Skip to main content

You are here

Advertisement

September NAAC Meeting

Twice a year, the North American Actuarial Council (NAAC) meets in person to exchange information on current activities within each organization and discuss profession-wide issues. It also encourages coordination and cooperation among the North American actuarial organizations, including:

  • American Academy of Actuaries (Academy)
  • ASPPA College of Pension Actuaries (ACOPA)
  • Asociación Mexicana de Actuarios (AMA)
  • Asociación Mexicana de Actuarios Consultores (AMAC)
  • Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA)
  • Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
  • Colegio Nacional de Actuarios (CONAC)
  • Conference of Consulting Actuaries (CCA)
  • Society of Actuaries (SOA)

One of the U.S.-based organization hosts one meeting each year, and the Canadian/Mexican organizations alternate hosting the other meeting. At the Spring meetings, the President, President-Elect, and Executive Director of each organization are invited to attend. At the Fall meeting, the incoming President-Elect is invited as well. As the incoming President-Elect of ACOPA, this past September’s meeting was my first NAAC meeting. It was a weekend filled with information, camaraderie and fun.

In September, ACOPA hosted the NAAC meeting at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, CA. Many thanks to Elizabeth Duda, Erin Stewart and Melissa Trout for organizing an entertaining and successful weekend.

The event-filled weekend began on Saturday with a discussion among the U.S. Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Incoming Presidents-Elect, and Executive Directors. ACOPA, CAS, CCA and SOA were in attendance. The Academy removed itself from these meetings a few years ago due to antitrust concerns.

We began with introductions and lunch, followed by a presentation on predictive analytics from a casualty, life and health perspective led by Brian Brown, President of CAS. (Brian also happens to live in my building. He and his wife are lovely people.) We also had discussions about best practices for documenting our Board/Leadership Council meetings, social media ideas, and the Academy’s Selection Committee. Interestingly, the Selection Committee discussion was on the agenda before the Academy unilaterally removed ACOPA and CCA from it. Their subsequent actions made it quite a lively discussion!

On Saturday evening, the other NAAC organizations joined us for a delicious dinner at the Bluewater Grill. Companions joined us too, so it was quite the crowd!

Our Sunday meetings began with introductions and administrative matters, followed by breakout sessions to set the stage for 2019. One breakout session included Outgoing Presidents and Incoming Presidents-Elect to give us newbies an opportunity to ask questions and become oriented with NAAC. The other session included Incoming Presidents and Executive Directors to set objectives for the upcoming year.

Following the breakout sessions, we gathered to recap the sessions, and each President provided their organizational updates. Bill Karbon announced at that time that ACOPA would be exploring alternative options for standards and discipline, given that ACOPA would no longer be on the Academy’s Selection Committee. Finally, four of us — including yours truly — led discussions about different actuarial topics. I gave a presentation highlighting the differences between small and large pension plans, including how they impact the actuary’s decisions. Many people participated in the dialogue, and I was happy to see everyone so engaged.

Our Sunday evening included a delightful dinner on the lawn of the Hotel del Coronado. Such breathtaking views!

Monday morning began early with an impromptu meeting of the U.S. organizations. SOA and CAS gave us a heads-up about their intention to merge. I thought it was a nice courtesy of them to inform us and allow us to ask questions before announcing it to their members.

Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting consisted of a discussion of matters pertaining to the International Actuarial Association (IAA) and a discussion of each NAAC member’s governance structures and volunteer management practices. At the end of the meeting, CIA announced that our Spring meeting will be held in beautiful Ottawa, Canada.

Meanwhile, while we were engrossed in meetings, our companions were having a fabulous time exploring San Diego. They did a tour of the Hotel Del, strolled through the Japanese Friendship Gardens, and ate lunch at Top of the Market with expansive views of San Diego. Admittedly, I’m envious!

Finally, our days of meetings concluded with a private tour of the San Diego Zoo, companions included. As an animal lover, I thought this was particularly spectacular. We had a private dinner at the zoo, ending a productive and fun weekend. It was so nice meeting the leadership of the other organizations.

RETURN TO THE ACOPA MONTHLY PAGE