Announcement

• The Academy joins the rest of the nation in honoring the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Recent Events

• Accountability, responsibility, and excellence are central to ensuring that the U.S. actuarial profession is and remains strong and effective, Academy President Tom Terry told an audience of 360 attendees at the Actuaries’ Club of Hartford/Springfield’s May 21 meeting in Hartford. “Accountability means assuring the public, including regulators, that individually and collectively, we’re qualified to do the work expected of us,” said Terry. “Responsibility means giving back to the public what they expect of us in terms of sharing our expertise and perspective on matters of important public policy that affect so many Americans. Excellence means maintaining an environment of continuous and relevant learning so we’re all appropriately up-to-date on cutting-edge practice.”
• The Academy’s May 23 webinar, “The Latest Updates on IAA Insurance Accounting, Regulation, Enterprise and Financial Risk Activities,” featured presentations by William Hines, vice president of the Academy’s Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council, and Dave Sandberg, former Academy president and former council vice president. Tom Herget moderated the webinar. Hines and Sandberg updated attendees on the International Actuarial Association’s (IAA) recent work on insurance accounting and regulatory issues, including International Standards of Actuarial Practice and International Actuarial Notes, as well as the “Purple Book.” View the webinar slides.

Opportunities to Learn

• The guest speakers for the Academy’s May 29 “State of Exchanges” webinar will provide attendees with insights on the functioning of the state-run health exchanges. In this “Academy Capitol Forum: Meet the Experts” lunchtime webinar, Carrie Banahan, executive director of the Office of the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, and Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, will discuss the current status of these exchanges, their notable successes and challenges to date, and issues that may arise in the coming months. The webinar will take place from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Learn more and register now
• Get answers and build your understanding of professional requirements for actuarial communications in the next professionalism webinar! Join an interactive dialogue about actuarial communications with the experts. The Council on Professionalism’s June 26 webinar, “Disclosure in the Real World: ASOP No. 41 Case Studies,” is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET. Participants will learn how current actuarial communications requirements apply in practical situations under actuarial standard of practice No. 41, Actuarial Communications. Featured panelists Patricia Matson, chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), and Al Beer, former ASB chairperson, will present and discuss case studies addressing the broad application of ASOP No. 41 in various practice areas. Learn more and register now.
• Do you wish to qualify to sign the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) annual statement actuarial opinions, but haven’t met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the U.S. Qualification Standards? Obtain the required basic and continuing education at the 2014 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, which will take place Nov. 10-13 in Arlington, Va. Learn more and register now.

Academy in the News

• Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello was quoted in The Miami Herald, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Charlotte Observer, and in numerous other media outlets regarding the uncertainty insurers face in 2015 rate filings. “Although insurers will have some information regarding the risk profile of their 2014 enrollees, such as their distribution by age and gender, available health status information is still very limited,” Uccello said.
• The Academy’s issue brief, Drivers of 2015 Health Insurance Premium Changes, was praised as “a helpful explainer of 2015 premium rate drivers” in the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms blog. The brief, which provides an overview of the factors underlying general premium rate setting and highlighting the major drivers behind why 2015 premiums could differ from those in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act, was also reported on by Insurance & Financial Advisor, Health Policy News Stand, and by other media outlets.
• Academy Senior Pension Fellow Donald Fuerst provided pointers for understanding the required annual funding notices that pension plan participants receive in a column that ran in The Olympian newspaper.
• The Academy’s work on the risks of public pension plan funding was cited in a Journal-Star (Lincoln, Neb.) story. Visit the Public Pension Plans Actuarial E-Guide to view the Academy’s work on the funded status of state and local government-sponsored pension plans.
• Health Care Costs Work Group Chairperson Audrey Halvorson’s explanation of risk pools was carried by The Yuma Sun. Arizona leads the nation in the percentage of children who enrolled through the federal marketplace, but had fewer enrollees than average in every other age group.

Public Policy Activities

• The Life Illustrations Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Life Actuarial Task Force on the American Council of Life Insurers proposal for an Actuarial Guideline for Indexed Universal Life Illustrations.

Reminder

• Submit your Academy nominations for the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award and the Jarvis Farley Service Award. The Myers award recognizes actuaries in public service who have made an exceptional contribution to the common good. The Farley award is given to Academy members whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession.

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