The FRC’s Board for Actuarial Standards (BAS) has today published its draft insurance standard.

This new standard will aim to ensure that management and governing bodies of insurers can rely on the information supplied by their actuaries, and understand its limitations. It will place the onus on actuaries working in insurance to check their data, use reasonable assumptions and explain the uncertainty around any figures they provide. The information supplied will have to be understandable to users.

Commenting on the draft standard, Jim Sutcliffe, Chairman of the BAS, said:

“Recent volatility of investment returns, reductions in the profitability of new business and the introduction of new capital requirements pose challenges to management and boards of insurers. They need accurate, high quality, clearly presented actuarial information to help them understand the risks they face and the implications of their decisions. The insurance standard will set a new benchmark by ensuring that users receive the actuarial information they need to make the best decisions.”

The consultation period for the exposure draft ends on 16 July 2010. Copies can be downloaded from the BAS website at http://www.frc.org.uk/bas/publications/index.cfm?mode=list&cID=27.
 

1. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK’s independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance. Its functions are exercised principally by its operating bodies (the Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Practices Board, the Board for Actuarial Standards, the Financial Reporting Review Panel, the Professional Oversight Board and the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board) and by the FRC Board. The Committee on Corporate Governance assists the Board in its work on corporate governance.
    
2. The Board for Actuarial Standards has a primary objective of promoting competence and transparency of actuarial practice by establishing and improving actuarial technical standards and ensuring that they are coherent, consistent and comprehensive.
    
3. All media enquiries should be addressed to Louise Pryor, Director of the Board for Actuarial Standards, 020 7492 2328 or email at l.pryor@frc.org.uk.