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Recent Academy Activity, Dec.16–20, 2013

Announcements

  • Season’s greetings from the American Academy of Actuaries! In lieu of postage to mail holiday cards, the Academy has made a donation to the Capital Area Food Bank on behalf of its membership and staff.

Reminder

  • Membership dues payments are due Jan. 1, 2014. 2014 membership dues remain at the same level as 2013. If you haven’t paid your 2014 dues, click here to conveniently pay online before Jan. 1. Log in now to pay your dues, print your invoice, or to update your profile.

Member Alert

  • General Insurance Issues: During the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Fall 2013 National Meeting, which ran from Dec. 15 to 18 in Washington, the Academy was a strong presence on the policy and professionalism fronts. NAIC’s executive committee and plenary adopted its 2014 committee charges and took a number of other actions relevant to the Academy’s work. Log in to read the full alert.

Professionalism Activities

  • At the fall NAIC meeting, the Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF) requested assistance from the Academy’s Committee on Qualifications (COQ). John Morris, Chairperson of the COQ, accepted the two charges:

    • Recommend to the Principle-Based Reserving Implementation (EX) Task Force whether to require actuarial certification for each actuarial responsibility (e.g., NAIC staff, regulators, appointed actuaries, etc.) in PBR. Consider guidance developed by the Appointed Actuary (A/B/C) Subgroup of the actuarial task forces.
    • Determine whether specific continuing education requirements should be established for PBR actuaries and whether those should be regulatory requirements or actuarial professional requirements.
  • The Council on Professionalism (COP) developed the discussion paper, with the assistance of the Committee on Professional Responsibility, “The Application of Precept 13 of the Code of Professional Conduct,” to help actuaries better understand their obligation to take action if they come across actuarial work that appears to materially violate the Code. The paper includes an infographic that provides an overview of the Precept 13 process triggered by knowledge of “an apparent, unresolved, material violation of the Code” and an appendix that features several hypothetical scenarios related to Precept 13 violations.
  • The Academy’s professionalism breakfast on Dec. 15 at the NAIC’s fall meeting provided a forum for the Academy’s ongoing dialogue with regulators on professionalism topics. The breakfast, hosted by the Council on Professionalism, allowed professionalism representatives to directly address the most pressing regulator concerns on professionalism topics.
  • Academy professionalism representatives answered questions during the Dec. 14 meeting of the NAIC Joint Qualified Actuary (A/B/C) Subgroup.


Public Policy Activities

  • The Health Practice Council submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 20 in response to its proposed rule regarding benefit and payment parameters for 2015.
  • Academy representatives participated in sessions and made presentations at the fall NAIC meeting on Dec. 14 and 15, including:
    • An updated table and a final report and actuarial guideline on a new individual disability table;
    • An update on work to complete the long-term care principle-based approach model; and
    • A presentation concerning the Academy’s role in a project on underwriting risk charges in NAIC P/C risk-based capital being researched by the CAS Working Party on Dependency and Calibration.
  • NAIC’s Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee adopted the Academy/SOA’s group long-term disability valuation table and actuarial guideline.

Opportunities to Learn

  • Usher in the New Year with the Jan. 2, 2014, Academy webinar, “IFRS Update: Where in the World Are We Going With Insurance Contracts?” Are you wondering where international accounting is headed? During this webinar, presenters will provide a discussion of the Academy’s comments on key issues in the International Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standard Board exposure drafts on insurance contracts; an overview of concepts and concerns from globally influential bodies on those exposure drafts; and a look at the direction of global convergence. Register online.
  • Registration is now open for the Jan. 16, 2014, Academy Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts webinar, “Eighteen Months After Biggert-Waters: Is the NFIP Staying Afloat?” We will examine the current state of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after the passage of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Experts will discuss how the NFIP’s financial stability was affected by Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, as well as the implementation of Biggert-Waters, and legislation that Congress is considering to further modify the program. Register online.

Academy in the News

  • The Academy’s work on Medicaid expansion was referenced in a column that appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on Dec. 17.
  • The Academy’s letter responding to an Internal Revenue Service request for comments regarding mortality tables was featured in BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter.

Recently Released Publications

  • December Actuarial Update:  Read about Academy efforts to educate members on their professionalism responsibilities, the Academy’s new membership director, the new chairman of  the Actuarial Standards Board, and much more.
  • Winter Enrolled Actuaries Report: Read about the Academy’s year-end discussion of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the recently released Measuring Pension Obligations issue brief, updated Social Security and IRS amounts for 2014, and ways to get Form 5500 informational copies.

New Publications

  • You can now pre-order the 2013 Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Law Manual and the 2014 Life and Health Law Manual. Updated annually, the Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Law Manual is scheduled to be released soon. It can be ordered online or by mail/fax. The Life and Health Valuation Law Manual, also updated annually, is scheduled to be released in early 2014. It also can be ordered online or by mail/fax.

Publication Note

  • This Week will not be published next week. Publication will resume on Friday, Jan. 3, 2014.

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