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Recent Academy Activity, May 11-15, 2015

News From the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB)

  • As the funding of public pension plans continues to be a matter of significant public interest, the ASB will hold a public hearing on July 9 in Washington to gather the broadest possible input on proposed actuarial standards of practice (ASOPs) applicable to actuarial work regarding these plans. In July 2014, the ASB issued a Request for Comments (RFC) on ASOPs and Public Pension Plan Funding and Accounting, and the ASB intends to use information obtained through this hearing as it considers next steps in the evolution of ASOPs. For the hearing, the ASB is accepting both written comments and requests to present oral testimony. Learn more about the hearing, including the comment and submission guidelines, and pre-register here.
  • A discussion draft, Capital Adequacy Assessment for Insurers, developed by the ASB Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Committee, is available for comment under the “Drafts” tab of the ASB website here. The discussion draft was issued to seek input on a proposed ASOP that will provide guidance to actuaries involved in the preparation or review of capital adequacy assessment work for life or health insurers, property and casualty insurers, and similar entities, including the preparation or review of an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) report. The ERM Committee requests that comments be submitted by July 15.

Upcoming Events

  • Academy’s Keener to speak on AGES: When the Academy released its first assessments of retirement systems and public policy proposals in November last year, New Brunswick’s shared-risk model pension plan tied for receiving the highest overall grade. In a May 19 webinar sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA), “The New Brunswick Model Pension Plan,” Eric Keener, chairperson of the Academy’s Forward Thinking Task Force, will examine how the Academy’s assessment of the model was established and why it earned its high grade according to the Academy’s AGES (Alignment, Governance, Efficiency, and Sustainability) principles. Other speakers will discuss why reform was needed and how the shared-risk plan was developed. The webinar will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. EDT.
  • Academy ethics webinar: Learn about key results of the cross-practice ethical survey by the Academy during our May 22 webinar, “Key Ethical Concerns Facing the Actuarial Profession: Perceptions of Members of the American Academy of Actuaries.” Academy professionalism experts, including Vice President of Professionalism Kenneth Kent, former Council on Professionalism Chairperson Karen Terry, and Academy Assistant General Counsel Sheila Kalkunte will discuss the survey content and ethical concerns identified by over 3,300 Academy members from all practice areas who participated in the survey. The webinar, which will start at noon EDT, constitutes “ethics” continuing education under the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries’ regulations.
  • International insurance regulation: Join us at 2 p.m. EDT on May 22 for “International Insurance Regulation 101,” an Academy Capitol Forum webinar focused on the important international standard-setting role of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). The IAIS is responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards, and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector internationally. Deputy Secretary General of the IAIS George Brady will provide an overview of the IAIS and its activities, and help participants navigate the acronym alphabet soup surrounding international insurance regulation.
  • Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar: The 2015 Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar (CLRS) and Workshops, jointly sponsored by the Academy and the Casualty Actuarial Society, will be held Sept. 9-11 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga. Attend the 2015 CLRS to stay current and learn from expert analysis of innovation in reserving. For more information on attendee registration, please email arc@casact.org or visit the CLRS website.
  • Registration continues for the 2015 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar, to be held Nov. 9-12 in Arlington, Va. (metropolitan Washington, D.C.). See why so many of your peers find this seminar the most succinct and effective way to acquire the required basic education and continuing education (CE) to assist in being qualified to sign NAIC annual statement life and health actuarial opinions for those who may not have met the basic education requirements set forth in Section 3.1.1 of the U.S. Qualification Standards (USQS).

Representing the U.S. Profession Internationally

  • On May 13, an audience of more than 400 attended the second webinar in the international series on health care costs jointly sponsored by the Academy’s Health Practice International Task Force and the IAA Health Section, “Exploring Global Health Care Cost Drivers: South Africa and the United States.” The webinar provided a unique opportunity to learn about the successes and challenges that both South Africa and the United States have experienced as they’ve worked to identify and address particular cost drivers. Slides of the webinar are available, and a recording will be available shortly. The next webinar in the series will be in September and will feature presentations from Australia and Singapore.

Public Policy Activities

  • The Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council sent comments to the IAIS on Insurance Core Principle 8: Risk Management and Internal Controls.
  • The Nonforfeiture Modernization Work Group submitted a comment letter to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on exposed edits to the standard nonforfeiture law for annuities regarding requirements for contingent deferred annuities.

Earn CE At Your Convenience Through the New Actuarial eLearning Center

  • The Academy’s Actuarial eLearning Center provides members with an opportunity to earn continuing education (CE) credit described in the USQS at their convenience through a unique, substantive online course, “Understand the Code of Professional Conduct,” which includes an optional final examination to test your knowledge. Once members have registered at the center, they may return at any time for one year to review the course at their leisure and may obtain a certificate of achievement after successfully taking the exam.

Recently Released

  • In the May issue of HealthCheck, read the Academy’s testimony to a congressional hearing on the ACA’s individual and employer mandates. Also in this issue, Medicare’s sustainable growth rate formula is replaced by a new payment system, an op-ed by Health Practice Council (HPC) Vice President Cathy Murphy-Barron runs on a prominent D.C. news site, and more.

In the News

  • Academy Immediate Past President Tom Terry will be nominated to serve as president of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in 2017. The IAA Council will vote on the nomination in October 2015. Academy President Mary D. Miller commended Terry and the IAA in a statement.
  • HPC Member Donna Novak was quoted in a Portland (Ore.) Business Journal article about the potential effects on insurers of not receiving expected risk corridor payments. Novak provided background on risk-based capital (RBC) rules regarding surplus increases that could be triggered when (or if) an insurer’s RBC ratio falls too low.
  • A new America’s Health Insurance Plans issue brief advocating retention of the current definition of the small group market cited the Academy’s analysis of the small group market and the effects of the ACA’s redefinition of it. The Academy analyzed the issue in its March 2015 brief, Potential Implications of the Small Group Definition Expanding to Employers with 51-100 Employees.
  • Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello provided perspective on the factors affecting 2016 rates in a subscriber-only story for the Inside Health Insurance Exchanges May 2015 newsletter. In light of the ACA risk adjustment program, Uccello noted the importance to insurers of knowing how their risk profiles compare to those of the whole market.
  • The HPC’s Feb. 24 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell on premium rate filing implications of the forthcoming Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell continued to receive coverage in The Portland (Maine) Press-Herald and Insurance Business America.

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