sessions devoted to these matters I had the opportunity to enrich my knowledge of these fields . For example.to hear the employers expectations in regard of the young actuaries ,the experience and the status of art in ERM


skipped question

Overall ICA 2014 Scientific Program Evaluation Please answer yes or no to the following questions by marking only one response. Yes/No Answers

Answer Options

I learned something new that I hope to apply back at my If so, please explain:

answered question

18 Apr 22, 2014 4:36 PM

19 Apr 22, 2014 4:08 PM modeling mortality with different techniques20 Apr 22, 2014 3:12 PM There were many issues that knew but in the exhibitions were explained more broadly21 Apr 22, 2014 2:59 PM Organizing, Communicating and Feedback22 Apr 22, 2014 2:45 PM

23 Apr 22, 2014 2:30 PM Practical implementation of risk management24 Apr 22, 2014 1:17 PM Development and use of Reserving models25 Apr 22, 2014 1:02 PM proffessional standards26 Apr 22, 2014 1:01 PM Social Security Information27 Apr 22, 2014 12:59 PM Choas theory28 Apr 22, 2014 12:42 PM Topics on longevity risk are very informative.29 Apr 22, 2014 11:36 AM Often very "inhomogeneous content and topics" within a parallel session - put together under one theme30 Apr 22, 2014 7:39 AM actuarial studies, products31 Apr 21, 2014 10:24 PM I found out about several papers to study of32 Apr 21, 2014 6:00 PM risk management33 Apr 21, 2014 12:20 PM How new products are developed based on more information and new trends34 Apr 17, 2014 11:42 PM the last plenary session was good35 Apr 16, 2014 8:59 PM Some technical, some soft skills36 Apr 16, 2014 3:32 PM

37 Apr 16, 2014 12:27 PM Professionalism and Education38 Apr 16, 2014 8:37 AM Predictive modelling techniques39 Apr 16, 2014 7:59 AM Mi40 Apr 16, 2014 7:37 AM Not setting unreasonable expectations about future improvements in life expectancy.41 Apr 16, 2014 7:30 AM How good heatlhly life leads to longivity and other complication that comes with it42 Apr 16, 2014 4:47 AM Establishing local actuarial society and IAA support.43 Apr 16, 2014 4:40 AM Annuity/life product development44 Apr 16, 2014 3:48 AM We could align some of the findings/suggestions of the Speakers in our Context.45 Apr 16, 2014 3:10 AM Content was too general because it had to appeal to a wide audience46 Apr 16, 2014 2:02 AM Yes, I learnt something new but don't think will be applicable in the near future.47 Apr 16, 2014 1:41 AM explaining what is in the three IAA books48 Apr 15, 2014 10:27 PM The stochastic modelling for analysing events in actuarial science field49 Apr 15, 2014 5:24 PM Learned some predictive modeling tips during evening networking.50 Apr 15, 2014 4:06 PM But I did get some interesting ideas that could be turned into solutions51 Apr 15, 2014 4:06 PM I was present only for one day--the day I spoke.52 Apr 15, 2014 3:15 PM There's no "N/A" response ... I'm retired.53 Apr 15, 2014 2:58 PM I thought the warranty session and the reserving methods backtesting was valuable.

everyone says we cannot afford health care costs but surely we could use the money it is costing to better care for patients especially old ones.

I didn't realise par business had a major prevelance in Europe. I have made connections in Denmark and Germany who I'm now in touch with in this regard.

Because in my country the actuarial development is in process, I found useful a lot information that I recieved during the sessions.

54 Apr 15, 2014 2:16 PM I didn't go to look womething for my work, but for my education55 Apr 15, 2014 1:54 PM Good stuff re IFRS, IAIS, ORSA56 Apr 15, 2014 1:41 PM predictive modeling57 Apr 15, 2014 1:39 PM Teaching actuarial mathematics in general58 Apr 15, 2014 1:34 PM As a student, I found the talk Uncertainty very informative and relevant to the module I am doing.59 Apr 15, 2014 1:14 PM How to handle lack of data60 Apr 15, 2014 12:47 PM Opening plenary session with a different view on longevity.61 Apr 15, 2014 12:44 PM In the UK they have an pool that tracks operational risk for 31 companies.62 Apr 15, 2014 12:39 PM Latest longevity thinking; inflation thinking; more confidence in MCMC63 Apr 15, 2014 12:28 PM update on mortality; DC fund issues64 Apr 15, 2014 12:25 PM sustainable65 Apr 15, 2014 12:23 PM Big data is not necessary the answer to all questions66 Apr 15, 2014 12:18 PM modeling approaches - tree structures & testing methods67 Apr 15, 2014 12:17 PM There were many interesting talks om life insurance.68 Apr 15, 2014 12:11 PM Importance of synthesis, thinking, not relying on models69 Apr 15, 2014 12:11 PM Recognised that the actuarial profession can claw back some of the ground lost to accountants70 Apr 15, 2014 12:07 PM I work in Export Credit Insurance, very specialised line of work, even the reserving methods do not fit

this line of business, must be adjusted, but overall the conference added to my knowledge.

