The measurement of cholesterol in the skin (SC), or "skin sterol," has been put forward as a candidate to eliminate the need for testing blood for lipids and avoiding the inconvenient requirement for examinees to fast prior to the test. This edition of Risk Matters examines the claims for this test and its potential for cardiovascular risk assessment.

The Heritage Lab ID slip contains a series of health questions directed to the insurance applicant. On January 1, 2010, we began printing the answers to these questions on the lab report along with the sample testing results. The questions are reported in the same fashion that they are asked on the ID slip.

In early 2005, Heritage Labs discovered that there was a small, but very vocal group of applicants that tested positive for cotinine but claimed not to use tobacco products. Responding to this discovery, they analyzed the specimens from this group of applicants by GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry), which revealed that a fraction of these applicants were negative for cotinine. These were some of the first validated examples of false-positive results obtained by the screening assay, a historically sensitive and specific test. Take note: no test, regardless of its nature, is 100% sensitive and specific, yielding no false positive or false negatives.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) wants an actuarial consulting firm to help it study the effects of a proposed shift to a principles-based approach to valuations.

The shift would lead to use of principles-based analysis of the reserves for life insurance products.

Report from The Geneva Association.

A majority of large U.S. employers are planning to change their 2011 health care benefit programs in the wake of both health care reform and expected large health care cost increases, according to a new survey by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH).