ASB Approves Exposure Draft on ASOP No. 5 Revision; Approves Second Exposure Draft on Ratemaking
The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) approved an exposure draft of a revision to Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 5, Incurred Health and Disability Claims, and a second exposure draft of proposed ASOP Property/Casualty Ratemaking. The proposed revision to ASOP No. 5 reflects a number of changes to other standards that have been made since the 2000 revision.
In September 2014, the ASB approved a first exposure draft of a proposed ASOP, Property/Casualty Ratemaking, which prompted 22 comment letters that have been considered in making changes in the second exposure draft. The proposed new ASOP addresses items in the “Considerations” section of the “Statement of Principles Regarding Property/Casualty Ratemaking,” as well as ratemaking items not currently addressed in existing ASOPs.
The comment deadline for both exposure drafts, which may be viewed here, is April 30.
Actuarial Update Released
In the latest issue of Actuarial Update, read about the Academy’s new U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS) Attestation Form, and Immediate Past President Mary D. Miller’s column on the “team effort” it took to complete it. Also: the Academy announced the hiring of Ted Goldman as its new senior pension fellow; the “Professionalism Counts” column covers available USQS resources; and both the life & health and P/C law manuals are now available.
Webinar Looks at Health Care, Medicare/Medicaid Spending
More than 1,000 people listened to Thursday’s webinar in which panelists from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary discussed their most recent findings on national health spending. Panelists Joseph Benson and Devin Stone answered questions on health spending projections, the impact of the delay in the excise tax for high-cost employer-sponsored plans (the “Cadillac tax”), and the effect of demonstration and pilot programs through the CMS Innovation Center. Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello moderated the discussion. Slides are available on the webinar page, and audio will be available soon.
Upcoming Events
Enrolled Actuaries (EA) Meeting: The Academy and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries will again jointly host the annual Enrolled Actuaries Meeting, April 10-13, in Washington, D.C. The meeting offers a variety of panels and workshops covering a wide range of topics and issues relevant to EAs and other pension professionals, and an exhibit of products and services. Click here for more information and to register.
Life & Health Valuation Law Manual, P/C Loss Reserve Law Manual Available
The 2016 Life & Health Valuation Law Manual—designed to help appointed life and health actuaries comply with the requirements of the NAIC model Standard Valuation Law and the Model Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum Regulation—is now available. It includes a current-topics section outlining key valuation developments and state guidance; NAIC model laws and regulations that have an effect on reserve calculations; a discussion of generally distributed interpretations; and copies of the current actuarial guidelines from the NAIC Examiners Handbook. The manual is available in a variety of formats.
The Academy’s 2015 Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Law Manual is now available. Updated annually and designed to help appointed property/casualty (P/C) actuaries comply with NAIC annual statement requirements, the manual includes statement of actuarial opinion (SAO) requirements and state laws and regulations establishing those requirements; annual statement instructions for the SAOs for P/C, title loss, and loss expense reserves; and other pertinent annual statement instructions. The manual is available in two formats—web/online or CD-ROM. Members can order online by logging in to Academy’s website, or orders also may be placed via mail/fax.
For questions or additional information on either manual, please contact Leiloni Hayward, public policy senior administrative assistant, at 202-223-8196 or hayward@actuary.org.
Alerts
The IRS released proposed regulations that modify the nondiscrimination relief for closed defined benefit (DB) plans. The proposed regulations also include additional changes to retirement plan nondiscrimination requirements for all qualified DB plans. Read the full alert here.
Public Policy Activities
The Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting submitted comments to the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group on the proposed Clarification of Accounting Treatment for Fees Incurred for Salvage/Subrogation Recoveries.
Senior Property/Casualty Fellow Jim MacGinnitie submitted comments to the NAIC/IAIABC Joint (C) Working Group on the 2015 Workers’ Compensation Large Deductible Study draft.
The ERM/ORSA Committee released a public policy overview on the role of regulatory actuaries in reviewing Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) reports.
In the News
El Paso Inc.published a widely read New York Timespersonal finance column that quoted Academy Pension Committee Chairperson Ellen Kleinstuber on the risks and complexities facing pension plan participants who are offered a lump sum. The column also discusses the Academy’s Pension Assistance List (PAL) program, which provides up to four hours of free pension help for people with questions. Click here for more information about the PAL program and how to volunteer.
Note: Some links in this email go to external websites and may require registration. The Academy is not responsible for the content of these websites. Links may expire.
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. THIS EMAIL ADDRESS IS NOT MONITORED.
If you would like more information or to contact the Academy, please visit us at www.actuary.org/content/about-us
Sign up to follow the Academy on Twitter.
Rather not receive Academy emails? Unsubscribe by emailing membership@actuary.org.
1850 M Street NW • Suite 300 • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.223.8196 • www.actuary.org
Copyright 2016 American Academy of Actuaries. All rights reserved.