Please ensure that speakers present in English or are prepared to use an interpreter.The gala dinner was delicious. Unfortunately the servers were in such a hurry that they spilled salad dressing and wine on me multiple times.Everything was organised according to or above my expectations.There is an emphasis to speak slowly at IAA committee meetings for the benefit of NNE speakers. Yet two of the general sessions has rapid fire deliveries - Paul Embrechts and the other professor. I hope everyone in the audience was able to keep pace.Thanks to the organizers and volunteers for a very interesting congress with excellent opportunities for networking.I think, maybe the only remark would be that the parallel sesions covered interesting topics of the same field at the same time. That way it was hard to chose what to miss. Maybe a schedule all week round for every section would make it easier to attend more sessions.

-more workshops could be appreciated- speakers could be asked to make a reminder of some technical results/theorems at the beginning of the presentation (attendees of a presentation don't

always use these results every day, for instance, life actuaries attending non-life présentations etc...) -more networking events, maybe on the evening, or even during the tours( for instance team plays etc..)

Of course, these are only suggestions for iCA2018, and not a criticism of ICA2014 which was very well planned anyway!

I was very sorry to be unable to partecipate in the second part of the ICA 2014.but I couldn't stay abroad for more ten days.(I took part in the IAA meetings) I liked the format and I appreciated much how some topics have been presented.Nevertheless some papers appeared much linked to the experience of the author country .I don't know if it is possible to encourage the submission of international -ranging papers.The actuarial profession has a common "wording" but sometimes the same word is reflecting different concepts.An example" sustainability of a social security system".Perhaps it could be useful the Scientific Committee explains a little bit the topic when launching a call for papers.I will wish that non english speakers will be given official interpreters because they could not articulate their views properly in englishTheory with more practical examples.For example, I enjoyed US Health System by Daniel Baylei. In order to incentive participation of Latinomarican Actuaries it is important to include translation service in Spanish.Need for speakers for be more interesting and communicate better in a non-technical languageFew European, collective pensioen related sessionsI will recommand that the life and non-life sessions are spread out equally during the whole week. Too many interesting life sessions were placed at the same time.I like the organisation and the sessions 's subjects.too many parallel session of same interest. i wish we have less or rerun some on different slots.The parallel sessions were not focused. Very different topics were presented at the same parallel session. This lead to many people leaving in the middle of the sessions.Overall, it was a good experience and I enjoyed it well.

The week was great. Perfect organization.It would be wonderful to lenghten the ICA week, add sessions and a social event e.g., a kind of gala dinner bis.

ICA 2014 Evaluation -- Question 9A -- Program Comments

I was very disappointed that a large number of presentations were NOT available online. While I understand that this is the perogative of the presenters, it would be very helpful to the audience if they were advised of this at the beginning of each presentation - it may make a difference in the style of the audience's note taking.Need more opportunity for topical group discussions; hard to network and locate people of interest; would have liked workshop sessions, and more interaction in breakout sessionsIt is neccesary to put translators yto the oficial languajes of the IAAIt would be desirable to have translations in other languages, but this drawback was personally plea for improving English language.Everything was excellent

Call for papers was closed too early; level of the content in parallel seesions should be better; last plenary speaker hard to understand; excursions partly not very well organised (get less than promised); treatment of accompanying persons was not adequate in terms of exclusion from lunchesYou crammed too many topics into each session. Three speakers getting 20 minutes didn't cover anything.1. It would have been useful if there was range of accommodation options other than the (expensive) conference venue - this would immensely help

academics like myself.2. For future ICAs, is it possible to circulate, call for papers, more widely, as I seemed to have missed the call this time.I think the parallel translations in the languages most prevalent among those attending the conference was necessary. at least in some parallel sessions.There were a few presentations in french or by french speaking individuals at an English speaking forum, this made it difficult to interact fully with them and a lot of time wasted trying to get points across.The formal programme was good and stimulating. The quality of the catering was very poor.

