Vol 7 | No. 3
Date:12/24/2024
LPC Sets Insurance Investment Summit for May 2025, Following Academy Federal Hill Visits
The Life Practice Council (LPC) will hold an in-person “Insuring the Future: Insurance Investment Summit” on May 22–23, 2025, in New York City.
Hosted by the LPC and the LPC’s Investment Analysis Subcommittee, the summit will offer investment actuaries, asset managers, and other insurance investment executives working in life/pension risk transfer, health, and property/casualty a unique opportunity to network and hear from industry leaders, regulators, stakeholders, and peers on topics covering the rapidly evolving world of insurance asset management.
The summit will follow the Academy’s annual federal “Hill visits” in early April. In 2025, Academy staff and volunteer leadership will meet with policymakers in Congress, the federal agencies, and the federal administration to discuss key policy issues across all five practice areas—property/casualty, health, life, retirement, and risk management & financial reporting. This will be the first year that the Life Practice Council will participate, with an emphasis on issues related to reinsurance, insurance investments, and annuities.
Stay tuned for more details on these events coming early next year.
Life & Health Law Manual Available for Order
The Academy’s Life and Health Valuation Law Manual is available for preorder, offering valuable information on statements of actuarial opinion and the NAIC Model Standard Valuation Law—with the latest requirements for all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
“The law manual is an invaluable resource for navigating the complexities of state-based regulations,” said Michael Watanabe, chairperson of the Life and Health Law Valuation Manual Review Subcommittee. “Having a single document to review and confirm the historical reserving methods, assumptions, and requirements across all 50 states has been a significant time-saver when addressing any questions or challenges that may arise from regulators, auditors, or internal reviews—more effective than searching for answers online for hours.”
Make sure you have this important resource at your fingertips—place your order today and be among the first to have these handy reference tools. It will be available for delivery in early January.
Academy Holds Successful LHQ Seminar
Ahrens leads an LHQ Seminar life session
The Academy held another sold-out Life and Health Qualifications Seminar Nov. 4–7 in Arlington, Va. The annual LHQ Seminar offers basic education or relevant continuing education (CE) necessary to qualify to issue statements of actuarial opinion (SAOs) for NAIC annual statements in life and health.
Academy President Darrell Knapp was chairperson of the LHQ Seminar Subcommittee. Life presenters included Rhonda Ahrens, who received an Outstanding Volunteerism Award at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in October. (See story, below.)
PBR Bootcamp Webinar Examines VM-31
A Dec. 13 webinar, PBR Bootcamp: VM-31 as Seen by Regulators, featured a panel of regulators addressing principle-based reserving (PBR) reports, variable annuities, and Valuation Manual (VM) updates.
The webinar provided timely information for actuaries, via the presenting regulators, on how to improve their PBR (VM-31) reports, while allowing attendees to ask questions. PBR reporting is still relatively new, making the regulatory feedback featured in this webinar at the end of the calendar year a valuable member benefit.
If you missed the live event, a recap of the webinar is available on Academy Learning, a member benefit.
ICMYI—Envision Tomorrow Sessions Cover Key Life Topics
(L–R) Kehrberg, Anderson, and Mais
At October’s Envision Tomorrow, the Academy’s annual meeting, Academy Life Vice President Jason Kehrberg moderated the plenary “View From the States” session featuring NAIC President and Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais and NAIC CEO Gary Anderson.
Also at the meeting, life volunteer Rhonda Ahrens received an Outstanding Volunteerism Award in recognition of her exceptional leadership and dedication in preparing knowledge statements related to the life appointed actuary and facilitating important discussions with regulators.
Life breakout sessions included:
- “Financial Security: Annuities & Long-Term Care,” which was moderated by PBR Implementation Subcommittee Chairperson Linda Lankowski. Speakers discussed certain life insurance and annuity products that are used by the “middle market,” broadly defined as households with annual incomes between $50,000 and $200,000, to provide financial security in retirement and for future generations.
- “Solvency Regulation: How Did We Get Here?” moderated by Academy Member-Selected Director Maambo Mujala, discussed how regulation related to life insurance company solvency has evolved and modernized in recent years. Among the panelists was Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek.
For a full recap of the event, read the Envision Tomorrow supplement to the October Actuarial Update.
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.
ASOP No. 41 Second Draft Open for Comment
A second exposure draft of a proposed revision of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 41, Actuarial Communications, is open for comment. The draft reflects revised guidance and updated definitions in response to comments received on the first exposure draft. ASOP No. 41 applies to all practice areas. Comments are due to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) by March 15, 2025. For more information and to comment, visit the ASB website.
FedSmith recommended the jointly sponsored Actuaries Longevity Illustrator to its readers. Kiplinger also published a story on the illustrator. A USA Today story, and a Motley Fool Money podcast, on retirement planning also cited the illustrator.
A research article on life insurance and financial stability in BIS Quarterly Review drew from the Academy’s February issue brief on offshore reinsurance. The issue brief was also cited in a Reinsurance Business story on recent related NAIC activity, and Retirement Income Journal noted the Academy’s input to regulators on the subject.
Mondaq cited the Academy in a story about investment-related initiatives and the NAIC.
A subscriber-only Asset Securitization Report story noted the Academy’s work on independently developing a framework for calculating collateralized loan obligation (CLO) risk-based capital charges.
A Think Advisorarticle on how COVID-19 mortality data are being factored into life/annuity estimates and tax accounting cited the Academy.
Legislative/Regulatory Activity
State
Delaware Gov. John Carney signed HB 286, prohibiting discrimination in life insurance based on genetic characteristics, genetic information, or the result of any genetic test that is not in a medical record.
The Nevada Division of Insurance issued revisions of certain provisions related to recommendations for the purchase of annuity products, which includes language clarifying that the sellers of an annuity must work in the best interest of the consumer, including understanding their financial situation, insurance needs, and financial objectives.
The Texas Department of Insurance adopted the 2025 NAIC Valuation Manual including, among other things, language that requires qualified actuaries for principle-based reserving to meet the Academy’s Specific Qualification Standard with respect to their opining areas.
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance proposed amendments to state regulations governing the advertisement, disclosure, and suitability requirements for life insurance and annuities directly solicited to consumers in an effort to align state regulations with the 2020 revisions of the NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation #275.
- The Annuity Reserves and Capital Subcommittee commented to the NAIC’s Valuation Manual (VM)-22 (A) Subgroup on its exposure of a longevity reinsurance reserving proposal.
- The Life Underwriting and Risk Classification Subcommittee submitted comments to the Colorado Division of Insurance on predictive models. It also submitted comments to the NAIC’s Special (EX) Committee on Race and Insurance on life insurer survey draft questions.
- Life Policy Analyst Amanda Barry-Moilanen attended the ACLI annual meeting, with sessions on financial and longevity, reinsurance, investments and annuities, technology and AI, and the evolving regulatory environment.
- The LPC sent comments to LATF regarding the Scope and Aggregation sections and the entirety of the exposure, AAT for Reinsurance Actuarial Guideline Draft.
- The Economic Scenario Generator Subcommittee commented to the NAIC Generator of Economic Scenarios (GOES) (E/A) Subgroup on its exposure of SERT scenarios.