Secure an Early Discount to May’s Insurance Investment Summit
There’s just one day left to secure an early registration discount to the Academy’s second annual Insuring the Future: Insurance Investment Summit, set for May 12–13 New York. Following last year’s successful inaugural event, new this year will be optional pre-summit sessions exploring key issues in asset management and related issues.
Sessions will include structured and private credit; reinsurance structures and investment considerations; ratings, return, and risk; and regulator insight. See the full agenda online.
“Building off the success of last year’s Insurance Investment Summit, we are very excited about the panel discussions coming up at this year’s event,” said Marc Altschull, a 2025 Academy Outstanding Volunteerism Award recipient who led last year’s summit planning and is doing so again this year.
“We are honored that the summit will kick off with a keynote discussion with David Golub, President of Golub Capital and one of the most influential voices in private credit and insurance investing today,” Altschull said. “David’s perspective on asset allocation, risk management, and the evolving role of private credit in insurer portfolios makes this opening session a must-attend for actuaries and investment leaders navigating today’s complex investment environment.”
To help said the stage, the summit will kick off the morning of May 12 with optional continuing education (CE) sessions that provide a strong investment foundation for the conversations to follow, he added.
Join the Academy for this important event in New York in May. To get an early discount, register by April 3.
Academy Holds Spring Policy Summit, Annual Hill Visits
The Academy held its inaugural Spring Policy Summit in Washington on March 9, followed by the annual “Hill visits” in which Life Practice Council (LPC), other practice-area volunteers, and Academy staff fanned out across Capitol Hill to meet with staff of congressional members, committees, and federal agencies.
The summit featured multiple sessions with legislative, regulatory, and stakeholder groups, all of whom reinforced the value received through the Academy’s objective and nonpartisan information on important public policy issues. A key theme across sessions was delivering our expertise and insights by “meeting stakeholders where they are”—whether through short bullet-point highlights, infographics, issue briefs, or more detailed comment letters, papers, and monographs.
LPC groups met with the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, along with Rep. Donald Norcross (D–N.J.) and Sens. Bill Cassidy (R–La.) and Tim Kaine (D–Va.). Academy President Tricia Matson, who was in a life group making the rounds on Capitol Hill, said that “one significant issue in the life insurance space is the increased use of cross-border reinsurance. We want to make sure that when assets move offshore, there are appropriate safeguards in the U.S., so that the policyholders are protected.”
Also in the group was Rhonda Ahrens, a member of the Life Investment and Capital Adequacy Committee and a regular faculty member at the Academy’s annual Life and Health Qualifications Seminar. Ahrens noted another issue discussed in the visits was lifetime income. “With the concerns in an aging population, there are issues around sources for lifetime income and longevity,” she said, including “opportunities to increase the use of the decumulation feature of insurance products that have more traditionally been used for accumulation such as deferred annuities.” The Academy is “trying to raise more awareness about how annuities within insurance products can be utilized in addition to employer sponsored accounts like 401(k)s to meet these income needs. A couple of our appointments will address ideas around how people can combine their multiple 401(k) [plans] into one, so they can have everything in one place, and insurance is a way that you could potentially do that.”
Mary Bahna-Nolan, a former life VP and a member of the Life Experience and Assumptions Committee, said that “while not specific to life, certainly the integrity of data and the accessibility to public data sources” was another issue of interest. “Some of the activities that have taken place over the last year have maybe limited the data that we have access to, and it does have a lot of downstream applications, in terms of how we’re able to price and design our products [and] understand risk,” she said. “If we don’t have good data, then we have uncertainty, and the more uncertainty, the more we have to build [that] into our cost structure.”
VP Corner
LPC Off to a Strong Start With Hill Visits
Kirsten Pedersen, Vice President, Life
The LPC kicked off the year with strong momentum, holding two webinars and launching two publications. The busy spring continued with members participating in the Academy’s annual Hill visits to share actuarial perspectives on topics such as annuities and discussing policymakers’ questions on a variety of life-related issues.
The LPC also actively participated in multiple meetings at the NAIC Spring National Meeting in San Diego, including to NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force (LATF) and Risk-Based Capital Investment Risk Evaluation (E) Working Group.
As noted in this issue’s lead story, following last year’s inaugural event, the Academy is actively preparing for the upcoming Insurance Investment Summit in New York in May, which will deliver insights on emerging investment and risk management topics critical to the life insurance industry.
