The Academy’s office will be closed Monday, Oct. 10, in observance of Columbus Day.
Book Your Room Now for Academy’s Annual Meeting—Room-Block Hold Ends Sunday
With less than a month until our Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, reservations in the Academy’s room block at the Capital Hilton hotel will be available through this Sunday, Oct. 9. Book your room today.
The meeting will feature former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, who will discuss the Dodd-Frank financial reform law; Keith Hall, director of the Congressional Budget Office, who will discuss sustainable public programs; Tom Reeder, director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., who will discuss challenges to multiemployer pensions; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, who is expected to discuss health care reform and Medicare; and Oregon Insurance Commissioner Laura Cali, who will address Big Data issues.
A detailed agenda is available for the Nov. 3-4 meeting in Washington, D.C., outlining the more than 40 experts who will discuss top public policy and actuarial professionalism issues just days before the fall national election. The Academy believes attendees will be able to earn up to 12 hours of organized-activity continuing education (CE) credits, depending on area of practice, and up to 1.8 hours of professionalism CE credits. See relevant sessions for casualty, health, life, and pension actuaries on the Academy’s website.
Regular registration rates for the meeting and forum are available through Friday, Oct. 21. Register today, and join us in Washington.
Global Health Webinar Looks at France, United Kingdom
Attendees from 15 countries listened to Wednesday’s webinar on the health care systems of France and the United Kingdom. Part of the global health care webinar series presented jointly by the Academy’s Health Practice International Committee and the International Actuarial Association Health Section, the webinar’s panel looked at major cost drivers in both countries, the outlook for reform/changes, and actuaries’ roles in their health care financing systems. Slides and audio are available online for members free of charge.
ASB Exposes Proposed ASOP on Capital Adequacy Assessment
The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) approved an exposure draft of a proposed new actuarial standard of practice (ASOP) titled Capital Adequacy Assessment for Insurers. The proposed ASOP will apply to actuaries involved in capital adequacy assessment work for life or health insurers, including fraternal benefit societies and health benefit plans, property and casualty insurers, mortgage and title insurers, financial guaranty insurance companies, complex insurance organizations, and similar organizations.
The ASB released a discussion draft of the proposed standard in May 2015. The exposure draft reflects many of the comments received on that discussion draft.
The comment deadline for the exposure draft is Jan. 31, 2017. Information on how to submit comments can be found in the draft.
Professionalism Outreach
Academy President Tom Wildsmith addressed students in the Pennsylvania State University’s actuarial science program Thursday in State College, Pa. His presentation, “Professionalism and the Aspiring Actuary,” provided students with a compelling account of the broad societal impact of the U.S. actuarial profession’s work and how the Academy historically has articulated, and continues to articulate, the consequent professional responsibilities of actuaries with regard to the public, employers, clients, and others.
Recently Released
The fall issue of PBA Perspectives features updates on principle-based reserving as well as regulatory, legislative, and Academy activities surrounding the implementation of the principle-based approach for life insurance.
Upcoming Events
LHQ Seminar Registration Closes in Two Weeks: There are still some spaces available for the limited-attendance 2016 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 13-17 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C., metro area). This annual seminar is the primary source of instruction for actuaries who wish to be qualified to issue actuarial opinions for either the NAIC Life and A&H Annual Statement or the NAIC Health Annual Statement. Registration closes Oct. 21; register today to reserve one of the remaining spaces for this highly regarded seminar.
Cross-Practice Professionalism Webinar Set for Oct. 19: ASB Chairperson Maryellen Coggins and Vice Chairpersons Beth Fitzgerald (finance) and Frank Todisco (operations) will lead the conversation during this webinar about the value and challenges of cross-practice standards. The panel, moderated by Paul Kollmer-Dorsey, the Academy’s general counsel and director of professionalism, will discuss Actuarial Standards of Practice Nos. 1, 23, 25, and 41, and proposed standards on modeling and assumptions that are in development. “An Overview of Cross-Practice Standards” will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT. Register today.
Agenda at a Glance Now Available for P/C Loss Seminar: An agenda at a glance is available for the 2016 Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions, to be held in Chicago on Dec. 6-7. This two-day seminar will enhance your expertise on the latest regulations and standards with reviews of actuarial qualification standards and interactive case studies. Register today.
See our website for a listing of all Academy events.
Public Policy Activities
The Risk Sharing Subcommittee and the Premium Review Work Groupsubmitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding the proposed rule for the 2018 benefit and payment parameters, addressing proposed changes to the risk sharing mechanisms, market reforms, and rate review provisions.
The C1 Work Group submitted comments to the NAIC’s Investment Risk Based Capital Working Group in response to the “Proposal for Life Bond Granularity and Related Issues” dated Sept. 6, 2016.
The Tax Work Group submitted comments to the NAIC’s Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group in response to the Issue Paper No. 15X concerning the implementation of principle-based reserving.
Alerts
The U.S. Department of Labor released a report calling for exploration of, among other things, minimum federal standards for state-based workers’ compensation systems.
In the News
A USA Today story about retirement planning quoted Noel Abkemeier, chairperson of the Lifetime Income Risk Joint Task Force, on the importance of understanding and financially addressing longevity, while citing the widely praised Actuaries Longevity Illustrator developed by the Academy and the Society of Actuaries as a useful tool to help people understand longevity risk. The story was also published by the Detroit Free Press and The Arizona Republic.
A Health Affairs Blog post discussing the Affordable Care Act’s temporary reinsurance program and its effect on individual market premiums cited the Academy’s issue brief on the major drivers of 2016 premium changes.
MoneyTips cited recommendations from the ASB’s Pension Task Force report in a story that looks at retirement challenges, including the funding of state and local pension plans. The story was reprinted by a number of other media outlets, including the Houston Chronicle, KAAL-TV (Minn.), and WiscNews.
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