Academy Unveils Revamped Website
 The Academy’s newly revamped website, www.actuary.org, offers improved navigation with updated graphics and information; professionalism, public policy, and member sections; and the latest news, publications, and Academy features. The new site brings the Academy in line with current best practices in terms of responsiveness, design, and accessibility. All the content you need is at your fingertips. Please take some time to explore the new website-and let us know what you think.
New Issue Paper Looks at Wildfire Risks
 The Academy’s Extreme Events and Property Lines Committee released an issue paper, Wildfire: Lessons Learned from the 2017 to 2021 Events, that updates and expands upon a June 2019 issue paper on wildfires. The new issue paper identifies and discusses key areas pertaining to wildfire risk after recent events in the Western U.S. put a spotlight on how devastating wildfires can be to the general public, as well as the impact to insurers and reinsurers.
Pension, Life Webinars Look at Key Policy Issues
The Academy hosted pension and life webinars this week.
“Funding Public Pension Plans-Theory and Practice,” held Tuesday, highlighted lessons learned, including The 80% Pension Funding Myth issue brief; explored prudent funding practices; and examined considerations being made in the management of “surplus.” Read more here. “Life Practice Public Policy Update,” held Wednesday, explored developments on current and emerging public policy issues affecting life actuaries, including examined future mortality improvement for life insurance, COVID-19 mortality as it pertains to Social Security, C-2 Risk-Based Capital mortality risk, and provided a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) VM-50/VM-51 update. Read more here.
Archived webinar recordings of Academy webinars, including slides and audio, are available post-event for logged-in Academy members.
Academy Presents to NAIC on Climate Risk
Steve Jackson, the Academy’s assistant director for research (public policy), and Michelle Young, chairperson of the Climate Related Financial Disclosures Work Group and vice chairperson of the Climate Change Joint Task Force, presented Wednesday to the NAIC’s Climate and Resiliency (EX) Task Force highlighting results on recently published Academy research assessing the impact of a proposed change by the NAIC from their current climate disclosure survey analysis. The NAIC is exploring elements of data collection in the NAIC survey vs. the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) survey.
HPC Groups Comment on 2023 NBPP
The Health Practice Council’s (HPC) Individual and Small Group Markets Committee, Risk Sharing Subcommittee, and Health Equity Work Group submitted a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on CMS’ proposed rule for the 2023 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP). The letter addresses network adequacy, standardized plan options, several provisions on health equity, updating quality improvement strategy and other topics.
DSAC Members Presents at ‘CASTF Book Club’
Members of the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council’s Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) presented virtually at Tuesday’s “CASTF Book Club”-a significant forum because of its charge from the NAIC’s executive-level Big Data Working Group to educate regulators on data analytics-hosted by NAIC’s Casualty Actuarial and Statistical (C) Task Force. The presentation was based on the Big Data and Algorithms in Actuarial Modeling and Consumer Impacts issue paper released in November. There will be more content issued by the committee soon, as well as opportunities to discuss these topic on upcoming Academy webinars.
Spread the Word-Academy-Sponsored Diversity Scholarships Available for Drake Symposium
Academy members are encouraged to share with actuarial students that the Academy is sponsoring six diversity scholarships to April’s Drake Symposium on Insurance, which focuses on insurance and actuarial science. Current university students of under-represented backgrounds interested in the actuarial profession are encouraged to apply. Recipients must be available to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, from April 8 to 10. The deadline to apply is Feb. 15; for more information, click here.
Place Your Order: Life & Health, P/C Law Manuals Available
The Academy’s Life and Health Valuation Law Manual contains information to help appointed actuaries and others know the requirements of the NAIC model Standard Valuation Law and the model Actuarial Opinion and Memorandum Regulation. Order today.
The Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Law Manual, designed to help appointed actuaries know the NAIC Annual Statement requirements for statements of actuarial opinion, is also available. Order today.
GAO Seeks Nominees for Advisory Committee
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a request for nominations to serve on a health policy-related federal commission-the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Nominations are due Feb. 11; self-nominations are accepted. See GAO’s Federal Register notice for more information.
Recently Released
The Fall/Winter Life Perspectives leads with a Q&A on the Future Mortality Improvement Recommendation relative to VM-20. Also in the issue, Life Practice Council (LPC) comments to the NAIC; the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) adopts revisions of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) Nos. 2 and 22; an LPC task force submitted comments to the ASB on the exposure draft of ASOP No. 24; and recent life-insurance related legislative and regulatory activity.
Public Policy in Focus
The Asset Modeling and Reporting Work Group submitted comments to NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on its proposed second exposure draft of an actuarial guideline (AG) regarding asset adequacy testing. The Index-Linked Variable Annuities Work Group submitted a comment letter to NAIC’s Index-Linked Variable Annuity (A) Subgroup of the Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee on a proposed actuarial guideline (AG) regarding index-linked variable annuities. Health Solvency Subcommittee Chairperson Derek Skoog presented recommendations from the Academy’s H2 Underwriting Risk and Managed Care Credit report to the NAIC’s Health Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group. The NAIC will expose the report to its members for a 45-day comment period ending on March 16.
Learn more about how the Academy’s public policy efforts support the profession, our members, and the public.
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