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RECENT ACADEMY ACTIVITY | | |
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Only have a minute? Catch up on the week’s top stories with the latest “This Week … In a Minute” video. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive videos as they are released. | |
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TOP NEWS Redesigned Contingencies Celebrates Academy’s 60th Anniversary The November/December Contingencies debuts a refreshed design, a focus on professionalism, and celebrates the Academy’s 60th anniversary this year, with insights from past presidents on the Academy’s evolution over the decades. Also in the issue: |
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- Why self-regulation matters and how actuaries at every career stage play a vital role in maintaining the integrity and trust of the profession;
- Professionalism insights from Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson William Hines and Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) Chairperson Kevin Dyke;
- Perspectives from President Darrell Knapp and Executive Director and CEO Bill Michalisin on the Academy’s vital role in the profession and why membership is essential for all U.S. actuaries;
- A new column, “Policy Compass,” highlighting the Academy’s ongoing policy work and its impact; and
- An Actuarial Technology Supplement with articles on artificial intelligence (AI) and hidden bias, and cloud adoption.
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Actuarial Update Covers Free Livestream Options for Academy Leadership Transition |
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The October Actuarial Update covers the Academy’s upcoming 60th anniversary celebration and governance transition, with CE and free livestream options for the Nov. 21 event. Also in the issue, an update from the Academy Board, October Actuary Voices episodes, recent and upcoming webinars in different practice areas, and “Professionalism Counts” covers recent updates to the Applicability Guidelines. | | | |
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Academy Leaders, Volunteers Attend SOA ImpACT Conference | | | |
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Knapp with an SOA attendee | | | |
Academy President Darrell Knapp, President-Elect Tricia Matson, and staff and volunteers attended the Society of Actuaries (SOA) ImpACT Conference in Seattle. Climate Change Committee Vice Chairperson Peter Ott and member Daniel Pribe presented at a climate-data session moderated by Rebecca Owen, also a committee member. Owen moderated a session on climate and insurance affordability that featured a presentation by Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer. ABCD Chairperson William Hines and member Shawna Ackerman presented at a professionalism breakfast on the ABCD and professional and ethical issues. Attendees also visited the Academy booth to learn more about new membership requirements for new members that take effect Jan. 1.
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Actuarially Sound The latest Actuarially Sound blog post focuses on the open enrollment season and insurance products that most Americans will be thinking about, including health insurance, retirement options, and other financial security options. |
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Academy In the News - At the conclusion of Cyber Risk Awareness Month, a subscriber-only Law 360 story covered the Academy’s extensive work in this area.
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Renew Your Academy Membership Today It’s time to renew your Academy membership—for 2026, members will see a $5 increase. Read the letter from Academy President-Elect Tricia Matson about keeping the Academy strong next year. Log in to conveniently pay your dues by Jan. 1, 2026. Questions about renewing or related member inquiries? Contact the Membership Department via the member support form. | | | |
Bias in AI Professionalism Webinar Set for Dec. 5 A newly announced professionalism webinar, Identifying and Managing Bias in AI, will be held on Friday, Dec. 5. It will explore potential model bias inherent risks that can arise at multiple stages of actuarial data-driven decision making, from data collection and modeling to interpretation and implementation. Reva Schwartz, co-founder of Civitaas Insight and CEO of VernacuLab LLC, will present, and Academy General Counsel and Senior Director of Professionalism Brian Jackson will moderate. This webinar is intended to meet the USQS bias requirement. Register today. Academy Outreach—Checking Bias at the Door Past ASB Chairperson Rob Damler presented Thursday on “Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs): Are You Checking Your Bias at the Door?” at Actuarial Research Corporation’s actuarial forum. Damler covered the Academy and professionalism, gave definitions and examples of data bias, discussed bias in the context of the ASOPs, and took questions from attendees. Looking for a speaker? The Academy Speakers Bureau provides qualified speakers on professionalism and public policy topics. | | | |
EDUCATION & EVENTS Next Week—Health, Life Webinars |
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Academy webinars offer CE opportunities as 2025 draws to a close—next week’s webinars include: Nov. 12, Health Town Hall (health)—Health Equity Committee Chairperson Becky Sheppard and Vice Chairperson Sara Teppema will lead a health town hall discussion examining the current use of financial return-on-investment when evaluating health care programs or benefits. Using interactive discussion questions, the town hall will offer a first look at the Broadening the Focus project. Register today. Nov. 13, Actuaries & Investment Management (life)—Moderated by Life Investment Analysis Subcommittee member Theresa Resnick, Actuaries and Investment Management: Let’s Talk! will focus on how to create a robust communication system between investment management and actuaries, particularly for appointed actuaries and qualified actuaries. Register today. - December Webinars—In addition to the professionalism webinars noted above, December will also offer webinars on commercial liability (casualty) and VM-31 (life). Visit the Event Calendar to learn more.
Recent Casualty Webinar Examines Home Replacement Costs The Casualty Practice Council’s (CPC) well-attended Examining Home Replacement Costs webinar on Wednesday featured a discussion with volunteers from CPC’s Homeowners’ Insurance Task Force, focused on the upcoming paper discussing the complications and high costs involved when consumers file a homeowner’s claim. Chairperson Ken Doss moderated. Catch a replay on Academy Learning, a free member benefit. | | | |
Policy Paper Examines Climate Considerations in ORSA Reporting | | | |
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The Climate Related Financial Disclosures Subcommittee and the Climate Change Joint Committee released Climate Scenario Considerations: U.S. Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA), a policy paper examining how U.S. insurers can better incorporate climate risk scenarios into ORSA reporting. It also highlights the growing materiality of climate risks, outlining scenario development using physical and transition risk frameworks, and presenting key resources for modeling and disclosure aligned with regulatory and market expectations. DSAC Paper Releases Paper on Bias, Entropy The Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) released Measuring Statistical Bias in Data Using Entropy, a policy paper exploring how entropy can be used to quantify statistical bias and diversity in data. Tracing entropy’s data science origins in information theory, the paper highlights how it applies it across domains, including actuarial science, finance, and machine learning. It also provides examples of how entropy can support bias detection, decision tree modeling, and data balancing, offering actuaries a computational tool to assess data fairness and structure. Issue Brief Explores Interest, Actuarial Valuation The Life Practice Council’s Tax Committee released an issue brief, Excess Interest Reserves as Defined Under Internal Revenue Code §811(d), exploring how tax basis excess interest differs from excess interest in actuarial valuation and includes an interactive example of the computation of tax excess interest.
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