In-Person Meetings Make an ImpACT: Highlights from the 2023 SOA ImpACT Conference

By Michelle Grusenmeyer and Ali Balestra

Small Talk, December 2023

Another SOA ImpACT Conference is in the bag, and there is a lot to reflect on from the week.

Michelle: This year's conference fell in the middle of seven weeks of business travel for me, so it would have been really easy to decide to skip it this year and just get my continuing professional development (CPD) through webinars or reading ASOPs. While those methods of getting CPD are important and have their place, I am really glad I attended the in-person ImpACT conference because nothing holds a candle to the benefits of connecting with fellow actuaries in person while continuing to educate oneself.

Ali: The fall season is sometimes known as “conference season” for many insurance professionals. While there are many conference options, I decided to attend the SOA ImpACT conference this year. The main reason being that I wanted to connect with similar-minded colleagues and learn about current, actuarial hot topics.

Ali: Arriving in Indianapolis, Indiana Sunday afternoon, I settled into my hotel and used the connecting walkway to make my way over to registration and the Welcome Celebration. The Welcome Celebration, held in the exhibit hall, hosted around a dozen booths of vendors, recruiters, reinsurers, and the event's community partner, Pack Away Hunger. This year, the SOA gave attendees the unique opportunity to pack meals during breaks to help eliminate hunger in Indiana.

Michelle: My Monday started with the Reinsurance Section Council Breakfast. Section council leaders Michelle Lerch from Scor, and Michael Green from Canada Life Re, gave an overview of the section’s activities and accomplishments over the past year. Their focus was on communication and research. The SOA's Ronora Stryker went over the research process rather than specific projects. The Reinsurance Section is similar to the Smaller Insurance Company Section (SmallCo) in that it invests a lot in research projects that are of interest to its members, and we have partnered on various projects over the years. They left plenty of time for networking at our breakfast tables with several question prompts on the screen.

We both attended the general opening session that included recognition of outstanding volunteers. Our own Stefanie Porta was recognized for her service and building vibrant communities. This honor was well-deserved. Stefanie shared an often-used phrase from SmallCo, "Many hands make light work."

During the opening session, SOA President and Chair John Robinson shared some highlights from his tenure—with a big focus on the future of the actuarial profession. During his year as president and chair, affiliated membership increased from 4400 to over 10,000. The number of universities that are centers of excellence also increased. And the pathway to FSA has evolved.

Michelle: An overarching theme of this year's ImpACT conference was the risks and opportunities that AI presents. This discussion started at the opening session with a panel of three AI experts and entrepreneurs. One of my takeaways is that AI should be used to augment work rather than focus on eliminating jobs. One panelist said Chat GPT is like 1000 mediocre interns. Like these interns who need oversight, AI requires a human in the loop.

Of course as with all in person conferences, there is the opportunity to attend various breakout sessions. We've shared some highlights from sessions that stood out.

The “Life Product Update” session was led by SmallCo friend of the council, Bill Mehilos of Milliman as well as Donna Megregian of RGA. They kept things lively by running down the life insurance headlines in Pardon the Interruption (PTI) fashion. In a rising interest rate environment, can we expect a valuation rate change? Non-forfeiture rate change? 7702 change? Will single premium products that didn't do well in a low interest rate environment come back? The speakers shared some highlights from the SOA's accelerated underwriting survey which will be released soon. The max face average was $1m a year ago, but is now $2m. Where 40% of AU cases got a decision without fluids a few years ago, now that number is greater than 50%. Regulations for Algorithms & Data was covered—Colorado's regulations and the NAIC bulletin provided guidance on recommended governance and risk management. Other topics covered were LTC hybrid products, COI & lapse litigation, indexed products, FSA Pathway changes, MOVEit hack lawsuits, and mortality improvement for reserves.

There were a number of professionalism sessions available. The session on “Race, Precept 1 & Professional Integrity: The Tale of Frederick L. Hoffman” was an interesting combination of history and ethics. We discussed the issues of evolving regulation and changing societal trends. The session on “Professionalism Considerations for Accelerated Underwriting” covered a couple case studies and had small group discussion on the different issues. It was clear different companies are in different places in their accelerated underwriting journey so it was a good opportunity to learn from each other.

Michelle: I had the privilege of moderating a session on Tuesday afternoon on “The Future of Life Expectancy: Forecasting Long-Term Mortality Improvement Trends.” We had a great audience with a packed house that kept us engaged with good questions. This was a pleasant surprise given it was the last session of the day and we had had some last-minute challenges when the war in Israel prevented our planned Swiss Re speaker to attend. Luckily, my colleague Jeremy Lane was able to step in and take over that spot, joining Kevin Larsen of Symetra for a lively interactive interview.

Our SmallCo breakfast was combined with the Taxation Section on Wednesday morning. It was great to see many SmallCo members at the breakfast—Kevin Dill, Simone Davis, Stefanie Porta, Alan Igielski, and Mark DeVries to name a few. Mark shared his poetry writing talent as he recounted some of the things that SmallCo has done this year. It was great to see Carla Eisenberg, SmallCo's SOA engagement specialist, at the event as well.

At the end of the first day, ImpACT Fest was held as an additional opportunity for networking. As you walked into the event, you were greeted with a high-five by Purdue University's Purdue Pete. The event included caricature drawings, ping pong tables, basketball hoops and of course, a variety of Midwest-style food options.

Michelle: The exhibit hall presents a nice chance to meet the various vendors, network with other attendees, as well as to re-connect with some of the SOA staff. I was able to meet David Schraub (previously assigned to SmallCo, now part of the research team) as well as Ladelia Berger, Kate Eubank (a former colleague, now Sr. Experience Studies Actuary for SOA), and Tara Degl'Innocenti who coordinates with all the speakers and moderators.

The event concluded with one final session—“Actuarial Professionalism: Judge & Jury.” The session was loosely based on the tribal council from the show “Survivor.” Mega Coconuts! With John Robinson acting as judge, the speakers talked through three actuarially questionable scenarios. After each speaker pled their case, the tables were left to determine who would be voted off the island.

Attending the annual SOA ImpACT conference in person usually gives us the opportunity to visit a new or at least distant location to see new things and try new foods. We both live in Fort Wayne, IN—just a short two-hour drive from Indy—so we didn't necessarily try too many new things, but it was convenient for us. We heard that some of the conference attendees took advantage of the chance to see an NFL game between the Colts and the Browns just blocks away from the conference center at Lucas Oil Stadium. Others walked or ran on the Indianapolis Canal Walk, visited the Art Garden, toured the Indianapolis Speedway Museum, shopped at Circle Center, and dined at the many local downtown restaurants.

In closing, we highly recommend attending next year's annual ImpACT SOA in-person conference in National Harbor, Maryland where you will find a new slate of sessions to attend, old and new actuarial friends to meet, and many DC-area attractions and eating establishments to visit. We hope to see you there!

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Michelle Grusenmeyer, FSA, MAAA, is a senior vice president and key account manager at Swiss Re. She can be reached at Michelle_Grusenmeyer@swissre.com.

Ali Balestra, FSA, CERA, MAAA, is a senior client manager at Swiss Re. She can be reached at ali_balestra@swissre.com.