Professional Judgment and its Relevance for Solvency II and IRRD

Einleitung/Dauer

The amended Solvency II and the IRRD (Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive) will become applicable as of 30 January 2027. They will extend the scope of actuarial work considerably.
While basic actuarial tasks remain unchanged, additional requirements will need the involvement of actuaries.  The choice of appropriate scenarios for the medium- and long-term analysis of e.g. climate and sustainability risks and macroprudential concerns will constitute a new challenge. The determination of assumptions and methodologies used to model development over time horizons of more than 15 years requires a deep knowledge of undertaking’s business and strategy. Adhering to established professional standards can improve quality and increase the reliability of the outcomes.  

Professional judgment by actuaries has been addressed in Actuarial Notes published by the Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE) in 2022 and the International Actuarial Association (IAA) in 2025.  Both documents aim to clarify the difference between expert judgment and the professional judgment exercised by actuaries.

Expert judgment is based on specific training, knowledge, experience and expertise. In addition, professional judgment has to take into account standards of professionalism, including the profession’s Code of Conduct. An actuary is thus bound by standards set by the actuarial profession which encompass also ethical principles.

Besides presenting an overview of these Actuarial Notes, this web session aims to illustrate where professional judgment is required under Solvency II and the IRRD and how it can substantiate management decisions. 

• Professional judgment – overview of the Actuarial Notes
• “Current” requirements related to the calculation of technical provisions and the SCR
• Choice and analysis of appropriate scenarios

Preliminary Programme
Wednesday, 11 November 2026
10:00-12:00 Topics:

• Overview of the AAE and IAA Actuarial Notes on professional judgment
• Professional standards, ethical principles and the actuarial Code of Conduct
• Professional judgment in Solvency II and the IRRD
• Use of actuarial judgment in the calculation of technical provisions and the SCR
• Selection of medium- and long-term scenarios for the analysis of climate, ESG, sustainability and macroprudential

All the above times are given in CET (Central European Time).

Vorgehensweise und Ziele

Professional judgment is a decisive component of both Solvency II and the IRRD. As a first step, the web session aims to present an overview of the Actuarial Notes on professional judgment published by the AAE (2022) and the IAA (2025).

As a next step, the requirements for professional judgment included in both frameworks will be presented. These will range from the calculation of technical provisions to the appropriate choice and analysis of medium- or long-term scenarios for the assessment of ESG- or sustainability risk.

The role and application of professional judgment will be discussed.

Teilnehmer

Climate risk, ESG risks and macroprudential risks are now considered in Solvency II. The analysis of these risks over the medium or long term will become a challenge for risk management and actuaries. Professional judgment can be a means of improving quality and increasing the reliability of the results. The standards of professionalism provide useful guidance.

As in-depth actuarial expertise is not required, however, participation can also be beneficial for anyone who would like to learn more about the role professional judgment can play insolvency calculations.

Technical Requirements
Please check with your IT department if your firewall and computer settings support web session participation (the programme Zoom will be used for this online training). Please also make sure to join the web session with a stable internet connection.

Dozierende

Siegbert Baldauf
Siegbert is a member of the German Actuarial Association (DAV) and a Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA). For more than 30 years, he held executive functions in accounting, pricing and economic valuation at life insurance companies of the ERGO Group in Germany. For several years until his retirement in 2016, he acted as the Responsible Actuary for two of the Group’s life insurers.
From 2013 until the end of 2025, he chaired the SII Working Group of the Actuarial Association of Europe (AAE). He is now working as an independent actuary.

Sprache/Kurztitel

The language of the web session will be English.

CPD Credits
For this web session, the following CPD credits are available under the CPD scheme of the relevant national actuarial association:

• Austria: 2 points
• Belgium: 2 points
• Bulgaria: 3 points
• Croatia: individual accreditation
• Czechia: 2 hours
• Denmark: 2 credits
• Estonia: 2 hours
• Finland: 2 points
• France: 12 points
• Germany: 2 hours
• Greece: 3 points
• Hungary: 2 hours
• Iceland: 2 credits
• Ireland: 2 hours
• Italy: individual accreditation
• Latvia: 2 hours
• Lithuania: 2 hours
• Netherlands:  approx. 2 points (individual accreditation)
• Norway: 2 points
• Poland: 2 hours
• Portugal: 2 hours
• Serbia: 2 hours
• Slovakia: individual accreditation
• Slovenia: individual accreditation
• Spain: CAC: 2 hours, IAE: 2 hours
• Switzerland: individual accreditation
• USA: SOA (Section B): up to 2.4 hours

No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of this information.