Request By:
Mr. Philip A. Thompson, President
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Post Office Box 817
Versailles Road
Frankfort, Kentucky 40602
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; Joseph R. Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in response to your letter dated March 21, 1979, in which you request an opinion of this office concerning the definition of the term "independent actuary" as used in KRS 304.13-050(4) which states as follows:
The [Kentucky Insurance Regulatory] board may, when it deems it to be in the public interest, hold a public hearing on any [insurance] filing before said filing becomes effective to determine whether or not the filing meets the requirements of this subtitle. Upon receipt of any filings respecting workmen's compensation insurance the board shall cause the filing and supporting information and reports to be examined by an independent actuary who shall submit a written report for public inspection containing his evaluation and findings to the board.
Black's Law Dictionary, Revised Fourth Edition, defines the word "independent" as follows:
Not dependent; not subject to control, restriction, modification, or limitation from a given outside source.
The word "actuary" has been defined as follows:
A person skilled in mathematical calculations whose profession is the calculation of insurance risks and premiums. King County Employment Association v. State Employee Retirement Board, Wash. 336 P.2d 387, 391.
Therefore, as the term is used in the statute, it is the opinion of this office that an "independent actuary" means a person designated by the Insurance Regulatory Board (or the Commissioner of Insurance acting for and in behalf of the Board as its chairman) who is skilled in the calculation of insurance risks and premiums and is not employed by any business, association or organization which has a pecuniary or economic interest in the setting of workmen's compensation insurance rates. An employee of the state Department of Insurance would qualify under this definition.