2016 Fall #21
The answer provided in the exam report to part a.i. refers to the carried reserves being within the appointed actuary's range of unpaid claim estimates.
My question is, is there a meaningful difference between the term "reserves" and "unpaid claim estimates?"
I ask because I answered the question with the justification that the carried reserves were within the appointed actuary's range of reasonable reserves, which I feel is equivalent to the answer provided in the exam report.
Comments
No, in my opinion and in this context, reserves and unpaid claim estimates are referring to the same thing (covers case reserves, IBNR, LAE reserves).
I guess if you wanted to be really nuanced about it, reserves are an actual dollar amount that you would find on a company's balance sheet, and an unpaid claim estimate is going to be the estimate of what those reserves should be. Different actuaries may come up with different estimates. In reality, a company can carry more or less reserves than an actuary recommends.