The Academy and other actuarial organizations in the United States and Canada—the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society, and the Society of Actuaries—launched the Actuaries Climate Index (ACI) this week, which provides a quarterly gauge of changes in extreme weather events and sea levels.
“A lot of people have worked diligently over the past several years to produce the ACI, and we thank them for that,” said Academy President Bob Beuerlein. “This will be a very useful tool for actuaries, public policymakers, and the public that we will be able to utilize in the coming years.”
The ACI looks at the continental United States, Alaska, and Canada, with higher index values indicating an increase in the occurrence of extreme weather events. Based on historical data drawn from scientific sources, the latest index values confirm a sustained increase in the incidence of extreme events, such as high temperature, high winds, heavy precipitation, and drought.
LTC: Academy Testifies at Congressional Hearing on Insurance; Issue Brief Released
Laurel Kastrup, chairperson of the Academy’s Health Financial Reporting and Solvency Committee, testified at a U.S. House Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing Wednesday examining premium increases in the federal long-term care (LTC) insurance program. She cited the Academy’s issue brief on LTC insurance released earlier this year and noted factors for increases, differences between current and past LTC insurance forms, and determinations and alternatives to increases.
Separately, the LTC Criteria Work Group published an issue brief Tuesday examining the essential criteria that should be used to analyze LTC financing reform proposals. Essential Criteria for Long-Term Care Financing Reform Proposalsidentifies seven areas that should be considered in any discussion of LTC insurance reform.
While renewing your membership, please take a moment to review some of the Academy’s mission-critical work in 2016 in “The Meaning of Your Membership,” which features key issues the Academy has addressed in public policy and professionalism in the past year, as well as Academy publications, the eLearning Center, and other significant initiatives. If you have questions about your membership dues, please contact the Academy’s Membership Department at 202-223-8196, or membership@actuary.org.
Professionalism Outreach
Academy General Counsel and Director of Professionalism Paul Kollmer-Dorsey gave a presentation Tuesday on “Developments in Actuarial Professionalism in 2016” to more than 200 attendees at the Iowa Actuarial Club in Des Moines.
Recently Released
The November issue of Actuarial Update has full coverage of the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, including plenary and breakout sessions of casualty, health, life, and pension practice areas. Also covered are a recent webinar on alternative pension costs, the Academy’s representation at the International Actuarial Association, and the “Professionalism Counts” column from Joeff Williams, the Academy’s new vice president for professionalism, on creating a culture of professionalism.
Upcoming Events
Next Week—P/C Loss Seminar: Limited space remains for next week’s 2016 Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions. The two-day seminar, to be held Dec. 6–7 in Chicago, will enhance your expertise on the latest regulations and standards and will include reviews of actuarial qualification standards and interactive case studies.
Professionalism Webinar on ASOP No. 41: Join the Academy on Wednesday, Dec. 21, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EST for the professionalism webinar, “Can You Hear Me Now? Actuarial Communications Under ASOP No. 41.” The webinar will feature Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) vice chairpersons Janet Carstens and Rick Block, who will discuss Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 41, Actuarial Communications, through the lens of their ABCD experience. Using case studies and examples based on requests for guidance and cases submitted to the ABCD, they will discuss documentation and communication in environments that have prompted actuaries to seek counseling and provide guidance on how to apply this ASOP, which is likely to touch nearly every assignment an actuary works on. Register today.
Post-NAIC Life Webinar Set for January: The Academy will host a post-NAIC webinar on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EST on the top life practice issues from the NAIC’s Fall National Meeting, which begins late next week in Miami. Continuing education credit is available. Register today.
See our website for a listing of all Academy events.
Alerts
The IRS released a notice of proposed rulemaking Nov. 25 regarding the minimum present value requirements applicable to certain defined benefit pension plans.
The NAIC’s Health Actuarial (B) Task Force adopted the Joint Academy / Society of Actuaries Cancer Claims Cost Tables Work Group’s new report and 2016 cancer claim cost valuation tables.
The Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office released a report on protection of insurance consumers and their access to insurance.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act Wednesday by a 392-26 vote. It dedicates more than $6 billion to key federal and state-level health care priorities, including more than $4 billion to the National Institutes of Health.
Subscribe to Member Alerts: Subscribers to the Academy’s alerts are notified by email when a new alert is posted in their area(s) of interest. The alerts are available in five areas of focus: casualty, health, life, pension, and cross-practice issues. Academy members may subscribe to any or all of them free of charge as a member service after signing in to the member section of the website.
Public Policy Activities
The Principle-Based Reserves (PBR) Checklist Subgroup of the Model Governance Work Group released a PBR model governance checklist, offered as a resource for practicing life actuaries involved in actuarial model governance.
The PBR Model Governance Practice Note Subgroup of the PBR Strategy Subgroup released for exposure a draft model governance practice note to provide additional information for life actuaries seeking to better understand models, model risks, model governance, and related issues, as these actuaries implement PBR. Comments, which are due by Jan. 2, 2017, may be sent to lifeanalyst@actuary.org.
The trade journal Replacement Contractor used the analysis in the Academy’s “Climate Change” Essential Elements paper to help explain the impact of climate changes on exterior specialty contractors that do replacement work.
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