Wildsmith Elected as President-Elect

• Tom Wildsmith, whose nomination was announced in August, was elected Academy president-elect by the Academy’s board of directors at its meeting this past week. Wildsmith, an actuary who serves as public policy manager in Aetna’s Washington office, will succeed Mary D. Miller as president for the 2015-16 term. Other officers whose nominations were announced in August were also elected by the board this past week:
• John Moore, 2014-15 secretary.
• Art Panighetti, 2014-15 treasurer.
• Shawna Ackerman, for a two-year term as vice president, casualty.
• Cathy Murphy-Barron, for a two-year term as vice president, health.
• Ken Kent, for a two-year term as vice president, professionalism.

As previously announced, the regular directors elected by the membership at large over the summer in the online election were Mike Angelina, Rich Daillak and Joeff Williams. Terms for all new board members begin at the close of the Annual Meeting of the members of the Academy in Washington at the Nov. 13 luncheon.

Seeking Your Comments on Proposed Attestation Form Through Next Friday

• The Academy invites members and other stakeholders to review and provide input on its draft voluntary attestation template that was presented to regulators at the National Association of Insurance Commissioner (NAIC) 2014 Summer National Meeting. In addition to providing regulators with a concise way to demonstrate qualifications under the U.S. Qualification Standards, the template can be used by all actuaries to demonstrate relevant credentials and qualifications in a standardized, straightforward, and documentable manner. Comments will be considered through Oct. 17. Please submit your comments through the Academy website.

Enrolled Actuaries Sought for Federal Advisory Committee

• The Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (JBEA) has asked the Academy to alert its members that the JBEA is seeking applications from enrolled actuaries to serve on its Advisory Committee on Actuarial Examinations. The committee is responsible for reviewing, editing, and finalizing examination questions, reviewing statistical results of the examination, and other activities. The application period closes on Dec. 5.

Opportunities to Learn

• A new analysis for 2013 through 2023 from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary projects that health care spending will increase at an average annual rate of 5.7 percent. Experts from CMS will provide an overview of the projections in the Academy webinar, “National Health Spending Projections from CMS,” on Oct. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern. Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello will moderate the webinar. Learn more and register here.
• Actuaries who prepare or sign NAIC annual statement actuarial opinions on P/C loss reserves, or those who assist in preparing them, will find valuable the Academy’s 2014 Seminar on P/C Effective Loss Reserve Opinions: Tools for the Appointed Actuary, Dec. 2–3 at the Westin Baltimore Washington Airport. Attendees will earn valuable CE credit. Learn more and register here.

Public Policy Activities

• Academy Vice President of Casualty Mike Angelina presented “Implications for Increasing Catastrophe Volatility on Insurers and Consumers” on Oct. 7 at the NAIC’s Center for Insurance Policy and Research Symposium. The presentation provided a progress update on the development of the Actuaries Climate Index and Actuaries Climate Risk Index.
• The Solvency Committee submitted comments to the National Conference of Insurance Legislators on key priorities and principles that should be considered when developing insurance group solvency and capital standards.
• The Profits Followed By Losses Subgroup released an exposure draft of the practice note, “GAAP Accounting for Profits Followed by Losses in Long-Duration Contracts.” The document is intended as a resource for actuaries who prepare, review, or comment on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for profits followed by losses in long-duration contracts. Learn more by logging in to the members-only page and visiting “Cross-Practice Alerts.”

News from the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB)

• The ASB has issued a request for comments concerning the development of an actuarial standard of practice (ASOP) that would apply to actuaries when pricing new and in-force life insurance and annuity products. The proposed ASOP would address the pricing of life insurance and annuity products, both individual and group product types, and focus on the actuary performing profitability analysis when pricing new and in-force products, but not the actuary’s role in developing the product’s design, marketing plan, investment strategy implementation, etc. The request for comments can be found here. The comment deadline is Dec. 15.

Reminder

• Oct. 15 is the deadline to submit comments on the NAIC Life Actuarial Task Force’s exposure of the 2014 VBT Primary Tables. Learn more by logging in to the members-only page and visiting “Life Alerts.”

Newly Released

• September HealthCheck: Read about an exposure draft of a new practice note on Affordable Care Act rate filings, new Internal Revenue Service rules on excepted benefits, census bureau data on health insurance coverage in the United States, and more.

Academy in the News

• A Forbes column on planning for lifetime income needs cited the Academy’s public policy discussion paper, “Risky Business: Living Longer Without Income for Life,” in alerting readers to the possibility of needing income to live into very old age.
• A Becker’s Hospital Review story announcing the CMS 2015 Medicaid managed care rate setting consultation guide for states noted that rate certification submissions must include a letter from a certifying actuary “who meets the qualification standards established by the American Academy of Actuaries and follows the practice standards established by the Actuarial Standards Board.”

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