Risk Management and Financial Reporting

The ERM/ORSA Committee released an issue brief, Dividend Limitations—Affiliated Transactions. The issue brief focuses on two issues: 1) review of the existing dividend limitation—which is the maximum dividend that an owner may collect from the insurance company unilaterally without requiring approval by an insurance regulator—and 2) review of the effects of affiliated transactions as they relate to the dividend limitation. The purpose of this issue brief is to discuss the two issues and describe potential actions that could be taken by regulators, whose objective is capital preservation and policyholder protection, to address the issues.

The ERM/ORSA Committee's comments submitted to the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) in response to the request of the ASB’s Enterprise Risk Management Committee to provide written comments on the Proposed Actuarial Standard of Practice: Enterprise Risk Management exposure draft.

Director of Research Steve Jackson presented on cyber risk at an International Workshop on Cyber Risk and Security during the Center of Research in Econo-finance and Actuarial sciences on Risk (CREAR) Cyber Conference in Paris, France. This is a continuation of the Academy’s ongoing Cyber Risk initiative, overseen by the Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council and the Casualty Practice Council.

The Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) released an issue brief, An Actuarial View of Data Bias: Definitions, Impacts and Considerations. The issue brief—the first in a new DSAC series called “Additional Considerations in Data Science”—looks at the key types of data bias that actuaries may encounter and focuses on the kinds of biases found in modeling data and the implications for algorithmic outcomes. 

The Climate Change Joint Committee published a glossary of climate-related terms appearing in Academy publications and presentations of Academy committees, subcommittees, and task forces.

The Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) released an issue brief, Big Data and Algorithms in Actuarial Modeling and Consumer Impacts. It outlines big data issues confronting actuaries and initiates discussion on how big data and artificial intelligence impact the consumer insurance experience, and covers how insurers and regulators can collaborate to resolve potential issues. The issue brief follows an issue paper of the same name released in November 2021.

The Long-Duration Contracts Work Group of the Academy’s Risk Management and Financial Reporting Council released the practice note exposure draft Application of ASU 2018-12 to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts under U.S. GAAP, which covers aspects of the application of Accounting Standards Update 2018-12, Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts, published in August 2018 by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The comment deadline for this exposure draft is November 21, 2022.

The Academy’s Climate Change Joint Task Force (CCJTF) submitted comments to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) on their Exposure Draft IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. The draft builds upon the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The Data Science and Analytics Committee, in partnership with the Racial Equity Task Force, released a major issue brief, An Actuarial View of Correlation and Causation - From Interpretation to Practice to Implications. The issue brief provides a discussion of key questions that actuaries may encounter as they work in the risk classification domain; actuarial practices surrounding data, predictive modeling, and risk classification that are also key considerations for public policymaking and regulatory efforts aimed at ensuring that insurance practices are not “unfairly discriminatory.”

The Academy’s Climate Change Joint Task Force (CCJTF) submitted comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on their request for public input on the proposed rule, the “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.”

The IFRS 17 Work Group of the Financial Reporting Committee submitted comments to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Interpretations Committee Chairperson Bruce Mackenzie on the foundation’s tentative agenda decision Transfer of Insurance Coverage under a Group of Annuity Contracts (IFRS 17).

The Academy’s Data Science and Analytics Committee (DSAC) presented to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Casualty Actuarial and Statistical (C) Task Force (CASTF) Book Club on their recent major issue paper, Big Data and Algorithms in Actuarial Modeling and Consumer Impacts.

The ERM/ORSA Committee's comments submitted to the IAIS as part of the association's Public Consultation on the Development of Liquidity Metrics: Phase 2. 

The Climate Change Joint Task Force sent comments to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Federal Insurance Office's (FIO) request for information regarding FIO's future work related to the insurance sector and climate-related financial risks. 

The Data Science and Analytics Committee released a major issue paper, Big Data and Algorithms in Actuarial Modeling and Consumer Impacts. The paper provides a framing for understanding how developments in big data and artificial intelligence (AI) may impact insurance offerings and their oversight; education for actuaries, regulators, legislators, and other interested stakeholders on the evolving impacts of big data and AI technologies on the oversight, accessibility, and sustainability of insurance since the publication of the Big Data and the Role of the Actuary monograph; and education for a framework on algorithmic accountability and considerations specific across different lines of insurance.