This Week, April 29 – May 3, 2024

MEMBERSHIP

Nominations Open for Member-Selected Directors, Academy Annual Awards

Nominations are open for member-selected directors (MSDs) to the Academy Board and will run through June 3. MSDs will be selected by Academy members later this year in an online selection process from a slate of candidates presented by the Nominating Committee. Review the Nominating Committee Guidelines and visit the MSD Nominations Page to learn more about the role of member-selected directors, candidate criteria, and how to nominate yourself and other Academy members.

Academy Annual Awards-Nominations are also open for the Academy’s annual service and recognition awards. Submissions are due by June 7, and recipients will be recognized at Envision Tomorrow, the Academy’s Annual Meeting in October. To submit nominations for the Jarvis Farley Service Award, Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, Outstanding Volunteerism Awards, and Rising Actuary Awards, visit actuary.org/awards.

OUTREACH & NEWS

Contingencies, Actuarial Update Cover Election-Year Issues, Hill Visits

Two Academy publications rolled off the press this week. The May/June Contingencies leads with “Election Issues 2024: The Academy Weighs In,” highlighting the Academy’s objective, nonpartisan analysis of key topics Americans care about. Also in the issue:

• “A Celebration to Remember” offers featurettes on Contingencies‘ 35th anniversary, its professionalism and digital offerings, and a hilarious Q&A with Up to Code cartoonist Joe Sutliff.

• “Into the Deep End” explores what neural networks are-and how can they be thoughtfully deployed.

• Lisa Slotznick’s President’s Message looks at retirement and financial security.

The April Actuarial Update leads with extended coverage of the Academy’s annual “Hill visits,” in which volunteers and staff offer resources and expertise to policymakers. Also in the issue:

• The Academy kicks off its “Looking Back, Moving Forward: ERISA at 50” series with an upcoming May 14 webinar exploring the landmark law’s history, and a June 4 symposium in Washington, D.C.

• “Professionalism Counts” offers a primer on the difference between practice notes and actuarial standards of practice.

In the News

• A Forbes column about legislative activity in Alaska to restore public employee defined benefit pension plans pointed readers to an Academy Retirement for the Ages assessment of a Maine retirement plan.

EDUCATION & EVENTS

Early-registration discounts have been extended for next month’s PBR Bootcamp, back in person this year June 11-13 in Philadelphia. Offering a comprehensive look at hot topics in principle-based reserving (PBR), attendees will gain valuable insights on applying PBR and meeting implementation challenges, and will have the opportunity to ask experts questions directly. The hotel room block closes on May 20-be sure to book your reservation at Le Méridien Philadelphia. Secure your spot and save $300-register today.

Webinars Cover P/C RBC, Discrimination

Two Academy webinars this week covered P/C and data and discrimination issues, respectively. Recordings will be available for both soon, as a complimentary Academy member benefit.

• An Introduction to P&C Risk-Based Capital on Wednesday featured members of the P/C Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Committee, who gave historical background on RBC, noted recent developments, and detailed Academy work on this issue.

• Discrimination: Considerations for Machine Learning, AI Models, and Underlying Data, held Thursday, featured members of the Data Science and Analytics Committee who covered algorithmic predictions and AI models being used by insurance companies to develop personalized risk models when engaged in insurance pricing and underwriting-in which issues of fairness, discrimination, and social injustice may arise.

PUBLIC POLICY

Life Members: Your Feedback Requested by May 8

If you haven’t done so already, please take a few minutes to share your feedback on Life Perspectives, the Academy’s quarterly newsletter for life actuaries. Let us know what content is most useful to you and what you’d like to see covered more. Take the survey now.

Public Policy in Brief

• The Casualty Practice Council, the Health Practice Council, the Pension Committee, and the ERM/ORSA Committee all submitted comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on the proposed revision of Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 12, Risk Classification (for All Practice Areas).

• The Variable Annuity Reserves and Capital Subcommittee sent comments to the NAIC’s Variable Annuities Capital and Reserve (E/A) Subgroup on the exposure draft of APF 2024-07 that proposes updates to the VM-21 Standard Projection Amount assumptions.

Visit the Public Policy webpage to stay on top of the latest news and activity.

CALENDAR

• May 14 [Webinar] Looking Back, Moving Forward: ERISA at 50-The Origins and Evolution of ERISA: 1974 to 2024

• May 21 [Webinar] Machine Learning Usage Survey Analysis

• June 3 [Webinar] ABCD Requests for Guidance-Insight and Case Studies

• June 4 [Symposium] Looking Back, Moving Forward: ERISA at 50

• June 10 [Webinar] Speed-to-Market NAIC Presentation

• June 11-13 [Seminar] PBR Bootcamp; Philadelphia

• Sept. 9-11 [Seminar] Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar; San Francisco (co-sponsored with the Casualty Actuarial Society)

• Oct. 15-16 [Annual Meeting] Envision Tomorrow 2024; Washington, D.C.

• Nov. 4-7 [Seminar] Life and Health Qualifications Seminar; Arlington, Va.

• Dec. 9-10 [Seminar] Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions; New Orleans

Visit the Events Calendar for a complete listing of Academy events, including links to post-webinar slides and recordings.

Next Week-The Academy as CAS; ISPOR ’24

• Academy staff and volunteers will be at the Casualty Actuarial Society Spring Meeting May 5-8 in Atlanta. Stop by our booth and say hello.

• Academy Board member Annette James will take part in a panel discussion on health insurance and patient cost-sharing at ISPOR 2024, a health conference also being held May 5-8 in Atlanta.