The Actuary April 2016

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APRIL 2016 theactuary.com

Interview: Aubrey de Grey The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Discusses the age-old pursuit of longer life

Health Tackling obesity through policy change

General insurance The growing potential of microinsurance

Reinsurance Weathering the storm with Flood Re

FOREVER YOUNG A cure for ageing – myth or method? p01_apr_cover.indd 1

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IT TAKES VISION Volatile markets can quickly destroy a lifetime of retirement savings. Visionaries demand more. Today, plans have to be sharper, to address new regulations as well as the market. Milliman has expertise to help you tailor solutions to meet these needs. The result? Happier, more conďŹ dent customers. Imagine that. To learn more, visit uk.milliman.com.

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Contents

APRIL 2016

20

14 “People have this crazy concept that ageing is natural and inevitable, and I have to keep explaining that it is not”

30

UP FRONT 9

IFoA news The latest news, updates and events from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

OPINION 4

Editorial Richard Purcell asks is ageing inevitable, and how does it effect our economy?

5

Letters Actuaries discuss mixed messages, the challenge of climate change and oil demand

7

President’s comment Fiona Morrison on why she would ban regulation – or would she?

FEATURES

AT THE BACK

18 Health: Food for thought

33 Student

Dale Rayman explains how the obesity crisis can be tackled through policy change and wellness programmes

20 Health: In the long run Thomas Kenny provides an overview of the costs of long-term care and the options available in an ageing society

24 GI: The uncertain world of pricing Can a Bayesian framework help actuaries manage pricing in an uncertain environment? Edward Tredger reports

26 Conference preview This year sees the launch of the IFoA’s Pensions, Risk and Investment Conference in Edinburgh

28 GI: Showing potential 8

CEO’s comment Where do you want to go? Derek Cribb explains why CPD is key to your goals

13 Soapbox Wian Pieterse provides an insight into this year’s Health, Care and Protection Conference

MORE CONTENT ONLINE Additional content can be found at www.theactuary.com

COVER: GREG MEESON

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Jeff Blacker, Henry Yan and Eamon Kelly explain why microinsurance is a rewarding alternative

Jessica Elkin discusses ‘choice architecture’

34 Books Kathryn Morgan reviews The Rise of the Female Executive by Peninah Thomson and Clare Laurent with Tom Lloyd

35 Puzzles Try the latest cryptic crossword and Mensa puzzles

36 People/society news 38 Appointments and moves 38 Actuary of the future Alex Bates of Punter Southall

ONLINE Widening the ethics debate Ethical training should cover business impact and individual behaviour, says Roger Bevan

30 Reinsurance: Head above water Gemma Gregson looks at Flood Re, a scheme designed to increase availability and affordability of flood insurance

Agony actuary: Hands up to volunteer Read more at bit.ly/22vwzIT

G THE APP GET Did you know you can now read The Actuary magazine on any D ttablet or Android phone? Visit www.theactuary.com/app

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 3 www.theactuary.com

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Editorial editor@theactuary.com

The eternal question Richard Purcell asks whether ageing is inevitable, and how it will affect developed and emerging economies in the long run

people. David Rayman (p18) considers the ways we can try to improve nutrition, in particular through policy, wellness programmes and technology. However, instead of just changing the rate of ageing, can we actually bypass the ageing process altogether? Gerontologist Aubrey De Grey believes we can, through a process of genetic repair. He shares his views in our interview this month (p14). For as long as ageing is inevitable, there are a number of consequences for us to confront. One of the biggest is the growing need for care. Thomas Kenny (p20) looks at the complexity of care provision in the UK, and how means-tested state benefits could actually discourage individuals from saving more towards their own future care needs. As emerging economies also have to address the impact of an ageing population and under-insurance more generally, perhaps it calls for other solutions like microinsurance (p28)? Whatever the future of ageing, there is lots of work to be done.

