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Recent Academy Activity, April 27-May 1, 2015

Earn CE Credit Anytime, Anywhere With the Academy’s New Actuarial eLearning Center

The Academy has launched a new professionalism online tool—the first module in our Actuarial eLearning Center.

The Actuarial eLearning Center provides Academy members with an innovative way to earn continuing education (CE) professionalism credits as described in the U.S. Qualification Standards, and, for the first time in our professionalism education offerings, an opportunity to test your knowledge and obtain a certificate documenting CE credit earned.

The first module, “Understand the Code of Professional Conduct,” provides an introductory course on professionalism along with an optional final exam. Read more about the course here.

New Report on Actuaries’ Perceptions of Key Ethical Issues Facing the Profession

A new Academy report, “Key Ethical Concerns Facing the Actuarial Profession: Perceptions of Members of the American Academy of Actuaries,” highlights the results of an ethics survey of more than 3,300 Academy members.

The Academy, as the home for actuarial professionalism in the United States, committed to this comprehensive survey in order to provide an opportunity for members to identify actuarial ethical concerns. This self-examination gives credence to the profession’s desire to self-regulate and to serve the public, an obligation born out of Precept 1 of the Code of Professional Conduct and the core of the Academy’s mission.

As a preview of the full report, the Academy notes that the top potential ethical issue facing actuaries is “responding to pressure from principals and/or management to select inappropriate assumptions used in pricing or reserving.”

The Academy plans to use the survey data as a diagnostic tool to develop professionalism materials including future eLearning modules for the Actuarial eLearning Center to further the Academy’s unique mission to establish, maintain, and enforce high professional standards of actuarial qualification, practice, and conduct on behalf of the U.S. actuarial profession.

Recently Released

  • In the May/June issue of Contingencies, read about the past, present, and future of private long-term care insurance; one option to address Social Security’s financing troubles; and a Tradecraft piece on how companies are using actuarial managed services.

  • In the April issue of Actuarial Update, read a letter from the Academy’s first president that still resonates today, learn more about qualifications for in-house actuaries, and nominate a fellow member for one of the Academy’s prestigious annual awards.

Upcoming Events

  • International health care costs: Join the Academy’s Health Practice Council and the International Actuarial Association (IAA) at 9:30 a.m. EDT on May 13 for “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: South Africa and the United States.” This second webinar in a series will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that both South Africa and the United States have experienced as they’ve worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. No fee is charged for Academy members or members of the IAA’s health section.

  • Date changed—International insurance regulation: Join us at 2 p.m. EDT on May 22—note the new date and time—for “International Insurance Regulation 101,” an Academy Capitol Forum webinar focused on the important international regulatory role of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). The IAIS is the standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards, and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector internationally. Deputy Secretary General of the IAIS George Brady will provide an overview of the IAIS and its activities, and help participants navigate the acronym alphabet soup surrounding international insurance regulation.

  • Save the date: As mentioned above, the Academy has released a report summarizing the findings of an ethics survey of more than 3,300 Academy members. Join us at a May 22 webinar, in which Academy professionalism experts, including the vice president of professionalism, will discuss the survey content and specific ethical concerns identified by members as important to the profession.

Registration Now Open for the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar

  • The 2015 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) and Workshops, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga.

    Attend the 2015 CLRS to stay current with industry developments and learn from expert analysis of innovation in reserving. For more information on attendee registration, please email arc@casact.org or visit the CLRS website.

Reminder: Don’t Miss the 2015 LHQ Seminar

  • Registration continues for the 2015 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 9-12 in Arlington, Va. (metropolitan Washington, D.C.). See why so many of your peers find this seminar the most succinct and effective way to acquire the required basic education and continuing education to assist in being qualified to sign NAIC annual statement life and health actuarial opinions.

    This seminar is the primary source of instruction for actuaries who wish to be qualified to issue actuarial opinions for either the NAIC Life and A&H Annual Statement or the NAIC Health Annual Statement but may not have met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS).

Public Policy Activities

  • The ERM/ORSA Committee sent comments to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors on its draft issues paper Conduct of Business Risk and its Management.

  • The Solvency Committee submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment for its hearing on “Examining Insurance Capital Rules and FSOC Process.”

  • The Financial Reporting Committee submitted comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board on its proposed accounting standards update, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Disclosures about Hybrid Financial Instruments with Bifurcated Embedded Derivatives.”

  • The Solvency Committee submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance for its hearing on “The Impact of International Regulatory Standards on the Competitiveness of U.S. Insurers.”

  • Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health for its hearing on alternatives to the individual and employer mandates under the Affordable Care Act.

  • The Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council and Financial Reporting Committee sent comments to the Federal Insurance Office on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) loss recognition testing and Insurance Core Principle 14 current estimates.

Note: Some links in this email go to external websites and may require registration. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites. Links may expire.