Thank you to the many Academy life volunteers whose time, expertise, and dedication drive these impactful initiatives! The LPC always welcomes new volunteers—submit your interest via the Academy’s volunteer contact form.
LPC Presents at NAIC Spring National Meeting
The Academy and the LPC presented at the NAIC Spring National Meeting in San Diego in late March. Director of Research Steve Jackson presented updates to NAIC task forces and working groups on the Academy’s research project related to risk-based capital (RBC).
Academy President Tricia Matson introduced professionalism updates by Actuarial Standards Board Chairperson Laura Hanson, Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline Chairperson William Hines, and Committee on Qualifications member and life volunteer Linda Lankowski.
The Academy also gave several practice-area presentations, including an LPC activity update by Life Public Policy Project Manager Amanda Barry-Moilanen. C-1 Subcommittee Chairperson Steve Smith also presented on the collateralized loan obligation comparable attributes project to the NAIC’s Risk-Based Capital Investment Risk and Evaluation (E) Working Group.
▶ Blog & podcast coming–Look for an Actuary Voices podcast and an Actuarially Sound blog post coming in April, recapping the Academy’s presentations at the meeting in detail.
Registration Open for September’s LHQ Seminar
Registration is open for the Academy’s 2026 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, which will be held in late September this year—a change from previous years when the annual event has been held in November. Programs will run similarly to last year’s new separate life and health tracks, following a day of general education.
The popular LHQ seminar delivers three days of training and instruction—plus an optional three-hour exam on the fourth day—to equip you with the knowledge to gain necessary qualifications to issue NAIC actuarial opinions. The seminar can also serve as a basic education refresher or as a source of required continuing education for more experienced actuaries.
Registration is limited and early discounts are available. Register today.
Save the Date—VM-22 Practitioners Forum Set for Aug. 26, Following ValAct
Save the date for an Aug. 26 VM-22 Practitioners Forum, to be held in Denver. Convening after the close of the 2026 SOA Valuation Actuary Meeting (ValAct), this event will provide a structured forum to examine key regulatory developments and their implications for your work. Registration will open soon.
Paper Examines Fixed Indexed Annuities
A Life Experience Committee policy paper, Fixed Indexed Annuities—Product Mechanics and Risk Management, gives an overview of fixed indexed deferred annuities. The paper covers product features, underlying investments, modeling assumptions, asset liability modeling, hedging considerations, and reserve requirements.
ASB Approves a Third Exposure Draft of ASOP No. 41
The Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) approved a third exposure draft of a proposed revision of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 41, Actuarial Communications. This ASOP applies to actuarial communications in any form and within any practice area. The comment deadline is June 1. Information on how to submit comments can be found on page 3 of the exposure draft.
▶ May 1 webinar—Join the Academy for a May 1 professionalism webinar on ASOP No. 41.
Highlights From
Life Perspectives
Prefer to watch your news? Check out this “Highlights From Life Perspectives” video for a quick recap of what you need to know.
Academy Outreach
Member-Selected Director Donna Megregian presented on life issues to the Ohio Department of Insurance in Columbus on Feb. 17. Megregian, who is also vice chairperson of the Life Practice Council and chairperson of the Life Products Committee, spoke on annuities and annuity types, sales, classifications, and designs.
Speakers Bureau—The Academy is available to provide speakers to actuarial clubs, employers, and educational entities. The Speakers Bureau provides qualified speakers on professionalism and public policy topics.
Life Public Policy in Brief
The Tax Committee developed general reference spreadsheets to assist actuaries who wish to explore the calculation of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 7702: Minimum Interest Rates.
The Life Products Committee submitted a comment letter to LATF on the exposed question on nonforfeiture clarifications, and a comment letter to NAIC’s Life Insurance and Annuity Illustrations (A) Working Group on annuities issues.
The Longevity Risk Task Force provided responses to questions posed by the NAIC Longevity Risk (E/A) Subgroup regarding a framework for the RBC C-2 charge for longevity reinsurance.
The Reinsurance Working Group submitted comments to the NAIC Statutory Accounting Principles (E) Working Group on the SAPWG 2025‑22 exposure draft regarding IMR impacts on reinsurance collateral.
