The statement of an appointed actuary, entitled "Statement of Actuarial Opinion," setting forth an opinion relating to reserves and related actuarial items held in support of policies and contracts, in accordance with WAC 284-07-380, must be included with an annual statement. A memorandum in support thereof in accordance with WAC 284-07-390, is required to be available by May 1st each year. The statement of opinion on the adequacy of the reserves and related actuarial items must comply with the requirements of the Valuation Manual, as revised from time to time by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and as defined in RCW 48.74.015.

Statement of actuarial opinion:

(1) "Qualified actuary" means an individual who:

(a) Is a member in good standing of the American Academy of Actuaries; and

(b) Is qualified to sign statements of actuarial opinion for life and health insurance company annual statements in accordance with the American Academy of Actuaries qualification standards for actuaries signing such statements or equivalent standards acceptable to the commissioner; and

(c) Is familiar with the valuation requirements applicable to life and health insurance companies; and

(d) Has not been found by the commissioner (or if so found has subsequently been reinstated as a qualified actuary), following appropriate notice to have:

(i) Violated any provision of, or any obligation imposed by, Title 48 RCW or other law or any applicable regulation or order of the commissioner in the course of his or her dealings as a qualified actuary;

(ii) Been found guilty of fraudulent or dishonest practices;

(iii) Demonstrated his or her incompetence, lack of cooperation, or untrustworthiness to act as a qualified actuary;

(iv) Submitted to the commissioner during the past five years, an actuarial opinion or memorandum that the commissioner rejected because it did not meet the provisions of this regulation or standards set by the Actuarial Standards Board; or

(v) Resigned or been removed as an actuary within the past five years as a result of acts or omissions indicated in any adverse report on examination or as a result of failure to adhere to generally acceptable actuarial standards; and

(e) Has not failed to notify the commissioner of any action taken by any commissioner of any other state similar to that under (d) of this subsection.

(f) The commissioner may accept equivalent qualifications in place of those in (a) and (b) of this subsection if the individual has otherwise demonstrated his or her actuarial competence to the satisfaction of the commissioner, and meets the qualifications in (c), (d), and (e) of this subsection.

(2) "Appointed actuary" means a qualified actuary who is appointed or retained to prepare the statement of actuarial opinion required by this regulation; either directly by, or by the authority of, the board of directors through an executive officer of the company.

(a) The company shall give the commissioner written notice no more than five business days of the following: The name, title (and, in the case of a consulting actuary, the name of the firm), and manner of appointment or retention of each person appointed or retained by the company as an appointed actuary.

(b) The company must state in its notice that the appointed actuary meets the requirements set forth in subsection (1) of this section.

(c) After the company furnishes the notice, no further notice is required with respect to this person, except the following, if applicable:

(i) The company must give the commissioner timely written notice if the actuary ceases to be appointed or retained as an appointed actuary; and

(ii) The company must give the commissioner timely written notice if the actuary fails to meet the requirements set forth in subsection (2) of this section.

(d) If an actuary who was the appointed actuary for the immediately preceding filed actuarial opinion is replaced by an action of the board of directors, the insurer shall within five business days notify the insurance department of the state of domicile of this event. The insurer shall also furnish the domiciliary commissioner with a separate letter within ten business days of the above notification stating whether in the twenty-four months preceding such event there were any material disagreements with the former appointed actuary regarding the content of the opinion. The disagreements required to be reported in response to this paragraph include both those resolved to the former actuary's satisfaction and those not resolved to the former actuary's satisfaction. The insurer shall also in writing request such former actuary to furnish a letter addressed to the insurer stating whether the actuary agrees with the statements contained in the insurer's letter and, if not, stating the reasons for which he/she does not agree. Additionally, the insurer shall furnish such responsive letter from the former actuary to the domiciliary commissioner together with its own.

(3) Standards for asset adequacy analysis: Unless the commissioner approves equivalents in advance, the asset adequacy analysis required by this regulation:

(a) Must conform to the standards of practice as revised from time to time by the Actuarial Standards Board and to any additional standards under this regulation, and must form the basis of the statement of actuarial opinion in accordance with this regulation; and

(b) Must be based on methods of analysis that are deemed appropriate for such purposes by the Actuarial Standards Board.

(4) Liabilities to be covered:

(a) As required by RCW 48.74.025, the statement of actuarial opinion applies to all in force business on the statement date regardless of when or where issued, including reserves of Exhibits 5, 6, and 7, and claim liabilities in Exhibit 8, Part 1 and equivalent items in the separate account statement or statements.

(b) If the appointed actuary determines as the result of asset adequacy analysis that a reserve should be held in addition to the aggregate reserve held by the company calculated in accordance with methods set forth in RCW 48.74.040, 48.74.070, 48.74.080, and 48.74.090, the company must establish the appropriate additional reserve.

(c) Additional reserves established under (b) of this subsection and deemed not necessary in subsequent years may be released. Any amounts released must be disclosed in the actuarial opinion for the applicable year. The release of these reserves will not be deemed an adoption of a lower standard of valuation.