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RECENT ACADEMY ACTIVITY | | |
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Only have a minute? Catch up on the week’s top stories with the latest “This Week … In a Minute” video. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive videos as they are released. | |
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Board Selection Process Ends Next Week The Academy’s annual member-selected directors selection process continues and will run through next Wednesday, Sept. 17. Members should have received a Sept. 3 email from Intelliscan (Academy@intelliscanvotes.com) with their personalized selection page. This year’s member-selected director candidates are Joseph Hicks, Ron Ogborne, and Becky Sheppard. For more, visit the Board Selection Center. | | | |
Co-Sponsored CLRS a Success; COPLFR Meets to Discuss Its Work Products | | | |
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Gibson (left) and staff at the Academy’s CLRS booth | | | |
The annual Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) in Philadelphia, an educational event co-sponsored by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, featured over 50 sessions for more than 350 attendees. Academy volunteers led sessions on a variety of topics including flood insurance, cyber risk, and professionalism. Academy staff enjoyed interacting with CLRS attendees at our booth. Following CLRS, Academy Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) volunteers met to discuss the update of the Academy's annual practice note on Statements of Actuarial Opinion on P/C Loss Reserves, the annual update of the P/C Loss Reserve Law Manual, and the upcoming Seminar on P/C Loss Reserve Opinions, set for early December in Salt Lake City. Also discussed were the two recent public exposures from the NAIC's Actuarial Opinion Working Group—the 2025 Regulatory Guidance and the 2026 P&C Opinion Instructions. Outgoing COPLFR Chairperson Stephen Koca closed his last in-person meeting by thanking members, interested parties, and Academy staff for all the hard work over his many years volunteering on and leading the committee.
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- In the opening keynote session, Senior Casualty Fellow Rich Gibson and Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais discussed the commissioner’s achievements during his tenure as NAIC president, particularly his focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and the career opportunities available in the insurance and financial services industry.
- Gibson also moderated a session on the current state of flood insurance featuring Casualty Practice Council member Steve Kolk.
- Koca and COPLFR Vice Chairperson Michelle Iarkowski participated in a session on wildfires, highlighting the Academy’s FAQs on California wildfires from earlier this year.
- Current and former COPLFR members participated in a workshop on “Maximizing the Value of Your Actuarial Report and Opinion.”
- Committee on Cyber Risk Chairperson Sam Tashima and incoming Chairperson Isabelle McCullough participated in a session on cyber insurance market trends, citing the committee’s regularly updated Cyber Risk Toolkit.
Look for more coverage in the upcoming Casualty Quarterly and September Actuarial Update. | | | |
Academy Practice Councils Provide Joint Comment to NAIC on AI Issues |
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Continuing to provide an actuarial perspective on responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in insurance, vice presidents from the Academy’s casualty, health, life, and risk management and financial reporting councils sent a comment letter to the NAIC in response to the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group’s exposure of an AI Systems Evaluation Tool. The comment letter supported inclusion of regulatory consistency, prioritizing state flexibility, principle-based flexibility, and consumer protection and fairness. Policy Paper Examines Gig Workers’ Retirement Needs | | | |
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A new policy paper, Retirement and Gig Workers, covers some of the unique retirement challenges faced by gig workers, a growing segment of the U.S. workforce. The policy paper, a joint publication by the Retirement Practice Council’s Retirement Policy and Design Evaluation (RPADE) Committee and the Social Security Committee, highlights the public policy considerations connected to gig workers, who are generally doing nontraditional work outside the traditional employer-employee relationship. Infographic—Accompanying the paper is an infographic highlighting potential retirement security challenges as well as public policy approaches when addressing gig workers’ retirement needs. “Many gig workers face diminished prospects of saving for their golden years, compared to those in traditional employment relationships—so it’s important that policymakers be aware of the potential shortfall and options to help address it,” said RPADE Committee Chairperson Lee Gold in a news release. Academy Presents at NAMD on Health Insurance Market Dynamics Health Vice President Annette James and Health Practice Council Vice Chairperson Julia Lerche joined the National Association of Medicaid Directors’ (NAMD) CFO/Finance Affinity Group to share their thoughts on health insurance market dynamics. Their presentation included a discussion of the 2026 health insurance premium drivers and highlighted the interconnectedness among all health insurance markets, with a focus on individual and Medicaid markets. NASHP Panel—James also participated on a panel at the National Academy for State Health Policy’s (NASHP) Annual State Health Policy Conference in San Diego. The presentation, Managing the Undertow of Shifting Health Insurance Markets, included a discussion of 2026 health insurance premium drivers, and market stability, and highlighted the interconnectedness among various health insurance markets.
