News from Associations

April 2016

Actuarial Society of Turkey
At its biennial General Assembly held on March 16, the Actuarial Society of Turkey elected the following Board of Directors:

Orhun Emre Çelik, Chairperson
Seda Ekizoğlu, Vice-Chairperson
Cenk Yalçın, Secretary General
Çağkan Başer, Budget Officer
Aslı Sönmez, Responsible for Corporate Communications.

American Academy of Actuaries, U.S.
New Publications and Webinar Highlight ERM/ORSA Issues
The Academy’s Risk Management & Financial Reporting Council’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)/Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) Committee released an in-depth analysis in February entitled ORSA and the Regulator. Because the ORSA reporting process is new to U.S. practitioners, the public policy overview focuses on general information on the process that will help regulatory actuaries review those reports. It provides a comprehensive outline of the crucial elements that form actuaries’ perspectives on ORSA, an overview of key components that help in identifying and quantifying key risks, the impact that an ORSA report can have on the regulatory surveillance process, and a detailed summary of the overall ERM process.

In addition to releasing the new analysis, the Academy hosted a regulator-only webinar in March, Use of ORSA by the Regulator: Considerations for Actuaries. Attendees from 114 registered sites—about two-thirds of those invited and eligible to participate—attended the webinar, which was moderated by committee chairperson Tricia Matson and featured three committee members with cross-practice expertise: Aaron Halpert, Malgorzata Jankowiak-Roslanowska, and Seong-Min Eom.

Through a focus on an insurer’s assessment of risk exposure, the webinar provided information to U.S. regulators in understanding the types of risks involved, and their unique categorizations within an ORSA report. The speakers highlighted specific examples of key ORSA content covering life, health, and property and casualty areas, in order to better equip regulatory actuaries with the knowledge and background information they need in reviewing reports.

Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA)
Actuaries and Healthcare
Each year, the CIA produces a media campaign to promote the actuarial profession to key non-members. This year the focus is on the emerging practice area of healthcare, with the theme “get a second opinion”.

The campaign positions actuaries as professionals whose specialization can help highlight and mitigate the financial risks associated with an aging population, increasing demand, and evolving treatments in healthcare. Jacques Leduc, CIA director of operations, finance, and administration, who oversaw the initiative’s development, said: “The goal is to promote the profession so that key stakeholders know the skill sets actuaries can bring to the table to help solve some of the challenges facing Canadians in healthcare.”

Pierre-Yves Julien, Chair of the CIA’s Health Committee, said: “It’s clear that the current [healthcare] model is not a viable long-term option, but right now some provincial governments are facing decisions on what changes to make without all the facts they need to back them up. That’s where actuaries can help them by, for example, demonstrating how to mitigate the financial risks associated with an aging population, increasing demand, and evolving treatments.”

The integrated campaign ran nationally in English and French and included video, digital and print advertisements, social media, and TV spots, as well as a landing page on the CIA website.

It also increased the Institute’s presence on social media, with weekly posts to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. CIA marketing manager Kelly Fry said: “By sharing our posts to their personal networks, members can further elevate the profession and help emphasize the important role actuaries can play in healthcare and other fields.”

The website includes a one-minute video that summarizes the issues facing Canada’s public healthcare system, and presents actuaries as professionals whose skills can “help us make better decisions for Canada’s future”.

M. Leduc added: “We are very excited about this year’s campaign. This is the first time we have delivered an integrated marketing campaign that allows us to reach Canadians and to promote actuaries on so many different platforms.”

Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), U.S.

The CAS reached the 7,000-member milestone this year with its newest class of Fellows and Associates, with membership now consisting of 4,942 Fellows, 2,235 Associates, and 20 Affiliate members, for a total of 7,197 active members. From international seminars to regional meetings, the CAS fuels continued growth by providing more than 100 continuing education opportunities each year, developing new programs to encourage members to pursue the opportunities created by technological advancements and emerging fields. It also continues to expand its membership internationally, launching a new CAS Regional Affiliate—Asia Region Casualty Actuaries—which hosted seminars in both Beijing and Singapore in 2015.

Joint IFoA/CAS International Pricing Paper Now Available
The CAS and IFoA have released a joint research paper on analyzing international property per risk exposures. The result of this General Insurance Research Organization Working Party reference document is available via the CAS website and will be presented by two of the authors, John Buchanan and Chris Boggs, at the CAS Seminar on Reinsurance from June 6–7 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The CAS Institute Brings Together Industry Experts to Define Program for Data Science and Predictive Analytics Credential
The CAS Institute announced the formation of a panel of leading practitioners in data science and predictive analytics to define the curriculum and requirements for the organization’s inaugural credentialling program. The CAS Institute is a subsidiary of the CAS that will provide specialty credentialling and professional education to quantitative specialists in selected areas.

CAS Enters into Mutual Recognition Agreement with Institute of Actuaries of India
The CAS has entered into a mutual recognition agreement with the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI). The agreement was signed by CAS President Robert S. Miccolis and IAI President Rajesh Dalmia in November in Bangkok, Thailand, at the 19th Asia Actuarial Conference. The IAI joins the IFoA and the Actuaries Institute in Australia as organizations with which the CAS has mutual recognition agreements.

