Vol. 9 | No. 1
Date:05/12/2025
COPLFR Develops FAQs Document on Wildfires Issues
A Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) frequently asked questions (FAQs) document addresses relevant issues stemming from the Los Angeles wildfires during the start of the year’s loss reserves opinion-writing season.
The document offers typical questions and associated responses for appointed actuaries’ consideration when providing statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs) for companies materially impacted by such events, directly or indirectly. Covering key questions and applicable actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs), the FAQs are intended to assist appointed actuaries as they contend with uncertainties and challenges pertaining to disclosures in light of these events.
“The January Los Angeles wildfires were a significant event for many insurance companies and presented a unique situation for insurer financial statements and the associated actuarial opinions as of Dec. 31, 2024,” said COPLFR Chairperson and Academy Board member Stephen Koca.
“Following a review of existing industry guidance on such an event, COPLFR worked to publish an additional resource just one month following the beginning of the fires, Supplement to the 2024 COPLFR Practice Note—LA Wildfires, for P&C Appointed Actuaries to consider alongside the annually published Practice Note on Statements of Actuarial Opinion on Property and Casualty Loss Reserves,” Koca said.
A related Actuarially Sound blog post covers the public policy impacts of the fires and catastrophic climate-related events, underscoring the ongoing intersection of insurance, government, and actuarial expertise. It highlights related Academy activity in the area, including presentations at last year’s Envision Tomorrow annual meeting and comments sent by the Extreme Events and Property Lines Committee to the California Department of Insurance on proposed catastrophe modeling regulations.
COPLFR Releases Annual P/C Practice Note
COPLFR released its annual practice note on statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs) on property and casualty loss reserves in late December. The practice note describes practices commonly employed by actuaries working on SAOs on loss and loss expense reserves in accordance with the NAIC’s Property and Casualty Annual Statement Instructions.
Webinar Covers Key Issues
COPLFR also hosted a Jan. 8 webinar, 2024 Opinion Season, that featured committee members including moderator Aaron Hillebrandt. Presenters examined key issues in the annual practice note on SAOs, along with a recap of December’s Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions (and a look ahead to this year’s, set for Dec. 8–9 in Salt Lake City), and the P/C Loss Reserve Law Manual. Watch a replay on Academy Learning.
Cross-Practice ‘Hill Visits’ to Include Key P/C Issues
The Academy will hold its annual “Hill Visits” this spring. As in past years, a group of active volunteers will head to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on April 2–4 to meet with federal lawmakers and congressional staff.
This year’s visits will be a joint practice-council event, with volunteers from all five Academy practice councils—including the Casualty Practice Council (CPC)—visiting Senate and House congressional offices. Focusing on key committees and staff, the meetings will spotlight the Academy’s key public policy and professionalism issues.
CPC volunteers will focus on key property/casualty issues including flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program, cyber risk and cybersecurity, and climate risk. They will also address cross-practice issues such as AI, Big Data, and access to and affordability of insurance.
The meetings serve as a great reminder to elected officials and their staff of the expertise that the Academy and its volunteers bring to public policy discussions. Actuaries are a necessary and trusted resource, particularly as Congress evaluates and considers proposals to solve some of the nation’s biggest challenges in casualty and other practice areas.
Get an Early Discount to May’s Insuring the Future Summit
Registration is open for Insuring the Future, the Academy’s Insurance Investment Summit coming to New York City in May. The inaugural event will bring together insurance investment professionals including actuaries, asset managers, and executives from the life, retirement, health, and property-casualty sectors. Learn more about the timely session topics and excellent speaker lineup planned for the summit, selected to provide valuable insights to actuaries and others working in the insurance investment space, by reviewing the full agenda.
Early discounts run through the end of March. The summit will be held on May 22–23 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. Get your early discount today.
Award for Research Submissions Open; Deadline End of March
The Academy is inviting submissions for the third annual Award for Research, which recognizes an early-career scholar whose work contributes significantly to greater perspective on a public policy issue of interest to actuaries and public policymakers. This year’s theme is “Bias in Assessing Financial Risk: Origins, Detection, Mitigation,” focusing on biases which might affect actuarial assessments in insurance, retirement planning, and/or financial risk assessment.
The recipient, who will be announced this summer, will be invited to present their work virtually at an Academy webinar and in person at the Actuarial Research Conference, being held in July at York University in Toronto. The award includes a monetary prize of $7,500. For complete information and to submit, click here.
CPC Presenting at NAIC Spring Meeting
The CPC will give an update of its activities at the NAIC Spring National Meeting March 23–26 in Indianapolis. The presentation to NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical (C) Task Force (CASTF) will include the recent COPLFR annual practice note, upcoming Academy events, and other recent publications. The Academy will also present to the P/C Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group. P/C Risk-Based Capital Committee Chairperson Ron Wilkins will present an update on R4/R5 Loss/Premium Concentration Factors and 2025 Committee Projects.