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- The Pension Committee submitted a comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board Emerging Issues Task Force’s, responding to the current agenda project: Application of Topic 715 to Market-Return Cash Balance Plans .
- The Life Practice Council submitted comments to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial (A) Task Force (LATF) on the template exposure for AG 55.
- The Life Illustration Subcommittee submitted comments to LATF on recent amendments to APF AG 49-A Section 7.
- The C-3 Subcommittee provided an update on C3 Alignment to NAIC’s Life Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group(LRBC Working Group).
- The Life Investment and Capital Adequacy Committee submitted a comment letter to NAIC’s LRBC Working Group in response to questions raised during LRBC’s June meeting.
- The Academy sent a letter to the leadership of the NAIC’s Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Model Governance (EX) Task Force, inviting their input or suggestions on a new cross-practice research project to update and extend previous analyses of the relationship between RBC ratios and insolvency or impairment of insurers
Resource Center—Visit the online Resource Center to stay on top of the latest Academy news and activity. | | | |
HealthCheck Offers Deep-Dive on Resource Package | | | |
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The Summer HealthCheck leads with a deep-dive Q&A with Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello on the Health Practice Council’s resource guide and suite of publications on how aspects of health insurance markets influence each other. It also features a recap of NAIC Summer National Meeting presentations and recent health-related legislative and regulatory activity. |
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Actuarially Sound Covers Award for Research The latest Actuarially Sound blog post covers the Academy’s third annual Award for Research, presented virtually to Xi Xin at the Actuarial Research Conference in Toronto in late July. | | | |
- Coverage of Tuesday’s Medicare webinar was featured as the top story by InsuranceNewsNet—including comments from Academy Medicare Committee Chairperson Derek Skoog and guest panelists.
- Modern Healthcare (subscriber-only) quoted Health Equity Committee Becky Sheppard in a story about vaccine insurance coverage.
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ICYMI—Professionalism Webinar Recording Available In case you missed it, a recording of last Friday’s professionalism webinar, COQ, ASB, ABCD: The Professionalism Trifecta, is available for replay. The webinar featured chairpersons of the Committee on Qualifications (COQ), Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), and Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD)—the three entities are at the heart of actuarial professionalism that set standards for the profession and help actuaries meet these standards. Find the replay on Academy Learning. ABCD Provides Outreach to Tri-State Actuarial Club Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) member and past Professionalism Vice President Tim Geddes presented an overview of the ABCD and its services and processes on Monday to the Tri-State (Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio) Actuarial Club at the Greater Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. | | | |
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Visit the Event Calendar for a complete listing of Academy events. Reminder—Your Input Wanted on Potentially Disruptive Events |
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The Disruptive Events Task Force is seeking input on potentially disruptive events, defined as significant developments (e.g., emergencies and disasters, or a cure for chronic disease) that are not covered by routine measures; that can be caused by natural, man-made, or artificial circumstances; and that cause current actuarial models to no longer be effective. The task force, created by the Academy’s Strategic Planning Committee, is charged with identifying a process to help actuaries respond to disruptive events that may create a significant reputational risk to the profession. Recent examples include the 2024 Change Healthcare data breach and the California wildfires, but other events could include developments, such as potential breakthrough medical cures. Your Voice Matters—Your insights could directly influence professional response protocols, risk management strategies, and future opportunity identification to ensure the U.S. actuarial profession remains resilient and ready for whatever comes next. Take Action—Visit the Potentially Disruptive Events webpage to submit your input.
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