(Kansas Department of Insurance) – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) honored a Kansas Insurance Department official with a national award at the NAIC’s winter meeting this month.

Larry Bruning, chief actuary at department, was one of two insurance department officials who were awarded the Robert Dineen Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in insurance regulation. The award is the highest individual honor bestowed by the NAIC.

“Larry truly represents the ‘best of the best’ in insurance regulation,” said NAIC President and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. “His tireless efforts to improve regulatory uniformity and cooperation at the national level through the NAIC — all while maintaining a full workload at the Kansas Insurance Department — have not gone unnoticed.”

Since joining the Kansas Insurance Department in 2003, Bruning has provided leadership, expertise and counsel in a national effort to establish principles-based reserving, which is a new framework for determining life insurers’ required capital and reserves.

Bruning has served as chair of the NAIC’s Life and Health Actuarial Task Force, and chair of the Accident and Health Working Group, among other NAIC committee assignments. He also is an active member with the American Academy of Actuaries, serving on the national organization’s board of directors.

Bruning has 29 years of experience as an actuary. He is a Chartered Life Underwriter and a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries. He has also taught actuarial mathematics and statistics at Washburn University, Topeka.