This Week, February 24, 2012

News from the Actuarial Standards Board

• The Modeling in Life Insurance and Annuities discussion draft is now available for comment. Comments are due by May 15, 2012. Learn more [1].

Member Alerts

• Health Insurance Alert: Reminder to actuaries who file rates for the individual market in the state of Arizona: There is no clear definition of “qualified actuary” relating to rate filings. Log in [2] [2]to read the full alert.

• General Insurance Alert: The International Congress of Actuaries Scientific Committee has issued its first call for papers and presentations for the 2014 Congress to be held in Washington, DC. Log in [2] to read the full alert.

Website: New Postings

• The Academy’s Financial Regulatory Reform Task Force summarized its Dec. 16, 2011, comment letter to the Federal Insurance Office regarding its report on how to modernize U.S. insurance oversight in a presentation at this week’s Spring Meeting of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators. Click here [3] to view the Academy’s 7-point summary.

• The Academy’s Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) Work Group submitted comments [4] to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the exposure draft of the MLR annual reporting form.

Upcoming Events

• March 7 webinar: Lifetime Income—Risks and Solutions. Panelists will examine lifetime income risks, current options for addressing these risks, and how the actuarial profession can contribute to current policy solutions to help retirees better prepare for managing lifetime retirement needs. Learn more [5].

• March 14 webinar: U.S. Qualification Standards—Key Aspects and your FAQs Answered. Panelists will provide a refresher on the U.S. Qualification Standards, offer an in-depth discussion on the more complicated aspects of qualifications and practicing U.S. actuaries (including changing practice areas and emerging practices), and clarify certain key provisions of the standards. Learn more [6].

• March 15 webinar: Risk Classification & the New Academy Monograph. Panelists will discuss the concepts underlying risk classification as it is applied in all actuarial practice areas. Based on the Academy Risk Classification Work Group’s monograph, On Risk Classification [7], the webinar will focus on the important role that risk classification can play in ensuring that financial and personal security systems are successful. Learn more [8].

Media Coverage

• NAIC Subgroup Says Contingent Deferred Annuities Are a Life Insurance Product [9]
  Best’s News, Feb. 23, 2012
  American Academy of Actuaries Senior Pension Fellow Nancy Bennett says in an interview, “Our position from an actuarial viewpoint is that contingent annuities are annuities, not financial guaranty products.” The Academy commented on contingent annuities to the NAIC. “They contain similar risks as VA contracts that are already issued by life insurance companies,” Bennett added.

• As Corporations Leave Pensions Behind, Life Insurers Tap Pension Risk Transfers [10]
  Best’s News, Feb. 21, 2012
  American Academy of Actuaries Senior Pension Fellow Don Fuerst is cited for providing data on life expectancy at 65 for someone who retired in 1950 (14 years) compared to someone who retires today (20 years). Fuerst also noted that while there are 100,000 Americans 100+ today, projections are that by 2050 there will be more than 1.1 million older than 100.

• Preparing for Long-Term Care: Any Good Options? [11]
  TIME.com, Feb. 8, 2012
  In a 1300-word blog item dated Feb. 8 (but that appeared online this week), the author uses data on the cost of long-term care provided by Steve Schoonveld, co-chairperson of the Joint American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries CLASS Act Task Force. Schoonveld notes that average annual nursing home expenses range from $85,000 to $120,000 a year and that the cost for six hours a day of in-home care starts at around $40,000 a year.

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