The papers from the 26th UK Insurance Economists' Conference were:

The UK liability insurance market: the OFT review revisited
This paper describes how the OFT carried out its major study of the UK liability insurance market (2003), some of the problems encountered, and the main findings
Tim Roberson, Office of Fair Trading

Use of credit and arrears on debt among low-income families in the UK
Data from the UK Families & Children Survey is used to describe the sources of credit used by low-income households, and the patterns of arrears and defaults. The paper explores differences between household types and the persistence of arrears on specific forms of credit.
Sarah Bridges and Richard Disney, University of Nottingham

Measuring competition in UK general insurance markets
Is the UK general insurance market competitive? This paper will examine market data and use an innovative technique to assess competitiveness.
Leigh Drake and Stephen Diacon, Nottingham University Business School

The determinants of credit ratings in the UK insurance industry
What factors affect the credit ratings of UK insurers (life, general, composite)? The paper uses panel data from A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's, and also considers the factors influencing whether companies have ratings.
Philip Hardwick, Bournemouth University

Providing security in pensions - a critical analysis of UK Government policy
What is the nature of security in the promise from the three pillars of UK pension (state, employer, personal) provision? The paper considers government policy and argues that the outcome is a very limiting notion of security.
Patrick Ring, Glasgow Caledonian University

Outsourcing and competitive strategy in the UK financial services sector
Out-sourcing is now a major part of the strategy of many UK financial services firms; but why, and what are the likely effects? This paper includes evidence from interviews in the UK and in India.
Chris Odindo, Nottingham University Business School

The quantification of operational risk for general insurance companies
This paper is produced by a working party of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, and addresses the increasingly topical issue of operational risk, important both for business success and for meeting regulatory requirements.
Michael Tripp, Watson Wyatt

UK annuity rates and pension replacement ratios, 1957-2002
This paper examines the pricing of annuities in the UK from 1957-2002, and asks whether they were fairly priced. It goes on to compute the pension obtainable from different savings schemes, focusing on what individuals achieve as the ratio of pension to pre-pension income.
Edmund Cannon and Ian Tonks, University of Bristol

Modelling pensioner units: a model of pension income
This paper works from a model that can be used to identify why the pensions of single pensioners differ. Further modeling is presented, which models the pension income of couples and widowed pensioners.
Federico Di Pace, Pensions Policy Institute

A copy of all the papers from the 2004 Conference can be obtained from:
Jennifer Howis
CRIS
Nottingham University Business School
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
NOTTINGHAM
NG8 1BB

Please enclose a cheque for £50 payable to"The University of Nottingham"