The people who help U.S. insurance insurers and pension plans peer into the future need a broader education and more attention from their disciplinary board.
Members of the Critical Review of the U.S. Actuarial Profession task force have presented those conclusions in their new CRUSAP report, which makes recommendations about ways the U.S. actuarial profession can address the risks and opportunities facing actuaries.
The American Academy of Actuaries, Washington, set up the 7-member task force in May 2005, in an effort to strengthen the actuarial professional and make sure that it meets the needs of the public.
The task force and its advisory panel include representatives from the major U.S. actuarial groups and many other for-profit, nonprofit and governmental organizations.
Fred Kilbourne, the task force chairman, is an independent consulting actuary in San Diego.
Other task force members include Bob Collett, a former chief executive of Milliman Inc., Seattle, and Terri Vaughan, a former Iowa insurance commissioner and former president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo.
The task force members drew in their report on results from more than 80 interviews and 1,400 survey responses.
One concern is a "widespread perception" that the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline, Washington, is getting fewer complaints than it should because clients and others are reluctant to file complaints, the task force members write.
The actuarial profession should consider addressing this issue by setting up "automatic triggers" that would lead to reviews of an actuary's work, the task force members write.
