The Academy’s operations will be closed Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day.
Ken Kent Nominated to Serve as Academy President-Elect
As announced in the Actuarial Update, Ken Kent, a well-known and highly respected actuary who has held many volunteer roles in service to the Academy, has been nominated as the next Academy president-elect. He received the Jarvis Farley Service Award in 2017 in recognition of his decades of service to the Academy and to the profession. For more on his nomination, see the May Update, released today.
COPR Releases ‘Professionalism for the Solo Actuary’ Paper
The Committee on Professional Responsibility (COPR) released a new professionalism discussion paper, Professionalism for the Solo Actuary. The ideas and suggestions offered in the paper are intended to assist solo practicing actuaries or actuaries practicing in small firms with respect to unique situations that they may encounter in providing actuarial services.
Webinar, Discussion Brief Focus on Health Equity
The Health Equity Work Group hosted a Monday webinar, “Health Equity: An Actuarial Perspective,” which offered an important discussion of health disparities facing our country, actuarial perspectives on health equity concerns, and the work group’s efforts to address those concerns.
Presenters also addressed questions from webinar attendees. Slides and audio have been posted to the Academy’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion webpage and are available free to Academy members.
Life Webinar Looks at the Effects of COVID-19
A Life Practice Council webinar, “The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Life Insurance Industry,” on Tuesday looked at the pandemic’s impacts on the life insurance industry and explored the possible near- and longer-term effects on life insurance. Panelists discussed the impact of COVID-19 on financial results, mortality experience, and considered possible impacts on life insurance operations including underwriting and pricing.
Presenters discussed topics concerning 2020 financial results and observations, the impact of the novel coronavirus on mortality, and the overall impact of the pandemic on the underwriting process.
Academy Past President (2015–16) Tom Wildsmith delivered a presentation, “Professionalism: Understanding Your Obligations Under the Code,” to the Middle Atlantic Actuarial Club’s virtual meeting on Tuesday. The presentation kicked off with the question “What does it mean to be a professional?” and explored why and how the Code of Professional Conduct defines the obligations U.S. actuaries have as professionals. Several club board members joined Wildsmith at the conclusion of the presentation for an insightful discussion of professionalism case studies.
Coming Next Month—Register for the Virtual PBR Boot Camp
The Academy’s Virtual PBR Boot Camp is right around the corner—there’s still time to register for this must-attend event. This seminar is tailored for those who may be relatively new to principle-based reserving (PBR). Sessions will provide comprehensive information on PBR requirements now that PBR is fully implemented and an opportunity to earn valuable continuing education (CE) credit in a convenient format. Interested in a particular topic? Take advantage of our daily rates which allow you to attend the session with content relevant to you and your work. Working with a team? Take advantage of our group rates. The seminar will take place June 7–9. Register now.
Recently Released
The May Actuarial Update leads with the announcement of the nomination of Ken Kent—who has held many Academy volunteer roles over the past 20 years—to be the Academy’s next president-elect. Also in the issue, information on nominations for the Academy’s annual service awards; coverage of the end-of-month health equity and life COVID-19 webinars; the Pension Practice Council’s “Hill visits” with federal lawmakers and policymakers staff; a Member Spotlight profile of Alan K. Putney, a member of the Actuarial Standards Board’s Casualty Committee; and the “Professionalism Counts” column is a Q&A with three contributing authors to the Professionalism for the Solo Actuary discussion paper released this week.
Public Policy Activity
The Pension Practice Council released an issue brief, The Security of Pension Plan Benefits, that discusses factors relevant to the security of typical employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plans in the United States.
The Long-Term Care Reform Subcommittee submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Long-Term Care (EX) Task Force regarding the April 9 exposure draft of the Long-Term Care Insurance Multi-State Rate Review Framework.
The Life Reserves Work Group of the Life Practice Council (LPC) submitted a comment letter to the NAIC’s Life Actuarial Task Force on an amendment proposal form (APF 2020-10), which addresses inclusion of future mortality improvement into PBR valuation.
The LPC’s C1 Work Group sent a comment letter addressing the Life Risk-Based Capital Working Group (LRBC WG) exposure drafts of factors for bonds, highlighting areas that are both material to the resulting factors and represent the greatest difference with the work group’s updated factors.
The LPC’s C-2 Longevity Risk Work Group sent a comment letter to the LRBC WG on the April 30 exposure of longevity risk-based capital (RBC) factors.
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