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The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) is the national organization of the actuarial profession in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was incorporated March 18, 1965. The FCIA designation stands for Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. As the national organization of the Canadian actuarial profession, the CIA serves the public through the provision by the profession of actuarial services and advice by: representing the Canadian actuarial profession in the formulation of public policy; promoting the advancement of actuarial science; educating and qualifying CIA members; ensuring that actuarial services provided by its members meet accepted professional standards; and assisting actuaries in Canada in the discharge of their professional responsibilities.


History

The beginning of the actuarial profession in Canada can be dated to 1847, when the
Canada Life Assurance Company The Canada Life Assurance Company, commonly known as Canada Life, is an insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The current company is the result of the 2020 amalgamation of The Great-West Life Assur ...
was founded in Hamilton, Ontario, by Hugh Baker, who became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1852. The federal Department of Insurance was established in 1875 and shortly thereafter recruited actuaries to its staff. The first actuarial organization in North America was the Actuarial Society of America, founded in 1889 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and included four Canadians among its 38 charter members. The original organization of actuaries in Canada, the Actuaries Club, was founded in 1907 with 24 charter members, all actuaries living and working in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. The Canadian Association of Actuaries was established October 8, 1946, and included all members of the Actuaries Clubs of Toronto and Winnipeg as well as a group of Montreal actuaries. This was the organization that formed the membership basis of the CIA when it was established by an Act of Parliament on March 18, 1965. Following competitions, the Institute adopted the motto ''Nobis Cura Futuri'', meaning ''We care about the future''. A formal bilingualism policy was adopted by the Institute in 1977.


Past presidents


Governance

The Institute is governed by a Board elected from the membership. The Board is composed of the following members: * President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President – one-year term * Twelve Directors – three-year term * Executive Director (ex officio) The Board manages the work of the Institute. In accordance with the Institute’s Bylaws, six councils perform specific duties and report to the Board annually. Councils inform the Board of important initiatives. The Board’s focus is on strategic management, not operational issues. It approves council membership and appointment of certain committees. It also sets membership fees and the operating budget for the Institute. The Board supports councils, committees, and task forces to act on technical and professional issues. It also exercises due diligence on the activities of the councils.


Membership

A person may apply for membership in the Institute as an Associate (ACIA), a Fellow (FCIA), an Affiliate, or a Correspondent. Full details of the examinations, courses, and other steps that are required are available on the CIA's website. Since September 2012, the CIA has operated a University Accreditation Program that provides students with the option of completing some ACIA requirements through their actuarial science degree. The CIA recognizes actuarial credentials earned from several other actuarial organizations around the world that enable associates and fellows of those organizations to qualify for CIA membership upon meeting a few additional requirements. In 2022, the CIA launched a new education program that does not rely on the education or examinations of any other actuarial body.


Profession oversight

The Actuarial Profession Oversight Board (APOB) was established by the CIA to provide independent and objective public oversight of the actuarial profession in Canada. APOB binds the CIA to its promise to hold the duty of the profession to the public above the needs of the profession and its members. APOB has a broad, public-oriented perspective of the complex issues facing today’s actuaries. The board’s diverse membership draws from backgrounds in industry, business, regulatory bodies, organized labour, and other professions. The group also includes three members appointed by the CIA Board from within the CIA’s membership, ensuring that APOB has subject expertise on actuarial matters, while also providing the CIA Board with a level of insight into APOB operations. APOB is entirely independent in its operations and directly oversees the key regulatory functions of the Institute; namely, actuarial standard-setting, continuing professional development, and professional conduct. APOB also provides the CIA Board with its public-oriented perspective on other CIA activities managed by the CIA councils which report to the CIA Board.


Legislation and actuaries

Several regulations and pieces of legislation, both federal and provincial, specify roles that can only be fulfilled by individuals holding the designation of Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FCIA). In 1991, the federal Insurance Companies Act enshrined the role of Appointed Actuary in federal legislation. This role includes a formal designation from the boards of directors of all insurance companies and includes access to management information; a report in writing of any transactions or conditions which, in the actuary's opinion, have a significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the company; an annual report to boards of directors; and a report by the Appointed Actuary accompanying the published financial statements of companies. Other roles reserved for FCIAs include the certification of defined-benefit pension plan valuations, filing responsibility for auto insurance rates, and the determination of interest rates in cases where the rate charged possibly exceeds the maximum stipulated in the Criminal Code of Canada. The Canadian Institute of Actuaries Standards of Practice are defined and referenced in provincial pension benefits acts and regulations, such as in Ontario and Quebec.


Standards of practice

The Standards of Practice are precise and detailed descriptions of how actuaries, in all practice areas (e.g., actuarial evidence, pensions, life or property/casualty insurance), are to go about their work. They range from detailed instructions on how to make certain calculations to more general requirements as to what should be disclosed in actuarial reports. They are developed and adopted by the Actuarial Standards Board according to its due process and are published by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.


Public policy activities

The CIA produces different types of public statements to address issues of public policy in Canada and to respond to public consultations by governments and regulatory bodies. As a non-partisan entity, the CIA’s policy activities focus on offering input and advice to the benefit of the public good and all Canadians. Recent policy statements by the CIA have addressed topics such as retirement age, climate change, pharmacare, and big data and risk classification.


Seeing Beyond Risk

The CIA publishes Seeing Beyond Risk, a platform for articles and podcasts in both English and French about actuaries and the actuarial profession in Canada.


Actuarial Foundation of Canada

In November 2001, the CIA Board authorized the development of the Actuarial Foundation of Canada (AFC), which was founded in December 2003 to support youth education, consumer education, and research initiatives that use actuarial science and skills in the public interest. The AFC pursues a variety of goals through giving and receiving grants and focusing on education, research, and consumer-education initiatives for the public and young Canadians especially.


See also

*
American Academy of Actuaries The American Academy of Actuaries, also known as the Academy, is the body that represents and unites United States actuaries in all practice areas. Established in 1965, the Academy serves as the profession's voice on public policy and professional ...
(United States) *
Casualty Actuarial Society The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is a professional society of actuaries specializing in property and casualty insurance. The two levels of CAS membership are Associate (ACAS) and Fellow (FCAS). Requirements for these levels of membership incl ...
(United States) *
Institute and Faculty of Actuaries The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries is the professional body which represents and regulates actuaries in the United Kingdom. History The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries came into being on 1 August 2010 as a result of the merger of the Insti ...
(United Kingdom) *
International Actuarial Association The International Actuarial Association (IAA) is a worldwide association of local professional actuarial associations. History The IAA is the continuation of the ''Comité Permanent des Congrès d’Actuaires'', established in 1895, as an assoc ...
*
Society of Actuaries The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is a global professional organization for actuaries. 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 Act ...
(United States) *
Society of Actuaries in Ireland The Society of Actuaries in Ireland is the professional body of Irish actuaries. The Society was founded on 3 May 1972 by seventeen members of the Institute and the Faculty of Actuaries residing in Ireland. Since then, the membership has grown to m ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Institute Of Actuaries 1965 establishments in Ontario Actuarial associations Professional associations based in Canada