SA6 learning portal: actuarial standards

Actuarial standards

The links below take you to the full text of all Guidance Notes referred to in the Core Reading.

Technical Actuarial Standards (issued by Board for Actuarial Standards)
Links below are to the BAS website page listing the current TAS version cited:

• TAS D: Data
• TAS M: Modelling
• TAS R: Reporting
• Insurance TAS
• Pensions TAS
• Funeral Plans TAS
• Transformations TAS

General insurance

The main general insurance Guidance Notes or APSs are:

• GN12: General Insurance Business: Actuarial Reports
• GN18: Actuarial Reporting for UK General Insurance Companies writing US Regulated Business
• GN20: Actuarial Reporting Under the Lloyd's Valuation of Liabilities Rules
• GN 50: General Insurance Principles and practice
• APS G2: Actuarial reporting for Lloyd's syndicates writing US business

Life insurance

The responsibilities of actuaries involved with long-term insurance business are covered by:

• GN40: The role of the Actuarial Function Holder
• GN41: The role of the With-Profits Actuary
• GN43: The Appropriate Actuary
• GN42: The Reviewing Actuary (re-adopted by the Actuarial Profession 01/12/2008).
• GN37: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Communications by Actuaries) Regulations 2003 ("whistleblowing") covers the obligations of Actuarial Function Holders and With-Profits Actuaries to whistleblow to the FSA under the FSMA 2000 (Communications by Actuaries) Regulations 2003.
• GN39: General responsibilities of and relationships between actuarial function holders, with-profits actuaries, appropriate actuaries, and reviewing actuaries, of UK life insurance firms and friendly societies covers the general responsibilities and relationships between Actuarial Function Holders, With-Profits Actuaries, Appropriate Actuaries and Reviewing Actuaries.

A range of other Guidance Notes covers the details about the calculation of unauthenticated long term insurance reserves and capital requirements.

Pensions

The main Pensions Guidance Notes or APs are:

• APS P1: Duties and responsibilities of pensions actuaries
• APS P2: Compliance Review: Pensions
• GN 48 (in transition). See APS P2 for details of the transitional provisions
• GN16 (applies to 1 October)

Finance and investment

• APS D1: Investment related business activities for authorised professional firms (which replaced GN: 35 from December 2009) makes it a professional duty for the principal of an APF to ensure that, before their firm makes use of the FSA's APF exemptions, the firm obtains a licence from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries as an APF member of the DPB.

International Actuarial Association: International Actuarial Standards of Practice

The links below take you to the full text of the International Actuarial Association: International Actuarial Standards of Practice (IASPs) referred to in Unit 10 of the Core Reading. The IASPs below are Class 4 - Practice Guideline and are therefore educational and non-binding.:

• IASP2 - Actuarial Practice (November 2008)

• IASP3 - Classification of contracts (June 2005)

• IASP4 - Measurement (June 2005)

• IASP5 - Current estimates (June 2005)

• IASP6 - Liability adequacy testing (June 2005)

• IASP7 - Discretionary participation features (June 2005)

• IASP8 - Changes in accounting policies (June 2005)

with the following added in 2007:

• IASP9 - Accounting for reinsurance contracts (January 2007)

• IASP10 - Embedded derivatives and derivatives (January 2007)

and, in 2008

• IASP11 - Business combinations (September 2008)

• IASP12 - Disclosure of information about insurance contracts (September 2008)

In 2002 the IAA issues IASP1 - Guidelines of Actuarial Practice for Social Security Programmes (version in Spanish only on IAA website)

Institute of Actuaries as Designated Professional Body

• DPB Handbook
• Authorised Professional Firms (APFs) (FSA outline of DPB-regulated firms)

Financial Services Authority: FSA Handbook

• (including) Principles for Business

The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers

• The Takeover Code