Life and Health Qualifications Seminar

“One of the best seminars I’ve attended… the information was timely for my new role and an excellent review.” – Previous seminar attendee

The Academy’s Life and Health Qualifications Seminar delivers three days of training and instruction—plus an optional three-hour exam on the fourth day—to equip you with the knowledge you need to gain necessary qualifications to issue actuarial opinions for either the NAIC Life, Accident & Health, and Fraternal Annual Statement (Blue Blank) or the NAIC Health Annual Statement (Orange Blank) depending on the track selected. It can also serve as a basic education refresher or as a source of required continuing education for more experienced actuaries.

When registering for the seminar, you will be asked to select either a life track or a health track. Both tracks will start with a common one day of general education. After that:

• Life track: 1.5 days of life topics followed by a half-day introduction to relevant health topics that may be of interest to life actuaries.
• Health track: 1.5 days of health topics followed by a half-day introduction to relevant life topics that may be of interest to health actuaries.

Regarding the optional exam on the fourth day, attendees can elect to take either the life exam or the health exam.  A combined life/health exam will not be offered.

Seminar sessions include topics such as:

• Asset adequacy testing, including basic overview of assets
• Actuarial opinions
• Cash flow testing
• Statutory insurance accounting
• Overview of reinsurance
• Risk-based capital
• Professionalism
• Long-term care
• Life track topics
  • Overview of life insurance
  • Annuities
  • Life and annuity reinsurance issues
  • Valuation and nonforfeiture requirements
  • Complex assets
  • Principle-based reserving (PBR)
• Health track topics
  • Overview of health insurance
  • Health claim reserves and health insurance valuation topics
  • Premium, loss, expense, and contingency reserves
  • Health actuarial assets

Who Should Attend?
Actuaries who may not meet the qualifications for signing the actuarial opinions for the NAIC Life, Accident & Health, and Fraternal Annual Statement (Blue Blank) or the NAIC Health Annual Statement (Orange Blank) under the USQS, including:

• Fellows who completed the exam process between 2000 and 2006
• Actuaries who have not otherwise satisfied the basic education and specific knowledge requirements of the Specific Qualification Standards of the USQS
• Actuaries who intend to change their practice area to sign NAIC life or health actuarial opinions
• Actuaries who are looking for continuing education in compliance with the Specific Qualification Standards of the USQS
• Actuaries who wish to learn about life and health statutory requirements
• Regulators who wish to learn about life and health actuarial topics or simply augment their knowledge
• Foreign actuaries who intend to practice in the United States (who must also meet the general qualification of the USQS)

 
Faculty

The seminar will be taught by recognized experts, including:

• Rhonda Ahrens, Vice President-Corporate Actuarial, Thrivent
• Rowen Bell, Executive Director, Health Actuary, Ernst & Young
• Ashlee Mouton Borcan, Principal and Consulting Actuary, Milliman
• Donna Claire, President, Claire Thinking Inc.
• Dave Dillon, Sr. VP and Principal, Lewis & Ellis, LLC; President-Elect, Society of Actuaries
• Brian Jackson, Senior Director of Professionalism and General Counsel, American Academy of Actuaries
• Darrell Knapp, Former Executive Director, Health Actuary, Ernst & Young (Retired); Immediate Past President, American Academy of Actuaries
• Craig Morrow, Actuary
• David Neve, Vice President & Consulting Actuary, Actuarial Resources Corporation of GA
• Lorne Schinbein, President, Actuarial Resources Corporation
• Sheldon Summers, Actuary, Claire Thinking Inc.
• Thomas Reedy, Chief Systems Actuary, California Dept. of Insurance

Registration

Materials
Registrants will receive the seminar slides and reading materials for the course sessions only in an electronic format. Paper copies will not be supplied at the event. 

When registering, you will have the option to select receiving the textbook in digital format or, as supplies last, hard copy. Contact education@actuary.org if:

• You are a repeat attendee and already have the electronic or the hardback textbook.
• You would like the textbook to be sent to an alternate email address. Otherwise, the textbook will be sent to the same email address you used to register for this event.

Hotel
The seminar will be held at the AC Hotel Arlington National Landing in Arlington, Va. Located conveniently near National Airport, the hotel is minutes away from the metro, jogging trails, and a host of dining options. The sites of Washington, D.C. are a short metro ride away.

The Academy has secured a special rate of $239/night for attendees. The room block is available through Aug. 27 or until it is full. When making your travel arrangements, note that early check-in begins Sunday evening and that the opening session will start promptly at 8 a.m. on Monday. Attendees are strongly encouraged to check in on Sunday.

Continuing Education
The American Academy of Actuaries believes in good faith that your attendance may constitute relevant continuing education and an organized activity as defined under the current Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States depending upon your area of practice. Under the U.S. Qualification Standards, an hour of continuing education is defined as 50 minutes, and fractions of an hour may be counted.

Specific Knowledge Requirement of the USQS Specific Qualification Standards
Actuaries wishing to issue a statement of actuarial opinion under the Specific Qualification Standards (Section 3 of the USQS) must, among other requirements, “be knowledgeable, through examination or documented professional development, of the Law (i.e., statutes, regulations, judicial decisions, and other statements of legally binding authority) applicable to the Statement of Actuarial Opinion.” To meet the additional Specific Qualification Standard, which applies to reserve opinions for the NAIC Annual Statement Blanks, an actuary must obtain, through examination or alternative education, specific knowledge in the following topical areas*:

Life and A&H (Blue Blank)
(Covered by Exams ILA-DP-US, ILA-CSP-US)

• Policy forms and coverages
• Investments and valuations of assets, and the relationship between cash flows from assets and related liabilities
• Dividends and reinsurance
• Statutory insurance accounting
• Valuation of liabilities
• Valuation and nonforfeiture laws

Health (Orange Blank)
(Covered by Exams GH-DP, GH-CSP)

• Principles of insurance and underwriting
• Principles of ratemaking
• Statutory insurance accounting and expense analysis
• Premium, loss, expense, and contingency reserves
• Social insurance

(*Actuaries wishing to issue these statements of actuarial opinion must also meet the basic education and experience requirement of the General Qualification Standard (USQS, Section 2.1). For more information, see the USQS.) 

Cancellation Policy
Cancellations should be made via e-mail to education@actuary.org.  If a written request for a refund is received by Sept. 1, 2026, the Academy will refund the registration payment minus the $600 reading materials fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations made after Sept. 1, 2026.

The Academy reserves the right to cancel the seminar if conditions warrant. In the event of such cancellation, registration fees will be refunded. The Academy will not be held liable for any airline or other costs candidates might incur as a result of a seminar being canceled.

Questions? For additional information, please contact education@actuary.org.