Although I thought the the congress was excellent, the distribution of the plenary could be better balanced, making a better distribution over the week.I think three speakers per session (if they each present a paper), may be too much information.I think the talks on the sessions should have been slightly shorter - not a lot, but perhaps 5min shorter each so that the overall session would be 15min shorter. There were many good talks, but I think there were too many bad talks as well. I was particularly very disappointed with some of the talks from the industry.ICA 2014 was organized in an excellent way. It was a pleasure to be a speaker.more topics on actuarial educationParallel Sessions could be better classifiedA wonderfully organized event. Please pay attention to political comments in presentations , and meals should/could be healthier!deadline for submission of presentations less far in advance.There were to many speakers who did not perform well. Then you waisted your time and it was fustrating.the music was way too loud thur night. I couldn't talk to peopleLoved it!there was no live translation from English to others languges like French or Spanish.separating life & non-life in two parts of the week was not a good idea, as it made choosing difficult: many interesting sessions at the same time in the beginning of the week and limited options in the 2nd half.

I did not like the split with life in first half and non-life in second half. The life section should have been equally speed during the entire week.I was a bit disappointed with the low number of attendees compared to ICA 2010, also with the small number of US delegates.For academics the costs (esp. the conference fee) were too highThe biggest problem relating to the congress was the 90 minute workshop format. If I wanted to attend one of the 3 sessions I was forced to sit through another hour of material that didn't interest me or forego seeing what I was interested in. It is better to have one session at at time rather than this forced grouping.It is better to select the presentation topics to cover the entire world, but this time most topics are relevant to the europion union countries...

ICA2014 was great!I recommend more of the same.Coming from Africa where Acturial practice is still, high inequality and high rate poverty is vital for congresses such as these ones to provide an insight designing product that appeal to customers in these markets.The level of many speakers was simply to low and the content they provided was of not value. The parallel sessions is a nice thought, however, it was in no way managed succesfully at ICA 2014. Often you found yourself in a session with 3 very different topics and speakers ranging from excellent to 'how much did you pay in order to pass your exams without actually passing them in order to get your degree?'. I hope that the people at ICA 2018 will be more sharp on judging who is to speak and if they chose parallel sessions actually enforce that they are indeed parallel. Otherwise another format need to be chosen. Perhaps it may be considered moving the deadline for paper submission 1.5 years in advance ahead. 1.5 years ahead is a very long time to look ahead.Some presentations were/are not available in electronic format which is not convenient at all.It was difficult for me to understand from speakers who were from non-English speaking countries and I happen to attend most of them. Most of the session topics were very scientific and theoretical. I would appreciate if few topics on current practice are included for the benefit of the attendees from actuarially developing.Not sure how to achieve it, but there ideally needs to be greater quality control of the parallel sessions (i.e. some that I attended were not of the standard one would expect for an international conference).The session topics sounded very interesting but while coming to the presentations, I felt like it diverted away from the topic making it lengthy and irrelevant at some point.

Second half of the week was much better than the first half, with more practical sessions and less focus on academic material - I hope this emphasis on practical sessions continues with future ICA meetings.

It would have been very helpful if the attendee list included delegate status (first half vs. second half of week, along with relevant actuarial designations or areas of practice).

Also would be great if the nametags had a person's country of citizenship in addition to country of residence, as these are often not the same.I will suggest that the speakers share more experience about the practical aspect of their jobs to enable participants from less developed countries like mine (Nigeria) learn more about the job.There was variable quality to the presentations. Presenters, particualrly from Latin American and Africa (less South Africa) could be provided assiatnce to make their presentations better

I believe that some of the presentations were poor. I.e. I believe there is a need for the scientific committee to have a closer review of what is being presented.The conference contributed very little to acturial science. The organizers and the Scientific Committee is not so much to blame for this since it rather reflects the sorrowful state that the area is in.Much better quality control needs to be exercised in future. Either the content was SO technical it was not understandable at all or the content was so thin/week that it was of no practical benefit. For most of the breakout sessions I went to, only 1 of the 3 speakers were acceptable. I understand their is a desire to have speakers from all over the world but someone does need to do a quality check on the content and my feeling was that none was done. In addition, if the session is going to be very technical then it should be advertised as such. Each session should indicate whether proir knowledge of the subject is needed or not (see UK conferences for how they do this)60 minute sessions would have been better. Professionalism case studies (Tuesday pm) were excellent.This meeting was SO much better than earlier ones ... more organized, more useful. The Thursday night even t was more relaxed without a big performance.