Also of particular interest is the first in-person meeting of NAIC’s new Risk-Based Capital Governance Model (EX) Task Force. The Academy offered a joint practice-council comment letter, which included the CPC, in response to the task force’s inaugural charges earlier in March. A planned joint presentation to the task force is anticipated in early April.
The Academy will also be holding a joint practice-council dinner on March 23 in Indianapolis.
Save the Dates—CLRS, P/C Opinion-Writing Seminar
Save the dates for two Academy-sponsored events coming later this year of interest to P/C actuaries and offering valuable continuing education (CE) credit. Registration and early discounts for each event will open soon.
CLRS—The 2025 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar & Workshops (CLRS), sponsored jointly by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, is set for Sept. 8–10 in Philadelphia. The CLRS offers highly interactive sessions to help P/C actuaries stay fresh on relevant topics, maintain credentials, and grow your network.
- Call for Papers—The CLRS issued a Call for Papers on a variety of topics, which will be assessed on if the content is informative and relevant, with clear and immediate application to the work of participants. Strong proposals will focus tightly on specific content rather than including every aspect of the topic, and will include opportunities for learner engagement. The deadline is March 31—for details, visit the Call for Papers link.
P/C Opinion Seminar—The Academy’s annual Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions will be held Dec. 8–9 in Salt Lake City. Called by one past attendee “a great distillation of changing requirements and rules, as well as a good pooling of experience,” it’s designed for P/C actuaries who prepare NAIC annual statements of actuarial opinion.
Highlights From
Casualty Quarterly
Prefer to watch your news? Check out this “Highlights From Casualty Quarterly” video for a quick recap of what you need to know.
Comment Reminder—ASOP No. 39
Comment Reminder—The comment period to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) remains open for property/casualty-focused ASOP No. 39. The proposed revision, Treatment of Catastrophe or Extreme Event Losses in Future Cost Estimates for Property/Casualty Risk Transfer and Risk Retention, would replace the current ASOP No. 39, which was adopted in 2000 to provide guidance in evaluating catastrophe exposure.
The comment deadline has been extended to June 1. See open exposure drafts on the ASB website.
In the News
Senior Casualty Fellow Rich Gibson discussed the widespread impacts of insurance fraud, including on vulnerable populations, in an Insurance News Net story.
Actuarial Review reported on a general session about emerging technology and reserving at last September’s jointly sponsored CLRS, which Gibson co-moderated.
Captive.com’s coverage of World Captive Forum sessions included speakers’ discussions of loss ratio issues raised by the Academy in comments to the IRS.
Utility Dive mentioned the jointly sponsored Actuaries Climate Index in an article on utilities’ wildfire risks.
Legislative / Regulatory Activity
Federal
President Trump continues to issue executive orders that will have an impact on various aspects of insurance and financial security, including property/casualty issues.
State
California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in early February seeking to implement wildfire mitigation strategies in the wake of wildfires in the Los Angeles area that destroyed more than 16,000 structures in January. Among other things, it calls for the creation of an ember-resistant zone within five feet of a home and calls on state agencies to work with federal authorities to ensure that resources are ordered and dispatched efficiently.
The California Department of Insurance adopted and amended regulations regarding rate application and variance request requirements for insurers that will permit insurers to use forward-looking catastrophe models in their rate calculations; change the rate-making formula; and create a procedure to allow the public to investigate these models.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed SB 40, legislation that expands unemployment benefits in the state by increasing the number of weeks per year an individual can receive benefits and raising the maximum weekly benefit from $362 to $614 over the next three years.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed A 10344/S 9420, requiring insurers providing parametric insurance to include certain disclosures in the policy. These disclosures include language stating that coverage is not a replacement for property or flood insurance and that it may not be accepted by mortgage institutions as suitable for coverage on its own.
Hochul also signed A 2866/S 4199, empowering the state superintendent of financial services to establish standards for hurricane windstorm deductibles in an effort to create uniformity and better consumer understanding.
The Virginia State Senate approved SB 1152, legislation that would provide a combined $3 million minimum for the amount of professional and general liability coverage a nursing home or certified nursing facility must maintain.
The Kansas House of Representatives passed HB 2047, establishing an online insurance verification system to help identify evidence of motor vehicle liability insurance.
The Georgia Senate passed SB 35, extending the notice a property/casualty insurer must give a policyholder before cancelling their policy from 30 to 60 days.
The Mississippi House approved HB 1534, creating the Mississippi Windstorm Mitigation Association. Overseen by the Department of Insurance, the association of member insurers would issue grants to residential and commercial properties to help pay for improvements that make the properties more resilient to hurricanes, tornadoes, other catastrophic windstorm events.
P/C Public Policy in Brief
The Academy’s title insurance research project was noted in a featured article on title insurance consumer protections by U.S. Department of the Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy Jeanette Quick.
Read more—For the latest updates on the Academy’s P/C-practice work, visit the Casualty Public Policy page.
Professionalism Outreach at CAS
Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) Director of Professionalism Ed Lee presented at the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Course on Professionalism in both February and March, covering the ABCD’s role in professionalism and self-regulation.