Conference of Consulting Actuaries
Encyclopedia
The Conference of Consulting Actuaries, also known as the Conference or the CCA, is a professional society of actuaries engaged in consulting
in the United States
and Canada
, as opposed to those employed by insurance companies. CCA members assist their clients with respect to pension
, health
, and other employee benefit
plans; life insurance
; and property
and casualty insurance
.
and the Casualty Actuarial Society
— were dominated by actuaries who worked for insurance companies.
In October 1991, the Conference changed its name to the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.
Associate :Has attained the designation of Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society (ACAS), Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), Enrolled Actuary
(EA), Member of the American Academy of Actuaries
(MAAA), Member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries
(MSPA), or the equivalent designation for any international actuarial organization accepted by the Conference.
Fellow :Is substantially engaged in consulting actuarial practice, in work as an actuary of a governmental unit, in work as an Enrolled Actuary, in work at an insurance company, or in teaching actuarial science; and satisfies any one of the following three criteria:
As of March 2007, more than 1,200 actuaries belonged to the CCA.
In addition to those meetings, the CCA also sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of seminars and teleconference
s. In contrast to its annual meetings, which offer sessions on variety of subjects, the Conference's seminars and teleconferences generally are limited to a single topic of current interest.
Management consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, as opposed to those employed by insurance companies. CCA members assist their clients with respect to pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
, health
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
, and other employee benefit
Employee benefit
Employee benefits and benefits in kind are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries...
plans; life insurance
Life insurance
Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person. Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness may also trigger...
; and property
Property insurance
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main...
and casualty insurance
Casualty insurance
Casualty insurance, often equated to liability insurance, is used to describe an area of insurance not directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance. It is mainly used to describe the liability coverage of an individual or organization's for negligent acts or...
.
Mission
The Conference's mission is to advance the quality of consulting practice, support the needs of consulting actuaries, and represent their interests. Some of the ways in which it does so include:- Developing and maintaining structure and programs to reinforce, enhance, or add to members' knowledge and skills; including continuing education, through diverse delivery methods, for all practice areas and for consulting and business skills.
- Investing resources strategically to support services and educational opportunities for consulting actuaries.
- Representing consulting actuaries throughout the global community.
History
The CCA was founded in 1950 as the Conference of Actuaries in Public Practice by seven actuaries who felt the need for a professional association to set standards and share information among consulting actuaries. At the time, the major American actuarial organizations — the Society of ActuariesSociety of Actuaries
The Society of Actuaries is a professional organization for actuaries based in North America. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries...
and the Casualty Actuarial Society
Casualty Actuarial Society
The Casualty Actuarial Society is a professional society of actuaries whose goal is "the advancement of the body of knowledge of actuarial science applied to property, casualty, and similar risk exposures." Its members are mainly involved in the property and casualty areas of the actuarial...
— were dominated by actuaries who worked for insurance companies.
In October 1991, the Conference changed its name to the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.
Membership
The Conference offers two designations, Associate of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) and Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA).Associate :Has attained the designation of Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society (ACAS), Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA), Enrolled Actuary
Enrolled Actuary
An Enrolled Actuary is an actuary who has been licensed by a Joint Board of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor to perform a variety of actuarial tasks required of pension plans in the United States by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974...
(EA), Member of the American Academy of Actuaries
American Academy of Actuaries
The American Academy of Actuaries, also known as the “Academy” or the AAA, is the body that represents and unites United States actuaries in all practice areas...
(MAAA), Member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries
American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries
The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries or ASPPA is a national organization for career retirement plan professionals. The membership consists of the many disciplines supporting retirement income management and benefits policy. Its members are part of the diversified, technical,...
(MSPA), or the equivalent designation for any international actuarial organization accepted by the Conference.
Fellow :Is substantially engaged in consulting actuarial practice, in work as an actuary of a governmental unit, in work as an Enrolled Actuary, in work at an insurance company, or in teaching actuarial science; and satisfies any one of the following three criteria:
- Has completed six years of experience in responsible actuarial work, three of which are in actuarial consulting, and satisfied the requirements to become an Associate of the Conference.
- Has been an Associate of the Conference (ACA) for three consecutive years and is practicing as a consultant; or
- Has attained the designation of Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Fellow of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (FSPA), or the equivalent designation for any international actuarial organization accepted by the Conference.
As of March 2007, more than 1,200 actuaries belonged to the CCA.
Continuing professional education
Many consulting actuaries attend continuing professional education meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by the Conference. Its three major annual meetings are the Enrolled Actuaries Meeting, co-sponsored with the American Academy of Actuaries; the Employee Benefits Spring Meeting, jointly sponsored with the Society of Actuaries; and the Conference's Annual Meeting.In addition to those meetings, the CCA also sponsors or co-sponsors a variety of seminars and teleconference
Teleconference
A teleconference or teleseminar is the live exchange and mass articulation of information among several persons and machines remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system...
s. In contrast to its annual meetings, which offer sessions on variety of subjects, the Conference's seminars and teleconferences generally are limited to a single topic of current interest.