Our discussions today will concern Subject A: Risk Theory, in particular the overall risk involved in operating an insurance concern. 7 papers have been handed in to the Colloquium on this subject.

To be quite candid, the referee would like to say that only one of these papers really treats the whole of the topic foreseen, and this is the paper by Mr. Colin M. Stewart (U.K.): The Assessment of Solvency. The other papers treat different special practical sides of the problem as well as general risk theoretical questions. One of the papers, that of Mr. Brichler, could have been attributed to Subject B as well as to Subject A, but it has been decided to take it up for treatment today.

Mr. Stewart delivers a lot of interesting points, which, I may say, take into account the solvency aspect as it looks to the supervisory authorities much more than has been done within the ASTIN discussions earlier. This, of course, is very related to the fact that regional as well as Common Market discussions have resulted in or will result in legislative rules for judging the solvency of insurance concerns, which rules will have great practical importance in the future. Mr. Stewart stresses the point that in case of non-life concerns it is the business on the books and its future contracted periods, short time business to be signed before judgment can be practically undertaken, claims reported, claims occurred but not yet reported, as compared with free reserves available that really decide the matter of sovency.