The Role of the Actuary Subgroup sent an Amendment Proposal Form to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on changes to the definition of Actuarial Opinion outlined in VM-01. (January 11, 2018)

The January HealthCheck covers the Health Practice Council’s letter to Congress regarding the pending elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate following passage of the new tax-reform law, the Department of Labor’s proposed rule on association health plans, the release of the Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight’s 2019 Actuarial Value calculator and methodology, and Congress funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program. (January 10, 2018)

The Non-Guaranteed Elements Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC's Life Insurance Buyer's Guide (A) Working Group on the CEJ Expanded Outline. (January 03, 2018)

In the “Tradecraft” Contingencies column, Council on Professionalism (COP) Chairperson Joeff Williams writes on “Building a Culture of Professionalism: A Resource Guide for Chief Actuaries,” covering COP’s professionalism mission and the Academy’s professionalism resources that are available to chief actuaries. (Contingencies, January/February 2018) (January 01, 2018)

The final professionalism webinar of 2017 delivered a topic that many members have long requested—case studies and examples of professionalism issues that have come before the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD). “Tales From The Dark Side: Ethical Cases at the ABCD” featured ABCD members Godfrey Perrott and David Driscoll, who drew upon staples of popular culture to provide entertaining and enlightening examples of such issues.  More than 2,300 people attended the Dec. 20 webinar, which was moderated by Academy General Counsel and Director of Professionalism Paul Kollmer-Dorsey. (December 21, 2017)

In “If You Get That Call,” Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Chairperson Richard Block writes that compliance with the Code of Professional Conduct’s Precept 14, requiring the actuary to cooperate with the ABCD, often boils down to Will Rogers’ adage, “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” (Actuarial Update, December 2017) (December 31, 2017)

In the December Actuarial Update, read about the new webinar series from the Academy and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, which will begin with a Jan. 17 webinar on the roles of professional actuarial organizations in the two countries. Also covered: A Dec. 20 professionalism webinar looked at Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline ethical cases; Academy volunteers and representatives presented at the NAIC Fall 2017 National Meeting; the Health Practice Council’s comments on the elimination of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate; and the “Professionalism Counts” column by ABCD Chairperson Richard Block, which covers compliance with the Code of Professional Conduct and the Code’s Precept 14. (December 29, 2017)

The Retirement System Assessment and Policy Committee published an issue brief providing an actuarial perspective on the role of U.S. tax policy in retirement security. (December 28, 2017)

The Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) released the Statements of Actuarial Opinion on P/C Loss Reserves practice note. (December 19, 2017)

The Financial Reporting Committee (FRC) submitted comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on its proposed updates to the accounting for long-duration contracts. (December 15, 2017)