Last Chance for Extra-Early Discount for Academy’s 50th Anniversary Celebration

Today is the last day to get the specially discounted registration for extra-early registrants for the Academy’s 50th Anniversary celebration during the 2015 Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, to be held Nov. 12-13 in Washington.

Complementing the comprehensive lineup of public policy sessions, the Academy has added new, facilitated professionalism and business skills programs this year. At a Nov. 13 professionalism plenary session modeled after the NPR program “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me!” the Academy will offer its own version of the popular public radio show featuring a game-show style format in which a panel of members will engage on actuarial ethical issues. Lively audience participation will be encouraged and facilitated by ProEthics.

And in the spirit of Saturday Night Live, an additional option this year is a highly interactive breakout session to hone your business skills through interactive, small-group exercises facilitated by Second City Works, the business-to-business arm of renowned improv group The Second City. This limited-attendance session will be offered twice on Nov. 12.

Make plans now to attend. For a look at the preliminary meeting agenda, click here.

Academy Discusses Price Optimization and PBR at NCOIL Summer Meeting

• Two representatives of the Academy addressed state officials at the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Summer Meeting. Shawna Ackerman, vice president for casualty, presented on price optimization during a special Property-Casualty Committee meeting. Academy Senior Life Fellow Nancy Bennett discussed principle-based reserving (PBR) at a Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee panel discussion at NCOIL’s meeting.

Newly Released

• The Academy released a new Essential Elements paper, Insurance Capital Standards, which outlines U.S. and international efforts to establish new solvency and capital standards for insurers. The Essential Elements series is designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.

Public Policy Activities

• Pension Committee Urges Release of Mortality Tables: The Pension Committee sent comments this week to the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury regarding the timing for release of 2016 applicable mortality tables, stressing the urgency for these tables to be released soon.

• RMFRC Sends Letter to Federal Reserve on MOCE: The Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council sent a comment letter this week to the Federal Reserve Board on issues related to a “margin over current estimate” (MOCE) for international insurance capital standards.

Upcoming Events

• Don’t Miss Next Week’s Professionalism Webinar on Modeling: Much actuarial work involves modeling of some type. Recognizing that the number and importance of modeling applications in actuarial science is increasing, the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) has developed two exposure drafts of an ASOP intended to address modeling applications in all practice areas.

  Join the Academy on July 22 when expert presenters will engage in a mock debate to provide different perspectives on issues raised in the comments on the draft modeling standard. Presenters include ASB Chairperson Tricia Matson; Shawna Ackerman, vice president for casualty and chairperson of the ASB Catastrophe Modeling Task Force; and Mary Simmons, member of the ASB General Committee and member of the ASB Data Quality Task Force. Academy General Counsel and Director of Professionalism Keith Jones will moderate.

• Register Now: International Insurer Capital Standards Webinar: Join us on Aug. 4 as members of the Academy’s Solvency Committee provide a detailed look at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) insurer capital standard, including the finalized basic capital requirement, the proposed insurance capital standard, and the proposed higher loss absorbency requirement.

  The webinar will provide an overview of the Solvency Committee’s basic solvency principles for domestic and international policymakers developing capital standards and an in-depth examination of the IAIS’s activities related to insurer capital standards. Ned Tyrell, international technical policy advisor of the NAIC, joins fellow members of the Solvency Committee Novian Junus and Henry Siegel as presenters. Solvency Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Brill will moderate. Register now.

• Make Plans to Learn All About VM-20 and PBR: “Vrmm, Vrmm, VM-20—Start Your Engines, The Race to the PBR Finish Line Is On!” will offer practical examples of how to implement new life principle-based reserve requirements. Sessions will outline the basics of performing a VM-20 calculation, ideal for those with little to no understanding of the VM-20 requirements, as well as complex VM-20 requirements and strategies to successfully implement VM-20. The seminar, to be held Sept. 2 in Boston, follows the 2015 Valuation Actuary Symposium, also in Boston. Discounted registrations are available through July 31.

• Registration Continues 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. 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.

Nominations Due Next Week for Academy Regular Directors

• Academy members are invited to nominate themselves or others for consideration as a candidate to be a regular director on the Academy’s Board of Directors. Simply submit your nomination to the Academy’s Nominating Committee through the 2015 Election Center.

  The Nominating Committee may also be reaching out directly to members and asking them to seek election to the board as a regular director. Anyone who would like to be considered for a regular director position is encouraged to let the Nominating Committee know by completing the online form before July 20.

Alerts

• CMS Proposes Rule on Physician Fee Schedule Update: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a major proposed rule late last week addressing changes to the physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies. Read the full alert here or in the member section of the website under “Health Issues.”

Notice of Public Discipline

• The Academy issued a Notice of Public Discipline effective July 16 regarding Kenneth P. Shapiro.

In the News

• A New York Times story focused on hotly contested issues raised by speakers who testified at the ASB’s July 9 public hearing on public pension issues, in particular the selection of discount rates, the transparency and disclosures of risk to different stakeholders, and the responsibility of plans regarding contributions. The ASB interactively and professionally engaged through Q-and-A with all the speakers who testified at the hearing, and is objectively deliberating on the different perspectives raised in the oral and written comments to determine what, if any, changes might be needed to actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs).

  Additional stories by Politico and The San Diego Union-Tribune also included reporting on the ASB hearing.

• An opinion piece in The Gazette (Janesville, Wis.) that cites the Academy’s issue brief, Implications of Proposed Changes to the ACA in Response to King v. Burwell, in its analysis of the political impact of King v. Burwell in Wisconsin was also published by Milwaukee Business News, The Beloit Daily News, and The Sun Prairie Star.

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