The C-1 Subcommittee gave an update to NAIC’s RBC Investment Risk and Evaluation (E) Working Group on the CLO Comparable Attributes project.
The Annuity Reserves and Capital Subcommittee (ARCS) submitted a comment letter in response to LATF’s VM-22 In Force Questions exposed during NAIC’s 2025 Fall Meeting, and separate comments regarding VM-22 aggregation, VM-22 settlement options, and on an exposure requesting discussion on the VM-22 investment guardrails for pension risk transfer.
The ARCS submitted comments to LATF on principles for applying an illiquidity spread in PBR calculations.
The ARCS and the C-3 subcommittee submitted comments on recent NAIC C-3 exposures.
The cross-practice RBC Task Force submitted comments to NAIC’s RBC Model Governance (EX) Task Force’s public exposure of RBC gaps.
The C-1 Subcommittee presented an update on CLO C-1 factors modeling to the NAIC’s Risk-Based Capital Investment Risk and Evaluation (E) Working Group.
Read more—For the latest updates on the Academy’s life practice work, visit the Life Public Policy page.
Academy in the News
Southeastern Connecticut regional newspaper The Day (subscriber-only) noted Tricia Matson becoming Academy president.
Reporting on the NAIC Spring National Meeting, Insurance Business noted the Academy’s work on life-practice issues.
MSN cited the Academy’s jointly sponsored Actuaries Longevity Illustrator. The illustrator was also was used to highlight longevity risk considerations in retirement planning by Barron’s and Yahoo!Finance.
The Academy provided background to STAT News for a story on at-home health and genetic tests.
C-1 Subcommittee Chairperson Steve Smith interviewed with 9fin for a subscriber-only update on the Academy’s and NAIC’s work on CLOs and structured securities.
A Reinsurance News story on regulatory developments affecting life insurers’ holdings of CLOs noted the Academy’s work in this area.
Best’s Review’s annual actuaries and auditors issue featured comments by former Life Vice President Jason Kehrberg on offshore reinsurance issues.
Kehrberg shared background on the development and implementation of Actuarial Guideline 55 in a Longevity and Mortality Investor story.
Think Advisor’s “2026 Life and Annuity Advisor’s Almanac” included a listing of Academy officers.
Mondaq discussed the Academy’s latest progress report to the NAIC RBC Investment Risk and Evaluation (E) Working Group.
A Mondaq story highlighting investment-related activity at the NAIC Fall National Meeting extensively noted the Academy’s work in this area.
Think Advisor published a focus piece promoting the value of the recently released Index-Linked Variable Annuity (ILVA)/ Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA) policy paper developed by the ILVA Subcommittee.
Legislative/Regulatory Activity
Oklahoma Rep. Mark Tedord is sponsoring HB 2931, legislation to amend the Oklahoma Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act, increasing the value of certain annuity funds subject to the Act.
Virginia Del. Jeion Ward introduced HB 60, a measure that addresses unfair discrimination in life and health insurance by barring insurers from discriminating against living organ donors, among other things.
HSB 516, a bill proposed by the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services, is meant to protect eligible adults from financial exploitation, particularly within the insurance and financial services sectors.
Illinois Sen. Julie Morrison introduced SB 2872, a measure stating that specified provisions of the state’s Standard Nonforfeiture Law for Individual Deferred Annuities do not apply to contingent deferred annuities. The proposed language also affirms that the state’s director of insurance has the ability to adopt nonforfeiture benefits for such annuities.
Morrison also introduced SB 2799, legislation that prohibits insurers from canceling, limiting, or denying coverage based on an individual’s genetic information, as well as from requiring or soliciting such information for insurance purposes.
New Jersey Sen. Raj Mukherji is sponsoring S 2948, a bill outlining new requirements for processing requests to surrender or annuitize matured annuities in the state, including mandating that annuities include a clause allowing owners 90 calendar days from the maturity date to request annuitization.
New Jersey Sen. Jon Bramwick introduced S 955, which mandates that life insurance companies notify policyholders and their producers at least 10 days prior to a policy lapsing due to nonpayment of premiums.
Florida Sen. Jonathan Martin introduced SB 894, which allows companies and organizations to purchase life insurance policies on key employees.
Washington Sen. Rebecca Saldana introduced SB 5495, legislation focusing on limitations of liability and requirements for credit life insurance.