Voting Begins Today for Academy’s Regular Director Positions
Academy members should have received an email today from Intelliscan (electionadmin@intelliscaninc.net), the Academy’s election vendor, with an online ballot to elect regular directors to the Academy’s Board of Directors. The election begins today, Aug. 26, and will continue through Friday, Sept. 16. Visit the Academy’s Board Election Center to learn more about this year’s candidates and for more information about the Nominating Committee Guidelines. Please check your spam folder if you have not seen this email in your inbox. For those without email addresses, you will receive your ballot by regular mail.
For help with or to ask questions about your ballot, please contact Keith Wier, account manager for Intelliscan, at kwier@intelliscaninc.com. For other questions, please contact Claire Mickelson, Academy senior policy analyst, at mickelson@actuary.org.
Essential Elements Report Highlights New Risk Regulators and Regulations
The Academy released “New Risk Regulators and Regulations” this week, an Essential Elements report that highlights many of the new state, federal, and international regulators and oversight efforts that have emerged in the wake of the 2008-09 global recession. The report reviews the background of the 2008-09 global financial crisis, which led to the NAIC’s launch of its Solvency Modernization Initiative, and the federal Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which created the Financial Stability Oversight Council, responsible for identifying threats to the U.S. financial system.
Academy Presents at NAIC
Academy volunteers gave multiple presentations at the NAIC 2016 Summer Meeting in San Diego, which continues through this weekend.
The Long-Term Care (LTC) Credibility Monograph Work Group presented an update to the NAIC’s LTC Actuarial Working Group in a monograph about increasing the awareness of the applicability of credibility procedures to LTC insurance-related work, providing information on current practices, and outlining considerations and suggestions for best actuarial practices in LTCI.
The Cancer Claims Cost Tables Work Group released a report to NAIC’s Health Actuarial Task Force (HATF) on developing a new set of valuation tables for use with cancer insurance policies in order to aid actuaries with their pricing and reviewing product filings by providing analysis on the initial data provided by the industry.
The Medicare Part D Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Subgroup presented a report to the NAIC’s Health RBC Working Group recommending that the RBC risk factors for Medicare Part D coverage remain the same for standard coverage but be increased for supplemental coverage.
The Life Experience Committee gave a presentation on guaranteed issue and preneed mortality table development to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial Task Force (LATF).
The Annuity Reserves Work Group provided a non-variable annuity PBR update to LATF’s VM-22 Subgroup.
The Longevity Risk Task Force gave a presentation to LATF on the task force’s work, including creating a working definition of “longevity risk,” analyzing U.S. mortality tables and reviewing regulatory and company approaches to longevity risk.
Register Now for Post-NAIC Webinars: The Academy will host two post-NAIC webinars next month. The Casualty Practice Council webinar on property/casualty issues will be held Sept. 13 from noon to 1 p.m. EDT, and the Life Practice Council webinar on life issues will be held Sept. 15 from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT.
Professionalism Presentations at NAIC
Academy representatives also made several professionalism presentations at the NAIC meeting. Past President Mary D. Miller, Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson Janet Fagan and Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Chairperson Maryellen Coggins appeared Thursday before LATF and HATF to provide an update to regulators on ABCD, ASB and Academy professionalism activities.
On Friday, they were joined by Committee on Qualifications (COQ) member Tom Campbell at the Academy-sponsored regulator-only professionalism breakfast. Each made in-depth presentations at the well-attended event, covering topics of interest to regulators, including ABCD process and requests for guidance, ASB’s recently-issued exposure drafts and regulator outreach, new frequently asked questions concerning LTC issued by the COQ, and an update on the Attestation Form released by the Academy at the beginning of this year.
Volunteer Survey Draws Large Response
Almost 600 members participated in the Academy’s annual volunteer survey this month, which members use to indicate interest in the Academy’s committees and working groups. All participants who expressed an interest in volunteering will be contacted in the coming months. Volunteers are essential to the Academy’s work—many thanks to all who completed the survey.
Global Health Care Webinar Looks at Taiwan, Hong Kong
The Academy’s “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers” webinar series continued this week with a webinar looking at the health care systems of Taiwan and Hong Kong, with a focus on cost drivers. Almost 250 people from 143 registered sites in 12 countries attended Thursday’s webinar. The series is presented jointly by the Academy’s Health Practice International Committee and the International Actuarial Association Health Section. Slides and audio are available on the Academy’s webinar page; for more coverage, see the August Actuarial Update, to be published next week. The sixth webinar in the series, looking at France and the United Kingdom, will be held on Oct. 5.
Upcoming Events
CLRS Pre-Registration Closes this Weekend: Pre-registration for the 2016 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS), to be held in Chicago Sept. 18-20, will close this Sunday, Aug. 28. Visit the CAS website information on how to register for the CLRS.
Early Registration for P/C Loss Seminar Ends Next Week: Early registration will end on Aug. 31 for the 2016 Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions. This two-day seminar aims to deepen your expertise on the latest regulations and standards with reviews of actuarial qualification standards and interactive case studies. Register today for the lowest rates.
Early Registration Deadline Approaching for LHQ Seminar: Early registration rates run through Sept. 12 for the 2016 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 13-17 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C., metro region). Register today to reserve your space.
Register Now for Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum: An agenda overview and a list of key speakers are in place for the Academy’s Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, to be held Nov. 3-4 in Washington, D.C. Attendees will get an in-depth look at top public policy and professionalism issues facing the actuarial profession, the opportunity to earn continuing education credit, and enjoy dinner and political-humor entertainment by the Capitol Steps just a few days before the fall elections. Register today.
See our website for a listing of all Academy events.
Other Public Policy Activities
The Life Products Committee submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on the proposed actuarial standard of practice that applies to the pricing of life insurance and annuity products.
The Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force submitted a comment letter to the Department of Labor concerning proposals for increasing retiree income options, with a focus on additional safe harbors that encourage delivering lifetime income.
In the News
Pensions & Investments published a letter to the editor by Academy President Tom Wildsmith regarding the joint Academy/Society of Actuaries Pension Finance Task Force.
A Salonfeature story on what the results of the November election could mean for the future of the Affordable Care Act cited the Academy’s past analysis on the implications of repealing some of the risk-mitigation mechanisms built into the law.
The Academy’s issue brief on 2017 health care cost drivers is cited in a HealthZette personal finance column on best practices for consumers to save on prescription drug costs. The issue brief is also cited in a separate HealthZette column that explains why 2017 rate changes have been typically more volatile than in recent years.
California Political Review reprinted a Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.) op-ed on the funding challenges facing the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) that references a Pension Practice Council issue brief’s call for pension plans to have a strategy in place to attain or maintain a funded status of 100 percent or greater over a reasonable period of time.
The Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force’s comment letter to the Department of Labor concerning proposals for increasing retiree income options, with a focus on additional safe harbors that encourage delivering lifetime income, was published in BenefitsLink.com.
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