Seth M. Azria opens the collection with an essay on the theory of life insurance and the major types of insurance policies. As he explains, “No [insured] member will know in advance whether they will receive more compensation than the premiums paid or whether they will merely be paying for the losses of others in the group…Sharing economic risk in this fashion is called the principle of risk distribution.” Carolyn Sprague moves on to describe the challenges insurance companies face in maintaining sufficient capital and their resulting endeavors to increase equity capital and disperse risk across an array of financial markets. Sprague also illuminates the issues surrounding the insurance of pure risks such as terrorist attacks, catastrophic events, and pandemics, all of which provide limited historical data with which to model an informed risk assessment. Heather Newton provides an overview of the financial strategies of insurance companies, and she details the components of insurance company income, investment strategies, and risk management techniques. In her essay on risk theory and credibility, Sprague bridges the overarching managerial concerns of the insurance industry with the specific duties and responsibilities that actuaries have. While risk theory examines the risks incurred to the insurer and to the overall insurance portfolios, credibility theory deals with calculated risk and the maintenance of competitive premium rates.