Academy at Summer NAIC Meeting

• The Council on Professionalism held its regular early-morning breakfast forum with regulators, discussing “Actuarial Professionalism: Promoting Accountability,” at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Summer 2014 National Meeting in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 16. At the breakfast, Academy President-Elect Mary D. Miller further discussed the Academy’s new draft attestation template (see below) and invited regulators to provide feedback. The Academy plans to make a template available for voluntary use by actuaries to demonstrate their compliance with U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS) for signing NAIC annual statement actuarial opinions for life, health, and property & casualty. The breakfast also included an update from Patricia Matson, chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board, on recent developments on actuarial standards of practice; insight from John Purple, a member of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, regarding complying with Precept 13; and information on the Academy’s more robust discipline notices. Look for full coverage in the August Actuarial Update, which will be published next week.
• The Academy also invites all to review and give input on its draft attestation template that was presented to regulators at the NAIC Summer 2014 National Meeting. In addition to providing regulators with a concise demonstration of qualifications under the USQS, the template may also provide actuaries with a new way to demonstrate relevant credentials and qualifications in a standardized, straightforward, and documentable manner. Comments will be considered through Oct. 17, 2014. Please submit your comments through the Academy website.
• As the NAIC Summer 2014 National Meeting wrapped up, representatives of Academy councils, committees, and work groups made additional presentations:
• Mike Angelina, the Academy’s vice-president for casualty, along with Dale Hall and Steve Kolk, provided the Climate Change and Global Warming Working Group with a presentation on the ongoing development of the Actuaries Climate Index and the Actuaries Climate Risk Index.
• Senior Life Fellow Nancy Bennett made a presentation  to the Investment Risk-Based Capital Working Group on C-1 factors for corporate bonds, on behalf of the C-1 Work Group.
• For a review of the NAIC meeting, including the highlights of the meeting, as well as a detailed account of Academy presentations and reports, log in to the Academy’s membership page and visit “Cross-Practice Alerts.”

Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, Nov. 13–14

• Super Lawyer Steven Salky and political satirist Mark Russell have been added to the speaker lineup for the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum. Sen. Ben Nelson is already a confirmed speaker. Russell will perform his unforgettable brand of piano-accompanied political satire during the Nov. 13 dinner featuring presentation of the 2014 Robert J. Myers Service Award. Salky, a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, will serve as a panelist for the Nov. 14 professionalism plenary session that will examine the requirements of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act and the risks potentially posed to actuaries (and others) who interact with congressional staff and/or employees of the executive branch on public issues. Learn more and register.

Academy Regular Director Elections Open on Aug. 25

• Starting Monday, Aug. 25, members can vote for up to three regular directors. Please check your email for a message from electionadmin@intelliscaninc.net for your online ballot. Members will receive their ballot information on Monday via email or, for those without email addresses, by regular mail sent on Monday. We encourage you to vote! To learn more about this year’s candidates, visit the Academy Board Election Center.

Public Policy Activities

• The Asset Adequacy Analysis Committee released for exposure a draft practice note on current practices in asset adequacy analysis and testing. 

News from the Actuarial Standards Board

• The ASB has approved proposals to revise ASOP No. 5, Incurred Health and Disability Claims, and ASOP No. 21, Responding to or Assisting Auditors or Examiners in Connection with Financial Statements for All Practice Areas. Revisions to ASOP No. 5 will be drafted by a task force of the ASB Health Committee, while ASOP No. 21 revisions will be drafted by a task force of the ASB General Committee. Exposure drafts for both revisions are scheduled to be reviewed by the ASB in 2015.

Opportunities to Learn and Earn CE

• Last chance! Are you ready to implement the new life principle-based reserve requirements? Delve into basic and advanced implementation topics at the “Implementing VM-20: A Practical Approach” seminar on Aug. 27 in New York. Basic sessions will provide an overview of how to perform a VM-20 calculation, while advanced sessions will focus on more complex VM-20 requirements. Learn more and register now.
• Do you wish to sign the NAIC annual statements of actuarial opinion, but haven’t met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the USQS? Obtain the required minimum 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

• The Health Practice International Task Force’s new issue brief, “Curbing the High Cost of Diabetes,” received coverage in the widely read D.C. media outlet Politico. The brief provides a perspective on the increase of diabetes prevalence and diabetes-related health spending internationally.
• Solvency Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Brill was quoted in Best’s News Service’s coverage of a special NAIC International Capital Standards Forum held at the NAIC Summer 2014 National Meeting. The story focused on the challenges posed by different approaches to insurance risk-based capital standards.
• The Academy was featured in LifeHealthPro’s coverage of long-term care issues at the NAIC Summer 2014 National Meeting. LifeHealthPro reported on an Academy presentation on models of principles-based reserving (PBR) for LTCI providers. Its coverage of changes to the NAIC’s LTCI Model Regulation noted that, every year, “an insurer subject to the regulation changes would have to get a member of the American Academy of Actuaries to certify that the rates for currently marketed LTCI products were high enough to cover anticipated costs under moderately adverse conditions.”

Newly Released

• August ASB Boxscore: Read about the approval of a second exposure draft on principle-based reserves, a request for comments on ASOPs related to public pension plan funding and accounting, and other recent ASB activities.

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