Approximation of stochastic insurer balance-sheet results using signatures of economic scenarios

Abstract

In the insurance industry, Asset and Liability Management (ALM) models are key tools for numerous applications, including Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) computation and asset allocation optimization. However, their use often entails a significant computational cost, especially when a large number of sensitivities or stressed balance-sheet evaluations must be performed. In this work, we propose an approximation framework for the outputs of an ALM model, such as the Value In Force or the Best Estimate, based on the theory of path signatures. More precisely, the proposed approach consists of approximating ALM outputs by a linear combination of signature terms derived from input economic scenarios. We show that the resulting surrogate is easy to calibrate, essentially through regularized linear regression, and exhibits strong predictive performance while drastically reducing computational costs. We further investigate its robustness under changes in the distribution of economic scenarios by considering variations in the parameters of the underlying model of risk factors while the surrogate model is kept fixed. These results make the proposed approach particularly suitable for large-scale sensitivity analyses and fast balance-sheet evaluations in practical actuarial applications.