This Week, July 22 – 26, 2024

EDUCATION & EVENTS

Early Registration Ends Next Week for LHQ Seminar-Register Now & Save $200

Time is running out to get an early-bird discount to this year’s Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, set for November just outside of Washington, D.C. Attendees can earn up to 27 hours of CE, including professionalism hours. Space is limited for the seminar, which will be held Nov. 4-7 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va. Register by July 31 and save $200.

NEW-Annual Meeting Speakers Include AARP, NAIC Leaders

Newly announced Envision Tomorrow general session speakers include NAIC representatives: President and Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais, and the new CEO and former Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Gary Anderson. Mais and Anderson will discuss state insurance regulatory issues and what is on the NAIC agenda. Also new to the agenda is AARP Chief Public Policy Officer Debra Bailey Whitman, who will speak on longevity and aging. Whitman is the author of The Second Fifty: Answers to the 7 Big Questions of Midlife and Beyond, will touch on key issues that every generation faces. Early registration continues for Envision Tomorrow, the Academy’s annual meeting to be held Oct. 15-16 in Washington, D.C. Register today.

• Agenda Preview Next Week-Look for more on Envision Tomorrow speakers in the July Actuarial Update, out next Wednesday, including panels on artificial intelligence and self-regulation. Also, an exclusive interview with opening keynote speaker Gen. Wesley Clark.

• Call for Envision Tomorrow Poster Submissions-The Academy will be including its popular research poster feature again at the 2024 Envision Tomorrow event, and is soliciting topic submissions. The research posters offer professionals and researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their work in a concise and visually engaging format. Read more and submit your poster here.

One Week Left to Get a CLRS Early-Bird Discount, Register Now & Save $100

There’s just one week left to get an early registration discount to the Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS), set for September in San Francisco. The annual CLRS, sponsored jointly by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), offers highly interactive sessions to help P/C actuaries stay fresh on relevant topics, maintain credentials, and grow their network. The CLRS will be held Sept. 9 to 11, with a livestream option. Early registration discounts end Friday, Aug. 2-register today.

Webinar Examines NAIC GOES Project

Wednesday’s life webinar offered an update on the NAIC Generator of Economic Scenarios (GOES) Project, NAIC’s transition from the Academy’s Interest Rate Generator (AIRG) to a new economic scenario generator. Speakers presented the latest on the project, highlighted recent updates, and discussed remaining challenges. Slides and audio are available as a free member benefit.

Next Week-Free Webinar to Look at Church Plans

Next week’s free retirement webinar will feature a panel of U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials and will review two recently issued publications on church plans-a recent Academy issue brief and a GAO report. Presenters will discuss governance and fiduciary responsibilities, funding approaches, and impacts on church plans participants. Senior Retirement Fellow Linda K. Stone will moderate. It’s set for next Tuesday, July 30-register now.

OUTREACH & NEWS

Actuarially Sound Blog Covers Chevron Decision

The latest Actuarially Sound blog posts covers how the recent Supreme Court Chevron decision could affect future regulatory efforts in health, retirement, and other issues. Read this post along with many others on topics like AI, insurance and financial security, PBR, Social Security & Medicare, and more on the Academy’s website.

Doron Samuell Receives 2024 Award for Research

Slotznick and Samuell at ARC

Doron Samuell was presented with the Academy’s 2024 Award for Research by Academy President Lisa Slotznick at the Actuarial Research Conference (ARC).

The award recognizes work by an early-career scholar who is significantly contributing to an actuarial perspective on a public policy issue of interest to U.S. actuaries. Samuell co-authored the research paper, “Counteracting dishonesty strategies: A field experiment in life insurance underwriting,” which he presented in the Academy-sponsored ARC panel on behavioral economics. Read the Academy news release.

In the News

• Two Australian publications, Insurance News and Insurance Business, covered Sydney-based Samuell receiving the Academy’s 2024 Award for Research.

HealthCheck Looks at Medicare

The Summer HealthCheck offers a deep-dive Q&A on Medicare following the annual Trustees Report issued in May, and a Health Practice Council webinar and issue brief on the report. Also, highlighted was Board member Annette James’ nomination as the Academy’s next health vice president, along with recent health webinars and legislative/regulatory activity.

PROFESSIONALISM

ASB & ABCD Board Openings

• ASB Opening for a Property/Casualty Member-The Academy is accepting names of members interested in serving as an Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) member-there will be a need to fill one position with a volunteer from the casualty practice area for a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2025. If you are interested in being considered, please review the ASB selection criteria and complete the survey here. Nominations are due by Aug. 26.

• ABCD Opening for a Pension Member-The Academy is also accepting names of those interested in serving as a pension member on the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) for a three-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The nominee should be an experienced pension actuary who has worked with pension plans for a wide variety of employers, small and large, that contain participants with a diverse range of compensation levels. Please review the ABCD selection criteria and submit nominations here. Nominations are due by Aug. 26.

ASB Approves ASOP No. 30 Exposure Draft

The ASB approved an exposure draft of a proposed revision of Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 30, now titled Profit Margins and Contingency Provisions in Property/Casualty Risk Transfer and Risk Retention. Changes from the existing standard include broadening the scope from estimating capital cost, and evaluating underwriting profit and contingency provisions. The comment deadline is Nov. 1-to comment, see the exposure draft.

PUBLIC POLICY

New Climate Issue Paper Examines Variations in Climatic Effects on Various Populations

The Climate Change Joint Committee released an issue paper, Climatic Events, Inequities, and Risk Mitigation, which focuses on the cause-and-effect relationship that various climatic events have on different U.S. populations and communities that disproportionately experience the effects of climate change.

The paper also delves into the climate impacts on two critical variables for these populations-health and water availability; identifies some shortfalls of current climate disaster responses; proposes a few possible public and private insurance-type solutions; and describes other risk-mitigation approaches.

New PBGC FY 2023 Projections Provide Important Data for RPC Work

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released its Fiscal Year 2023 Projections Report, showing an improved financial outlook for both its multiemployer and single-employer pension insurance programs. Together, these programs protect over 31 million workers and retirees in private-sector defined benefit pension plans.

“The PBGC’s insurance programs provide vital financial security assurance to millions of plan participants,” said Academy Senior Retirement Fellow Linda K. Stone. The projections “provide useful information for the Retirement Practice Council (RPC) to continue providing an independent actuarial perspective on multiple aspects of the programs’ multi-pronged mission-including maintaining premiums at the lowest level consistent with carrying out its obligations and encouraging the continuation of voluntary private pension plans by sponsors for participants’ benefit.”

Public Policy in Brief

• Life Investment Analysis Subcommittee Chairperson Marc Altschull spoke at a Friday morning panel on “A New Framework for Insurer Investments” at the 2024 National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOHGLA) Legal Seminar in Boston.

• The Long-Term Care (LTC) Committee submitted comments to the NAIC’s LTC Actuarial (B) Working Group in response to the group’s request for comments on the Minnesota approach.

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

CALENDAR

• July 30 [Free webinar] Church-Sponsored Retirement Plans: Considerations and Issues Around PBGC Eligibility

• Aug. 6 [Webinar] Volunteer Information Session

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

• 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.

Reminder-RSVP for Aug. 6 Volunteer Information Session

Register now for the Volunteer Information Session, set for Aug. 6. If you have questions about volunteering or are interested in learning more about the process, Academy staff and volunteers will highlight opportunities and discuss the importance of volunteers to fulfilling the Academy’s mission. RSVP today.