The Committee on Property & Liability Financial Reporting (COPLFR) published an update of its paper, Overview for P/C Insurers' Audit Committees: Effective Use of Actuarial Loss Reserves Expertise.

Janet Barr, former chairperson of the Academy’s Social Security Committee, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing on “Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women?” Read the written testimony and news release or watch the full hearing video.

The Solvency Committee sent comments to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the U.S. Group Capital Methodology Concepts Discussion Paper.

Casualty Practice Council sent letters to U.S. Senate and House leaders urging reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which is set to expire on Dec. 31.

The Solvency Committee sent comments to members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in support of passage of the Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014, which clarifies that the Federal Reserve has the authority to differentiate between banks and insurers in terms of capital requirements.

The Financial Reporting Committee submitted comments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board on its disclosure requirements for short duration contracts.

Mike Angelina, the Academy’s immediate past vice-president for casualty, made a presentation to the Casualty Actuarial and Statistical (C) Task Force (CASTF) at the Fall NAIC Meeting on the public policy implications raised by the practice of price optimization in ratemaking.

The Reinsurance Committee submitted comments to the International Accounting Standards Board on the Insurance Contracts Project's reinsurance and ceding commissions proposal.

The Individual Disability Work Group made a presentation to the NAIC’s Health Actuarial Task Force at the Fall NAIC National Meeting on the newly revised individual disability report and actuarial guideline.

Medicare Supplement Work Group made a presentation to the NAIC’s Health Actuarial Task Force on recommendations for potential modifications to the Medicare Supplement refund formula.

The Solvency Committee submitted written testimony to the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing on "The Impact of International Regulatory Standards on the Competitiveness of U.S. Insurers, Part II."

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.

The Deposit Fund Subgroup of the Annuity Reserves Work Group made a presentation to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on the subgroup’s proposal to modify regulations of synthetic guaranteed investment contracts (GIC). 

The American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries Joint Project Oversight Group made a presentation to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force on the development of the 2014 VBT and CSO tables.

The Medicare Supplement Work Group submitted a report to the NAIC on recommendations for potential modifications to the Medicare Supplement refund formula.

The Medicaid Work Group sent a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the introduction of Sovaldi and other new  Breakthrough Therapy Designation medications and their potential impact on Medicaid costs.

The Reinsurance Committee sent comments to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on the Uniform Application Checklist for Certified Reinsurers exposure draft.

The Contingent Annuity Issues Work Group sent a comment letter to the NAIC Contingent Deferred Annuity (A) Working Group on regulatory guidance for issuers of CDAs. 

The Academy released a new Essential Elements paper, Medicaid Overview, on the federal-state program that funds health care for millions of low-income Americans. The Essential Elements series is designed to make actuarial analyses of public policy issues clearer to general audiences.