Section Council Bios

Wade Harrison

Wade Harrison is the Senior Vice President of Life/Health Operations for Country Insurance & Financial Services in Bloomington, Illinois. In this role, he is responsible for all life and health actuarial, underwriting, claims, and policyowner service functions. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Personal Lines Underwriting in Property/Casualty Operations at Country.

Wade graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana with a bachelor's degree in actuarial science. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is a member of the Council of the Smaller Insurance Company Section of the Society of Actuaries.

Christopher H. Hause

Christopher H. Hause, FSA (1986), MAAA, CLU, is President of Hause Actuarial Solutions, Inc., Overland Park, Kansas. Major fields of professional activity, in addition to traditional life and annuity products, are Credit Insurance, Debt Cancellation and Software Development.

In addition to Vice Chair of the Smaller Insurance Company Section, Chris is the Chairman of the Credit Insurance Experience Committee and former Chair of Marketing and Distribution Section. He is also a member of the Valuation Manual Committee for Principles-Based Reserves.

Leon Langlitz

Leon Langlitz, FSA, MAAA is Vice President & Principal of Lewis & Ellis in Overland Park, Kansas. Leon has more than 25 years actuarial experience ranging from valuation and other financial issues to strategic planning, expense management, income tax preparation, and asset adequacy. Leon's clients include many state insurance departments, insurance companies and other organizations.

Since beginning as an actuarial student, he has been active in the insurance industry and his community. He is an active member of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries. He is also an Associate Member of the Society of Financial Examiners. He was elected to the Society of Actuaries' Smaller Insurance Company Section Council for a three year term beginning in October 2006.

Richard Lassow

Richard Lassow, FSA, MAAA, CLU is Senior VP, Actuarial for XL Re Life America, Inc. He is also a Fellow of the LIMRA Leadership Institute. Richard's primary focus is on new business acquisition for XL Re. Prior employment includes a role as Vice President and Actuary for Liberty Life Assurance of Boston.

Richard is a mathematics graduate of the University of Connecticut and enjoys travel. He is a member of several special interest sections and is currently serving on the Smaller Insurance Company Section Council.

Jeffrey D. Miller

Jeffrey D. Miller, FSA (1980), MAAA, FCA, is a consulting actuary in Overland Park, Kansas. Major fields of professional activity are financial reporting, small–group medical insurance, and individual life and annuity products. Recently, he has been active in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, The Bahamas, and with various international life and health reinsurance programs.

In addition to serving on the Smaller Insurance Company Section Council, Jeff has served as editor of the Health Section News.

Ellen Gorman

Ellen Gorman, FSA (2002), MAAA, is a Vice President and Actuary of Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company, Peoria, Illinois. Ellen works primarily with Individual Disability Income products, and is the company's Illustration Actuary.

Ellen is a Council Member of the Smaller Insurance Company Section, and served as a Subject Matter Expert and Content Developer for Module 2 of the FAP.

William M. Sayre

William M. Sayre, FSA (2001), MAAA, is Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman in West Paterson, New Jersey. His primary areas of practice are valuation, financial reporting, asset modeling, asset adequacy analysis, product development and pricing, and actuarial appraisals for mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to chairing the Smaller Insurance Company Section, Bill currently serves on the AAA Annuity Reserve Working Group and the AAA Subgroup 4 of Valuation Law and Manual Team. He has also served on the SOA Committee on Life Insurance Research and the SOA Pandemic Project Oversight Group.

Bill is a frequent presenter at industry meetings.

Donald M. Walker

Donald M. Walker (ASA 1994, MAAA 1995) is the Director– Life Actuarial Department at Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company of Michigan. He is the Appointed Actuary for his company and is responsible for both Product Development and Financial Reporting.

In addition to serving on the Smaller Insurance Company Section Council, Don is a former treasurer for the Taxation Section Council and a past president of the Michigan Actuarial Society. He also serves as a facilitator at the Smaller Insurance Company Chief and Corporate Actuaries Forum and is a member of the life planning committee for the Farm Bureau Actuaries annual conference.

D. Joeff Williams

D. Joeff Williams, FSA, MAAA is Vice–President of Actuarial Management Resources, Inc., an insurance consulting firm specializing in life and health actuarial consulting. They are also a licensed Third Party Administrator (TPA) currently administering blocks of life, annuity and health business. Major areas of professional activity include: Valuation/Financial Reporting; Cash Flow Testing; Product Development Individual Life & Health; A&H Rate Management; Acquisitions Life and A&H; and Life and Health Administration.

Joeff is the current Chair of the American Academy of Actuaries Life & Health Qualification Seminar. He also serves on the Health Practice Financial Reporting Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries; member of the American Academy of Actuaries Health Practice Note Revision Work Group (Chairperson for Medicare Supplement and Individual Major Medical Practice Notes); and member of the Premium Deficiency Reserves Work Group (co–author of the Premium Deficiency Reserves Discussion Paper).