Volunteer Action Required: Commitment to Objectivity
Committing on an annual basis to professional objectivity is required to perform volunteer work for all those who participate in Academy committees. Art Panighetti, vice president of the Academy’s Council on Professionalism, emailed Academy volunteers this week with a request of all volunteers to submit a conflict of interest (COI) acknowledgment and continuing education attestation. Panighetti also wrote an article in the January Actuarial Update outlining the policy. Interested parties (IPs) must also acknowledge the COI policy. If you are a volunteer or IP, to comply, follow the instructions in the email or on the membership page under “Volunteer Acknowledgments” under Volunteer Resources.
Webinar Dives Deep on P/C Actuarial Opinion Report Writing
A new webinar this week explored how to write an effective P/C loss reserve opinion report. Friday’s webinar, “P/C Actuarial Opinion Report Writing,” hosted by the Academy’s Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR), included a review of the actuary’s responsibilities, NAIC instructions, relevant actuarial standards of practice, and featured discussion of how clear communication and documentation of the actuary’s work is handled in each report chapter. COPLFR Chairperson Kathy Odomirok moderated, and the presenters—COPFLR member and Opinion Seminar Subcommittee Chairperson John Gleba, and subcommittee member Chuck Emma—offered insight on differences in writing the narrative and technical components of the report, what kind of data and disclosures support the report, and what is included in the report to help the intended readers understand and navigate it. Presenters emphasized that actuaries understand their audience and provide pertinent background and historical information and details to help the reader navigate through the narrative and exhibits, while describing the process and steps along the way. “One of the most important feedback items we get from regulators is that organization is far more important than detail,” Emma said. Slides and audio will be available free for members soon.
Actuarial Update, Life Perspectives Released
In the January Actuarial Update, read about the Academy representatives who attended and presented at Canada’s Actuarial Students’ National Association meeting in Montreal. Also in this issue: the Academy released its 2018 year-in-review policy alert; Rich Gibson is the Academy’s new senior P/C fellow; and the “Professionalism Counts” column, by Vice President for Professionalism Art Panighetti, notes that now is the time for Academy volunteers to commit to objectivity.
The winter Life Perspectives has a Q&A on the principle-based reserve (PBR) practice note released this month with Linda Lankowski, vice chairperson of the Academy’s Life Practice Council (LPC) and chairperson of the PBR Strategy Subgroup and its Practice Note Work Group and PBR 101 Work Group. Also included are legislative and regulatory updates and LPC comment letters to the NAIC.
Stay on Top of Requirements With the Academy’s Law Manuals
The Academy’s law manuals, updated each year, are designed to help appointed actuaries know requirements relevant to their work.
The just-released Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Law Manual contains a compilation of insurance laws and regulations relating to P/C loss and loss expense reserves for all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The Life and Health Valuation Law Manual, available soon, can now be pre-ordered. It contains a concise summary of the valuation laws and regulations of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. It has been redesigned for 2019, streamlining the contents so you can more easily access the information you need.
Both manuals are available in a web format or as a CD-ROM, allowing you to order the format that best meets your needs.
Alerts
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released an updated version (Version 5.0) of its Unified Rate Review Template (URRT). Read the Academy alert.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued a final rule requiring lenders to accept private flood insurance policies in addition to government-backed policies. Read the Academy alert.
Public Policy Activity
The PBR Assumptions Resource Manual Work Group released a step-by-step sample framework to illustrate setting, updating, and governing life insurance assumptions for PBR and other valuation frameworks. Read the Academy alert on this valuable just-released resource.
The LTC Practice Note Work Group published a long-term care (LTC) insurance practice note exposure draft to provide a source of information to practicing LTC actuaries seeking to better understand the considerations in evaluating experience, setting assumptions, valuation, and financial reporting.
The Life Reinsurance Work Group provided comments to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on an exposed Amendment Proposal Form that would affect the current VM-20 provisions on the determination of future nonguaranteed yearly renewable term reinsurance rates.
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