Academy President D. Joeff Williams sent a letter on behalf of the Academy to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offering comments to NAIC’s Special Committee on Race and Insurance. “It is of the utmost importance for all stakeholders to engage in a public discourse on race, diversity, and inclusion in the insurance sector,” the letter stated. “The Academy especially recognizes the need to acknowledge that there may be retrospective practices that could have a bearing on insurance-based disparities and to examine whether current practices perpetuate or exacerbate those disparities.” While noting the Academy fully shares the special committee’s goals to examine the issues in its charges and work streams, with the committee’s ambitious timeline to conclude its work by year-end, however, Williams wrote that it “may require more time to fully examine the range of issues involved.” He also cited the Academy’s new initiative to study health equity—including a Sept. 14 webinar on the topic—especially those health and health insurance systems in which actuaries are involved, to determine whether they contribute to health disparities. (September 11, 2020)
Read the latest issue of This Week—the Academy’s end-of-week digital newsletter, compiling a week’s worth of news, updates, and media coverage in one convenient, easy-to-use publication. (September 04, 2020)
The Academy’s Board of Directors has approved the release of an exposure draft of revisions to the currently effective Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States (USQS). The comment deadline for the exposure draft is Oct. 30. Click here for the Academy email this week to members, and for information on how to submit comments, click here. (September 02, 2020)
In the September/October issue of Contingencies, the cover story, “Following the Money—The Future of Cash,” takes a look at physical currency, and whether the conventional method of payment may be on the way out. Other features include “On Target—Pursuing the Quadruple Aim in Health Care,” which takes aim at reducing costs in health care; and “Dire Diagnosis,” which asks if Is life underwriting equal to the current moment. Plus, a President’s Message from Academy President D. Joeff Williams on quality at a glance; three aspects of risk intelligence in Commentary, and a climb up a family tree in End Paper. (September 01, 2020)
Six Academy past, present, and future presidents presented at the Aug. 20 professionalism webinar, “In Times of Uncertainty, Professionalism Is Certain,” covering a range of issue from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Code of Professional Conduct and some of the Code’s key precepts. (August 31, 2020)
The August “Professionalism Counts” looks at the Applicability Guidelines for Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOPs) and how the guidelines are an effective tool to help actuaries determine which ASOPs apply to a given situation. (Actuarial Update, August 2020) (August 31, 2020)
The August Actuarial Update showcases the Academy’s premier annual event, the Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum, which will be held as a virtual event this year. To make it even more accessible to our members, the price has been cut in half for the Nov. 5–6 event. Also in the issue: coverage of the Aug. 20 professionalism webinar, “In Times of Uncertainty, Professionalism Is Certain”; the Virtual PBR Boot Camp is coming up Sept. 14–17; professionalism and public policy presentations to the NAIC’s Virtual Summer National Meeting; the Academy will host a webinar on health equity issues on Sept. 14; the “Member Spotlight” profiles the Health Practice Council’s Susan Pantely; and the “Professionalism Counts” column looks at the Applicability Guidelines. (August 31, 2020)
Read the latest issue of This Week—the Academy’s end-of-week digital newsletter, compiling a week’s worth of news, updates, and media coverage in one convenient, easy-to-use publication. (August 28, 2020)
The Committee on Property and Liability Financial Reporting has submitted comments to the NAIC's Actuarial Opinion Working Group, suggesting changes to the wording in the Financial Examiners Handbook. (August 27, 2020)
The Long-Term Care (LTC) Valuation Work Group gave a presentation to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC’s) LTC Actuarial (B) Working Group on the work group’s progress on the NAIC’s requests that the work group develop a replacement mortality table for LTC active life reserves, develop a replacement lapse table, and consider developing tables for valuation on total lives basis as well as active lives basis. (August 25, 2020)
The Actuaries Climate Index 5-year moving average reached a new high in winter 2019–20, driven by trends of heavy rainfall, sea level, and extreme high and low temperatures. Read the news release. (August 26, 2020)
The Multiemployer Plans Committee submitted comments to the Internal Revenue Service about a proposed form for reporting the annual actuarial certification for multiemployer defined benefit plans. (August 24, 2020)
Read the latest issue of This Week—the Academy’s end-of-week digital newsletter, compiling a week’s worth of news, updates, and media coverage in one convenient, easy-to-use publication. (August 21, 2020)
The Academy C-3 Life and Annuities Work Group (C-3 WG) has a request from the NAIC Life Risk-Based Capital (E) Working Group (LRBC) to “Update the current C-3 Phase I or C-3 Phase II methodology to include Indexed Annuities.” (August 21, 2020)
Read the latest issue of This Week—the Academy’s end-of-week digital newsletter, compiling a week’s worth of news, updates, and media coverage in one convenient, easy-to-use publication. (August 14, 2020)
