Highlights of the IAA Council Meeting and Presidents’ Forum in Singapore

The International Actuarial Association (IAA) held its semi-annual Council and Committee meetings in Singapore from October 9–13 at the invitation of the Singapore Actuarial Society, one of its Full Member associations.

Highlights of these events were the keynote speeches by two distinguished leaders in the international community. The Council meeting featured guest speaker Peter Braumüller, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). The Presidents’ Forum featured guest speaker Arup Chatterjee, Senior Financial Sector Specialist (Insurance and Contractual Savings) at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Mr. Braumüller praised the IAA for its development of model International Standards of Actuarial Practice (ISAPs) in response to the IAIS request of October 2010 encouraging the IAA to embark on a standard-setting process. He said: “[The IAIS] firmly believes that the development of strong and effective global professional standards is a prerequisite for effective insurance supervision”. He announced that the IAIS had recently agreed to develop a global insurance capital standard by 2016. This represents one of the most challenging tasks in the history of the IAIS and he encouraged the IAA to become their partner in this project. The full text of Mr. Braumüller’s address is available online.

Reciprocally, IAA President Kurt Wolfsdorf presented to the IAIS Executive Committee in Taipei to update on the work of the IAA as it relates to ISAPs. He was also a speaker on the Financial Stability Panel on October 17 during the course of the IAIS’s annual conference where he provided an actuarial perspective on global financial stability.

Mr. Chatterjee spoke about the ADB’s objective of inclusive growth in the economy by expanding the insurance sector in developing Asian countries. He said the bank’s objectives could be met with innovation, inclusion and integration. Innovation would lead to new products and distribution channels, which encourage inclusivity in the marketplace. The welfare of all workers would be ensured and lead to greater integration within society. The ADB called for the IAA’s assistance in managing risks and developing public/private partnerships.

These activities support the IAA’s Strategic Objective 1, which aims to strengthen relationships with supranational audiences and provide them with actuarial input to improve the soundness of decisions being made on issues with global impact.

To learn more about the work of the IAA, please contact the Secretariat.