SOA Member Announcement—March 2013 Board of Directors Meeting
For Immediate Release
Lisamarie Lukas, Director of External Communications
847.706.3566
llukas@soa.org
At its March 11-12, 2013, meeting the SOA Board of Directors discussed and made decisions on a number of strategic and operational issues.
An SOA task force reported on an initiative to study opportunities in non-traditional roles. The task force found that opportunities in non-traditional roles are more prevalent for actuaries in banking and investment banking. The Board directed the Cultivate Opportunities Team to review the task force’s recommendations and develop program proposals.
“It is important for the SOA to continue to support the growth of actuaries in areas both inside and outside of what are considered traditional areas,” said Tonya B. Manning, SOA President. “Our skill set makes us uniquely qualified to work in a number of fields, and the SOA can help members with an interest in non-traditional roles with that career development.”
Representatives of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) provided a briefing about the CIA’s University Accreditation Program (UAP). The SOA and CIA are involved in ongoing discussions about roles in each organization’s education programs; a memorandum of understanding on roles; collaboration in professional development and research; and the UAP.
In the interest of continuing to build the community of general (property/casualty) insurance actuaries within the SOA and in response to requests and questions we have received from members and candidates, the SOA Board made the following decisions:
- It agreed to waive certain examinations and other requirements toward membership in the SOA for persons who have successfully passed or completed substantially equivalent examinations or courses required by the Casualty Actuary Society (CAS) until at least Dec. 31, 2015. Information on the specific waiver requirements will be posted soon on the SOA website in its Education, General Information section.
- It also agreed to allow Associates and Fellows of the CAS to become Associates and Fellows of the SOA, subject to certain conditions and policies, until at least Dec. 31, 2015. Information on the specific conditions and policies to apply will be posted on the SOA website shortly.
“The SOA Board strongly believes our general insurance track will be beneficial to the profession,” Manning said. “Offering additional options in more areas around the world will help strengthen the profession, and building a community is an important step in that effort.
“This is particularly critical as we develop new professional development and research opportunities in this important area of practice,” she said.
The Board also discussed an invitation from CAS President Gary Josephson to discuss areas of collaboration between the SOA and CAS. Manning has sent a letter to Josephson accepting that invitation.
The Experience Studies Task Force reported on process improvement recommendations concerning the development of experience studies. The Board also discussed the current and future landscape for related activities, including the rapidly changing roles of experience studies and the new statistical agents under principles-based regulatory approaches.
The Board continued discussions about issues related to public pensions. In particular, it discussed actuarial standards concerning public pensions and directed President Manning to appoint a task force of Board members to provide written comments to the Actuarial Standards Board on current exposure drafts of pension actuarial standards of practice.
If you have any questions or comments about the recent Board meeting, please write to membercomms@soa.org.