I know for some companies it is not very common to send their youg employees to this events, since there is a lot of rotation and they might think they are "wasting money", for that reason I would like to suggest on trying to get closer to the young actuarial students. I'm a 25 yo that got the chance for some lucky things that happened at my work, but I would have liked to know about this event before, since it really helped me learn a lot.A better mix of practical and academic than at past ICAsI liked the format and contents of the sessions. Anything else around the conference did not feel being a welcome guest, but the objective seemed to be to channel participants through the event with the least friction and minimum nuisance.I found too many of the sessions a rehash of stuff I've heard before - except for the few out of my field (property/cas)

The life/pension talks should be spread out over the entire week, as should the non-life talks. Cramping them up separately into two halves of the week means that I, as an actuary mainly interested in life/pensions, missed out on a lot of interesting talks during the first half of the week and, on top, found it difficult to find interesting presentations in the other half of the week. I guess it's to satisfy half-week attendees, but they will still miss out on a lot of talks, since no one can attend to talks at a time! Plus, shouldn't the program rather favor those who attend the entire week? Kind regards.The plenary speakers were excellent! I learned a great deal from their talks as well as the talks in the parallel session. The conference was very well-organized.

Fantastic mobile phone app! Well done. Some sessions a bit strange - not quite thematically coherent. But totally understand difficulties.

More speakers on human interaction with models! Cognitive biases in parameterisations, for example.For me personally, the focus was too academic. I'd rather hear more about different products companies are developing, how risk monitoring/hedging programs are actually being run, etc.

The parallel sessions were too mixed up. Often the three talks didn't fit into the same topic. Hence, I wasted a lot of time and missed out on good talks.thank youPlz update website with final program of papers & slides, recordings of sessions, and the list of winning papers.

There were some valuable sessions that made it worthwhile. However, there were several sessions that were overly academic and did not contain enough emphasis on the practical aspects of how to incorporate it into our businesses.The variety of attendees was very exciting and refreshing. I exceeded my goal of meeting people from all over the world.

General comment: I very nice congress.

Sicientific level:There were many interesting talks related to life insurance. During Monday and Tuesday, there were constantly 2-3 simultaneous sessions, that I would have liked to go to. I think that the scientific level for the life track talks was high, and I was a bit frustrated about missing interesting presentations. (I know that I can see them online, but that is not the same...) On the other hand, I was really disappointed about the scientific level for the remaining tracks (ASTIN, Health, AFIR, consulting), and it was really difficult to find interesting presentations during Thursday and Friday. I talked to several people with the same experience. As a consequence, I would propose to consider (again) the possibility of spreading the talks for each track over the entire week. Actuaries, who come from abroad, would typically stay for the hole week anyway. This would give a better possiblity for seing more talks related

to ones main area of interest.

Social events:I think that it is too much with two afternoons off for social events + Friday afternoon off (end of the conference). I would suggest to use more time for presentations and possibly fewer parellel sessions at the same time.The Speakers Room was poorly equipped and far too small.Presentation halls were noisy.

ICA 2014 Evaluation - Question 9B -- Logistics Comments

All the rooms in the Marriot hotel totally lack of natural light. That was not nice, especially for the breaks (breakfast, coffee and lunch). To live under neon light for full day is not optimal. A big hall with natural light as we had in Cape Town would be nice. I hope this will be the case in Berlin.In the future, it could be useful to inform people living in hotels which are not hosting the events (Gala, etc.) that buses would be available for their transportation.I believe that it is neccesary a reunion with bursary people ti have the opportunity to know each other during the week of the congress.The food and beverage cost was exhorbitant and the quality mediocre, in fact the breakfast pastries were generally stale. we waited around about an hour to get moving for The hightlights tour then the guide said we did not have enough time to see all the sights...too many monuments...could have had entertainment more intellectually stimulating than bands for opening and closing cermonies (preferred 2nd band to 1st band)...guess money was running out as hotel cost too much. Having the scientific sessions recorded is good as I can get a chance to listen later. The bus driver that took my group to the Sunday reception would not drive up to the front door AND let us off on the street to run in the rain in the water...poor supervision...disappointing turn out by US actuaries..does not seem to engage individual actuaries as the olympics for actuaries even with lots of advertising...only American History music man realised we wanted to talk and kept the volume low (He should get a big bonus) , others music too loud especially at dinner.1. It would have been useful if there was range of accommodation options other than the (expensive) conference venue - this would immensely help