CAS Hires Richard W. Gorvett as Organization's First Staff Actuary
The CAS has named Richard W. Gorvett as its first staff actuary. A 30-year veteran of the insurance industry and a long-standing member of the CAS, Richard has a background in corporate and academic practice. Prior to joining the CAS, he served as director of the actuarial science program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a role he had held since 2004.

CAS Releases Property and Casualty Resource Library for Academics
The CAS has released its Property and Casualty (General Insurance) Resource Library to facilitate the development and enhancement of university-level property and casualty courses. It is organized around a set of three sample syllabi and a menu of supporting resources.

For more information on these announcements and other CAS news, please visit the CAS website.

Deutsche Aktuarvereinigung (DAV), Germany
The first general assembly of the European Actuarial Journal (EAJ) association took place on April 21 during the European Congress of Actuaries in Brussels. During the assembly, the member associations will discuss the magazine’s strategic direction for the next few years. The association, which is responsible for the steering and publication of the EAJ, was founded in November by the national actuarial associations of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Turkey. If your association is interested in joining, please contact lina.wedrich@aktuar.de.

You can also publish your work in the EAJ. For detailed information, please visit the website of the Springer publishing house.

From September 5–8, the Institut de Science Financière et d’Assurances and Institut des Actuaires will organize the third EAJ conference in Lyon. The aim is to bring together practising actuaries and academics to discuss challenging and current topics in insurance mathematics and actuarial science. Researchers as well as practitioners are invited to present their scientific work on topics related to these fields. Further information available online..

European Actuarial Academy GmbH (EAA)
Seminar: Statistical Methods for Insurance in the Light of Big Data

Everyone is talking about big data. What is it about and where do actuaries come into play? The EAA will answer these questions during its seminar Statistical Methods for Insurance in the Light of Big Data, in co-operation with the Österreichische Förderungsgesellschaft der Versicherungsmathematik, from June 13–14 in Vienna, Austria.

The seminar will focus on illustrating the theoretical foundations of traditional and modern statistical methods. The understanding of these foundations is a prerequisite for the practical application of those methods. Practical examples following each theory block create a reference to the insurance industry. Are you interested in statistical methods and big data? Then register now.

CERA Program 2016: First Two Seminar Modules Completed in Zagreb
The EAA offers a series of seminars for actuaries in ERM. This program consists of six different modules based on the German education route to become a CERA. The CERA Global Association recognized the EAA route for actuaries from Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland, and several other associations (e.g., Austria and Croatia) are also planning to apply for accreditation to offer the CERA to their members.

In co-operation with the HAD, the EAA ran the first two modules of the 2016 CERA program in Zagreb, Croatia, in February and March. Both seminars, entitled ERM – Concept and Framework and Quantitative Methods of ERM, were fully booked, with about 45 participants from across Europe working to gain the CERA credential for actuaries practising in ERM.

Make sure to save your place for the following modules and book online:

• Classification and Modelling of Risk, September 19–21, Zagreb
• Risk Management Tools and Techniques, September 22–23, Zagreb

For further information, click here.

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK

The IFoA recently announced the award of three large research programs to address some significant and global challenges in actuarial science. They will consider:

• Future pension products that meet customer needs, balancing stability, performance and cost 
• The development of new statistical and actuarial methods in the use of big data, in the context of health and wider applications 
• The development of a new generation of mortality and morbidity models, with a specific focus on the drivers for mortality and the management of longevity risk

The three programs combine world-class university research teams with industry partners, and will be focused on delivering quality research outputs relevant to practitioners.

The programs also mark the expansion of the Faculty’s Actuarial Research Centre (ARC), which will become a virtual network of actuarial researchers from around the world. To help ensure academic rigour in the research going through the ARC, the IFoA has appointed three leading actuarial researchers, all of them professors, as a director panel: 

• Andrew Cairns, Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh) – Director
• Steven Haberman, Cass Business School (London) – Associate Director
• Shaun Wang, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) – Associate Director 

This is a significant development and the Faculty is very excited to be launching the programs and working with Andrew, Steven, and Shaun.

You can find out more about the programs and the ARC here. If your actuarial association or own organization would be interested in partnering on these or any future ARC research programs, the IFoA would be delighted to hear from you.

Society of Actuaries (SOA), U.S.
From April 3–15 the SOA hosted a visit with chief actuaries and actuarial department heads representing the China Association of Actuaries (CAA).

This first visit to the U.S. was part of an executive training exchange program between the CAA and SOA. CAA members and staff participated in meetings and presentations in New York, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. During their two-week visit the CAA delegation met SOA leaders, members, academics, students, actuarial candidates, and major employers in the insurance industry. The CAA participants also presented and shared their perspectives at this year’s ERM Symposium in Washington.

SOA President Craig Reynolds said: “This exchange program provides a chance for both SOA and CAA members to share and learn more about our similarities, our differences, and how we can all advance the actuarial profession.”

Last summer the SOA and CAA signed a memorandum of understanding, which outlined opportunities to communicate and work together, such as on research and actuarial training. In the near future, SOA members will participate in a similar type of executive training trip to China.

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