Professionalism Counts, March 2023

ASB, ABCD Release 2022 Annual Reports

The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) and Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) released their 2022 annual reports.

ASB

The ASB was exceptionally busy last year. According to the ASB 2022 Annual Report, the board approved two final actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs), one in the life area and one in the health area: ASOP No. 10, U.S. GAAP for Long-Duration Life, Annuity, and Health Products, and ASOP No. 18, Long-Term Care Insurance.

The ASB also approved seven exposure drafts:

Casualty
- ASOP No. 20, Discounting of Property/Casualty Claim Estimates
- ASOP No. 36, Statements of Actuarial Opinion Regarding Property/Casualty Loss, Loss Adjustment Expense, or Other Reserves
- ASOP No. 29, Expense Provisions for Future Cost Estimates for Prospective Property/Casualty Risk Transfer and Risk Retention (second exposure draft)
Health
- ASOP No. 28, Statements of Actuarial Opinion Regarding Health Insurance Assets and Liabilities
Life
- Statements of Actuarial Opinion Not Based on an Asset Adequacy Analysis for Life Insurance, Annuity, or Health Insurance Reserves and Related Actuarial Items (a proposed new ASOP)
- ASOP No. 10, U.S. GAAP for Long-Duration Life, Annuity, and Health Products
Pension
- ASOP No. 27, Selection of Assumptions for Measuring Pension Obligations

The ASB also approved proposals to revise ASOP No. 49, Medicaid Managed Care Capitation Rate Development and Certification, and ASOP No. 6, Measuring Retiree Group Benefits Obligations and Determining Retiree Group Benefits Program Periodic Costs or Actuarially Determined Contributions, and to consolidate ASOP Nos. 27 and 35, on the selection of economic and noneconomic assumptions for measuring pension obligations, into a single ASOP.

For the status of all ASOPs currently under revision, please see the latest issue of the ASB Boxscore.

ABCD

The ABCD conducts inquiries when the Code of Professional Conduct may have been violated and answers requests for guidance (RFGs) from actuaries. According to the ABCD 2022 Annual Report, the ABCD handled 22 inquiries based on complaints or adverse information, of which 9 were in the property/casualty area, 5 each in health and pension, and 3 in life. Of the 14 inquiries disposed last year, 4 were dismissed, 6 were dismissed with guidance, 2 were counseled, and 2 were recommended discipline.

While every inquiry involved Precept 1 of the Code, precepts 2 (qualifications), 3 (standards of practice), 9 (confidential information), and 10 (courtesy and respect) were involved in several inquiries.

Some of the specific issues raised include failing to perform actuarial services with skill and care by consistently underestimating the ultimate losses due to the selection of overly optimistic assumptions, failing to report actuaries whose actions appear to have violated the Code, and performing actuarial services while not in compliance with applicable qualification standards. For more issues raised in inquiries, see p. 2 of the report.

The ABCD fielded 96 RFGs last year. These touched on nearly every precept of the Code, but questions related to precepts 1, 2, 3, 4 (communications and disclosure), and 13 (violations of the Code) were especially common. In terms of practice area, the health practice area asked 32 questions, followed by property/casualty with 29 inquiries, life with 19, and pension with 16.

Some of the issues addressed in RFGs include steps to take when an actuary believes his company is not considering adequate reserves, whether a filing error is material under the Code, whether an actuary’s experience satisfies the Specific Qualification Standards, and what constitutes a conflict of interest. For more issues covered in RFGs, see p. 4 of the report.