academics like myself.2. For future ICAs, is it possible to circulate, call for papers, more widely, as I seemed to have missed the call this time.The gala dinner should have been organized in a much nicer place: Versailles castle orangerie in 2006, nice castle is South Africa in 2010, and ... an

old-fashioned hotel room without Windows in 2014!You should have offered awards for research papers as usual, instead of giving awards to yourselves (the organizing committee).The formal programme was good and stimulating. The quality of the catering was very poor.Hotel staff was unfriendly and food quality poor. Apart from that the conference was good.Washington was a nice city. However we stood in line for 2 hours to get through security when arriving in the airport. This is not acceptable. Venues for conferences must have adequate logistics with good airplane connections and acceptable airports.Closed town square during sessions hampered very much networking and attention to poster sessionsthe hotel was VERY EXPENSIVE!!the music was way too loud thur night. I couldn't talk to peopleThe App was great but I only used the notes function for a session until it would not scroll up one the visible page was full. It was also frustrating that I could not always get the presentation that was being used and that the link seemed to drop frequently.There was far too little seating in the town hall to sit down and eat Thursday lunch--very poor planning given the number of people registered. At the gala dinner, there was not enough wine. The waiters rudely told us that we were only allowed to have one bottle of red and white wine per table. They also rushed us away from the table. I thought the closing ceremony was too long. It was a waste of our time to have to listen to the band play when everyone was eager to head home.

The Gala Dinner on Thursday night stood out as it was expensive, wasn't consistent with the 'special' nature of Gala Dinners at previous ICA's. The waiters were clearly on a time clock to get dinner over with, and pushed us and started clearing away entire tables while some of us were still eating.Need to improve town hall format for networking, so provide more tables. Smithsonian was great but hard to use for networking.The box lunches were awful - only water (no options) and no cookie or dessert. The optional tour i paid for was cancelled. The city tour we took was

the worst tour I've ever been on - lousy guide and ill-equipped bus. Poorly organized.The food at the social events was poor quality and not enough healthy (vegie or low cholesterol) options. Had been to a similar CAS event at the Natural History Museum.Preliminary info on program was very poor.Gala dinner quality was poor; plus it did not allow chatting (too noisy music)

The venue quality was poor. Laptops and podiums are no longer used in my country and all speakers have a screen on the floor, a stage and a clicker. Sound travelled from other rooms and the fixed mike was culturally a bad idea. People from less assertive backgrounds never got to ask a question

because the same people from more assertive cultures monopolised the mike. We use a roving mike in our conferences. Some speakers used the time to push their company or product which is totally unacceptable professionally. There was very little time to provide meaningful insights in 23 minutes! There were too many sessions in parallel to each other and plenty of time wasted on things like the opening ceremony. The wifi didn't work properly and the app for blackberry didn't work well at all.Too much money spent on "fluff." No need for expensive movie on upcoming meeting. No need for band. Cost of Thursday night Gala dinner was excessive. The purpose of the meeting is educational, not to show off. A format that does not require participants to travel long distances and stay in hotels should be considered--perhaps attend through video means.No-one at Marriott Wardman knew what was happening at Omni; therefore, they could not help me find my way to a meeting in Omni. (I should have been more careful to find out the location of my meeting.)The conference ended rather abruptly. I lost out on meeting some people I planned to meet on Friday, like the IAA desk found they had left or something like that. But now I know, will plan better next time.Gala dinner was somewhat too quick ....The dinner part of the Gala dinner was way too short. Plates were removed before you were finished eating and there was only one glass of wine. If you

know Fawlty Towers it felt very much like Basil in the kitchen with Manuel desperately trying to serve ... Too bad

The app was close to useless on a windows phone since it was essential a webbrowser that on a regularly basis died. Too bad. But the rest was great! Good job! :-)Marriott was a really bad location! and the gala dinner was awful, way to stressful. I would rather have gone out to a restaurant for those money. Some of the sessions where quite good, but I did never understand how they were grouped. It did not make sense to me, so I kept changing room during

session. I’m looking forward to Berlin though.

Yes No Rating AverageResponse

Count182 91 1.33 273168 24 1.13 192

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Meeting App

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Did you use the meeting app?If so, did you find it useful?

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appendix o delegate post-event survey responses · delegate post-event survey responses . response...

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