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Professional Education

Changes Made in CAS CE Policy Affecting Compliance - Certify by December 31

Need additional CE, go to UCAS (Virtual CE) to access hundreds of low-cost event recordings.

Dear CAS Fellows and Associates,

All Fellows and Associates need to certify their compliance with the CAS Continuing Education Policy’s requirements as of December 31, 2020. Compliance with the CAS CE Policy allows the member to provide actuarial services in the year immediately following certification of compliance. Note that even members who are not in actuarial roles should review the requirements as CE compliance may still be required. Members who are not providing actuarial services at all must still attest to this on the website.

NEW: IMPACT OF NOT CERTIFYING COMPLIANCE ON THE WEBSITE

For all members who do not attest compliance for the year 2021 with “I have complied,” “I have complied – NAIC Statement of Actuarial Opinion,” or “Not providing actuarial services,” by February 1, 2021, their records will indicate “I have not complied.”

If you are not currently providing any actuarial services, you also need to attest compliance by indicating “Not providing actuarial services.” (We will have a separate communication to those currently listed as “Not providing actuarial services” to confirm.)

CERTIFY COMPLIANCE ONLINE NOW

CAS members may now certify their compliance with the policy in just a few easy steps:

  • Go to the CAS website and click “MyProfile” (second item from the left at the top of the page).
  • Log in. (If you are already logged in, you will jump to the next step.)
  • Mouse over “MyProfile” in the gold navigation bar and select “My Compliance Status” (third item in the drop-down menu).
  • On the next page, click the small “Add” button at the top right.
  • A pop-up window with three drop-down menus will appear. Select:
    • The year for which you are attesting (2021);
    • Whether or not you have complied with the Policy, or if you are not providing actuarial services; and
    • Your method of compliance.
  • Click “Save”.

Note that since members can certify compliance for up to two years out, you may certify for future years by completing the same process for the 2022 attestation year.

All CAS members should certify compliance by December 31, 2020.

CAS APPOINTED ACTUARIES – CAS ATTESTATION PROCESS

CAS actuaries who meet the qualification requirements to be an appointed actuary will have a new attestation option on the CAS website. In addition to the “I have complied” option, there is a new “I Have Complied – NAIC Statement of Actuarial Opinion” option which indicates you have complied with the American Academy of Actuaries Specific Qualification Standard for the Statement of Actuarial Opinion, NAIC Property and Casualty Annual Statement. Starting with the 2020 Actuarial Opinion instructions, this attestation is required for appointed actuaries.

Members who select the “I Have Complied – NAIC Statement of Actuarial Opinion” should always chose “US Qualification Standard” as their method of qualification.

Members who are not currently working as an appointed actuary but feel they may be in the future may select this option if they meet the qualification standard.

Please contact Director of Professional Education and Research David Core at dcore@casact.org, if you have any questions about appointed actuary attestation.

All CAS appointed actuaries should certify compliance by December 31, 2020.

NEED ADDITIONAL CE?

Online courses and recordings from CAS live events and webinars are available on UCAS (Virtual CE). Register for the upcoming Revisiting the Methodology of Actuarial Science webinar on December 1, the Professionalism Case Studies webinar on December 3, Transportation is Advancing Rapidly. Will Commercial Insurance Keep Up the Pace? webinar on December 17, or view recordings from past seminars and meetings. Head to the UCAS Catalog to view the hundreds of additional recordings available on-demand.

The CAS is also offering Cyber Monday (November 30) special discounts for recordings.

WHAT DO YOU CERTIFY?

Members can meet the requirements of the CAS CE Policy by satisfying the continuing education requirements established by a national organization recognized by the CAS CE Policy and described in the National Compliance Provisions.

These national standards are recognized in Section B:

  • The Qualification Standards for Actuaries Issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the United States (U.S. Qualification Standard).
  • The Canadian Institute of Actuaries Qualification Standard – Continuing Professional Development (CIA Qualification Standard). (See Note.)
  • Category 1 of the CPD Scheme of the United Kingdom Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (U.K. CPD Scheme).
  • The Continuing Professional Development Standard of the Actuaries Institute (Australia) (Professional Standard 1).
  • ASHK By-Law: Continuing Professional Development (Fellows with a Statutory Role in Hong Kong).
  • ASM Continuous Professional Development Handbook (Category 1 – Appointed Actuaries in Malaysia).

Note: The current version of the Canadian CPD qualification standard (effective January 1, 2021) mandates the completion of an online professionalism module that is only available to members of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Members who determine they are not or could not be subject to any of the above Recognized National Standards should choose and meet the requirements of the Recognized National Standard most relevant to them.

Please note that according to the January 1, 2008 edition of the U.S. Qualification Standard for actuaries issuing Statements of Actuarial Opinion in the U.S.:

"By virtue of their common Code of Professional Conduct, members of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (CCA), and the Society of Actuaries (SOA), whether or not they are also members of the Academy, are subject to all requirements imposed by the Qualification Standards upon members of the Academy."

As the definition of "Statement of Actuarial Opinion" is broad, most actuaries in the U.S. might be subject to the requirements of the U.S. Qualification Standard. In addition, the CAS Continuing Education Policy requires all CAS members who provide actuarial services to comply with the CE requirements of a recognized national CE standard listed above. Please consult the U.S. Qualification Standard found on the American Academy of Actuaries' website if you are unsure.

COMPLIANCE LOG AND REVIEWS

CAS members should maintain a log of their CE activity to document that they have met the continuing education requirements. The CAS plans to randomly review a sample of the continuing education logs for members who have attested their compliance with the CE Policy to verify the accuracy of information maintained in the CAS database. In addition, the CAS Board of Directors agreed that new Board and Executive Council members (excluding appointed directors and the CEO) will be subject to the annual review regarding compliance with the CAS CE Policy.

In addition to the new attestation option, appointed actuaries have new additional NAIC requirements for their CE logs. These new requirements are effective with your 2020 documentation. See the previous article for additional information and a sample logging worksheet.

ACTUARIES NOT CURRENTLY PROVIDING ACTUARIAL SERVICES

CAS members who do not provide Actuarial Services are exempt from meeting the continuing education requirement of the CAS Continuing Education Policy. However, those members are still required to attest to their compliance by indicating that they are Not Providing Actuarial Services, following the same steps described above.

IMPACT OF NOT CERTIFYING COMPLIANCE ON THE WEBSITE

For all members who do not attest compliance for the year 2021 with “I have complied,” “I have complied – NAIC Statement of Actuarial Opinion,” or “Not providing actuarial services,” by February 1, 2021, their records will indicate “I have not complied.” The general public is able to search the CAS online membership directory for information on member compliance with the CE requirements. The directory includes member names, membership designations, and current year's compliance status (compliant, not compliant, not providing actuarial services). This information is frequently accessed by members of the public, auditors, and regulators who verify the qualifications of actuaries when the need arises.

MORE INFORMATION: CE POLICY AND FAQ

Members are encouraged to review the complete CE Policy for all of the details on the CE requirements and a list of frequently asked questions and responses. The policy, review procedures, and links to other resources are available on the CAS Web Site. Please review these links before contacting the CAS Office with questions.

If you have any questions, please contact the Administrative and Customer Support Department at acs@casact.org.