By Erick Mattson, CAPF President

Late last year, CAPF began the process of conducting an actuarial review following the passage of AB 1072 (Daly), which required that Firefighter Benefit Relief Associations, such as CAPF, submit a report to the California Department of Insurance by July 1, 2016 to show that they are financially sound enough to provide the benefits they have promised to Plan members.

I am very pleased to tell you that the recently completed CAPF LTD actuarial report confirmed what we already knew: Our Plan is financially strong and our members can count on it being there for them when they need it.

Immediately after AB 1072 passed, the CAPF Executive Board initiated a nationwide Request for Proposal and interview process in order to select a firm that we believed to be the most qualified to conduct the actuarial review we were seeking. As a result of this interview process, United Health Actuarial Services (UHAS) was selected to conduct the review. UHAS is one of the most respected actuarial firms in the nation, and the California Department of Insurance welcomed our selection because it knew of UHAS' outstanding reputation and competency.

CAPF supported the intent behind AB 1072, which was to ensure that firefighters throughout California could make an informed and confident choice when choosing long-term disability coverage. We worked with the author of the bill, Assembly Member Tom Daly, to craft the legislation with language that best achieved that purpose. Once the actuarial review process began, members of our Executive Board, our Plan Administrators and our Plan Counsel worked diligently with the actuary to provide the data needed to conduct their valuation and answer questions that arose.

The soundness of our Plan has now been verified not only by providing more than 30 years of benefits amounting to over $64 million, but also by highly regarded actuaries. Among the findings in the report by UHAS are that 2016 premiums are not only more than sufficient to pay current claims and expenses but are also expected to contribute to a modest increase in surplus.

While the actuarial process has been long and complex, I believe it has been invaluable to ensuring that our members and potential members can be confident in the strength of our Plan. CAPF appreciates the effort Assembly Member Daly made to work with us, often in the face of opposition from our competitors, to develop reporting requirements that were fair and led to our support for his bill. 

Since we were founded in 1985, CAPF has repeatedly proven that it is possible to provide the best value in LTD coverage while maintaining our business model of operating as a financially sound association exclusively serving, and managed by, firefighters. I want to personally thank everyone who worked so hard to bring the actuarial process to a successful completion. We filed our report to the California Department of Insurance prior to the July 1 deadline.

For more than 30 years, CAPF has been the overwhelming leading choice among California's firefighters for LTD coverage, paying over $64 million in benefits to firefighters and their families. 

Each year California Public Safety Administrators, Inc. (our Plan Administrators) awards for $500 scholarships to children of CAPF members. We wish them the very best in their academic endeavors!