The Academy's Cyber Risk Task Force responded to the U.S. Treasury Department's questions about the applicability of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) in cases of cyber-attacks that are aimed at targets outside the U.S. but cause insured losses in the U.S. The task force also noted the potential difficulty of meeting TRIA's requirement for an official finding that  the source of an attack was a non-governmental terrorist organization.

In the January/February issue of Contingencies, the cover story, “My Career as a Garbage Collector,” offers a behind-the-scenes look at one actuary’s experiences working at Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway—don’t miss this rollicking tale. Other features include “Is Data the Rx for Good Health Outcomes?”—which posits that the deluge of health data can be sifted into a treasure trove that drives better downstream medical decisions; and “Digital Decluttering”—which offers helpful tips to clean up your computer.

The Fall/Winter StateScan Quarterly recaps the latest quarter’s state legislation and regulation, with 10 legislatures still in session; several states have begun the process of prefiling legislation for the 2021 legislative session. After a spring and summer spent largely focused on COVID-19-related measures, jurisdictions were able to turn their attention to other matters—while keeping a watchful eye on how the coronavirus was unfolding—with states passing measures on prescription drugs, public pension plans, auto insurance, principle-based reserving, and reinsurance.

The December Actuarial Update covers the Academy’s update of the “Professionalism First” website, which is now more mobile-friendly.

Precept 8, Annotation 8-1 of the Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) observes that an actuarial communication prepared by you as an actuary “may be used by another party in a way that may influence the actions of a third party.” This is your power as an actuary.