Allan Kaufman Maxims

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Allan Kaufman Maxims

• 10) Don't stop till you see the dusty files.
  Ok, sometimes dirty files.
• 9) Never create more triangles than there are
  claims in a dataset. ("The Kaufman Rule").
• 8) If it looks wrong it probably is.
• 7) Forget what you learned about underwriters in
  school. UWs aren't the ones stopping the bad
  insurance company from writing your poor
  grandmother who suddenly needs glasses. UWs WANT
  to write business. It's the actuaries role to
  apply the brakes.
• 6) Spilling water on the floor and nobody falls
  doesn't make good risk management.

• Bold applies to soft market some literary
  license taken

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Allan Kaufman Maxims

• 5) The body soon forgets pain - so do markets,
  but quicker.
• 4) Make sure you've worked out your cost of
  capital before getting into the lift with the CEO
  - it might not be a dream. (recent London
  addition)
• 3) You have to look at all the angles - even the
  ones greater than 180.
• 2) One in a million events do occasionally occur.
  But when two of them occur, it's time to check
  your model. (originally Chap Cook)
• 1) Glass, China, and Reputation are easily
  cracked and never well mended. (This last one
  was actually said by Ben Franklin but easily
  applies to Allan and his continual
  professionalism and service to the actuarial
  community)