It’s easy to think of an ageing population as an inevitable feature of developed economies. But this view seems outdated on a number of fronts. First, ageing is increasingly an issue for emerging economies too, thanks to improved fertility and better healthcare. In fact, some projections predict that the proportion of people aged 65 and over in Africa is set to almost triple from 3.6% in 2010 to 10% in 2050, and in some parts could match that of industrialised nations. Second, the belief that ageing is inevitable is also being turned on its head. We’ve known for a long time that lifestyle has an impact on our health, and therefore the rate of ageing. Yet this knowledge has still to translate into a meaningful change in behaviour for most

“Lifestyle has an impact on health, yet this knowledge has yet to translate into a meaningful change in behaviour for most people”

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Editor Richard Purcell editor@theactuary.com Features editors features@theactuary.com Jeremy Lee, pensions, investment, ERM, banking Garry Smith, life, banking, risk Gemma Gregson, GI, reinsurance, environment Stephen Hyams, pensions, investment, risk Sheila Harney, life, regulation People/society news editor Yvonne Wan social@theactuary.com

Student page editor Jessica Elkin student@theactuary.com IFoA editor Alison Jiggins +44 (0)20 7632 2172 alison.jiggins@actuaries.org.uk Editorial advisory panel Peter Tompkins (chairman), Naomi Burger, Matthew Edwards, Martin Lunnon, Sherdin Omar, Nick Silver, Andrew Smith Internet The Actuary: www.theactuary.com Institute and Faculty of Actuaries: www.actuaries.org.uk

Students on actuarial courses may join and receive The Actuary as part of their membership. Apply to: Membership Department, The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Level 2 Exchange Crescent, 7 Conference Square, Edinburgh, EH3 8RA. T +44 (0)131 240 1325 E membership@actuaries.org.uk Changes of address: please notify the membership department. Delivery queries: contact Rachel Young E rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) The editor and the IFoA are not responsible for the opinions put forward in The Actuary. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission of the copyright owners. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the content, the publisher and its contributors accept no responsibility for any material contained herein. © Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, April 2016 All rights reserved ISSN 0960-457X

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THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Opinion Letters to the editor

Have your say online

More comments are posted online about news stories published on www.theactuary.com.

Mixed messages In recent issues, there has been much talk of actuaries getting more involved in wider fields, and numerous articles saying: “We can do this because we understand risk, we can think long term, and can build clever spreadsheets,” without recognition of the fact that these skills are not unique to actuaries. In the March issue (bit.ly/21x1UoI), Derek Cribb reported that HR directors may not be enamoured by the idea of getting actuaries involved outside their core areas, and he sees this as a communication issue. I beg to differ, because I believe the profession needs to deal first with some core facts. Actuaries are very well paid and effectively priced out of most other work. Even on our own website we say: “Average graduate salaries in the recruitment market are £33k”, and go on to explain that the range goes up to a basic salary of £222k. Young people who have worked hard to qualify, and have been enticed into the profession by the salaries on offer, are unlikely to want to move into wider fields for less money. Actuaries are technically focused and not encouraged to work outside their immediate field of specialism. Our training and ongoing CPD is mainly about technical competence. This is reinforced by the Actuaries’ Code, which effectively restricts professionals from any activity where they don’t already have the required expertise. Broadening out seems to be seen as a risk to professional standards. The recent introduction of APS X2 states quite clearly that members must consider whether to apply Work Review to actuarial work for which they are responsible. For someone moving into wider fields and using their actuarial skills (and hence doing actuarial work), this effectively requires them to hold their hand up and say “I can’t do this job by myself. You need two of us”. The combination of the above three aspects of being an actuary seems to present a significant professional restriction of the extent to which actuaries will move into wider fields. This is not a communication issue. Martin Pike FIA 14 March 2016

Climate changes The recent letters relating to climate change highlight the positive impact actuaries can make and some pitfalls awaiting those who wish to get involved with this topic. Both authors are to be congratulated on raising issues that affect the public interest without worrying that they may be criticised. The actuarial profession needs to continue this tradition of openness to new ideas and critiques of existing ones. Actuaries’ experience in data analysis, assumption setting and modelling can add some professionalism that may sometimes be missing in scientific publications. Last year,

MORE LETTERS ONLINE More letters are available online at www.theactuary.com/opinion

Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, wrote: “The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue.” But it is not just biomedical research that has its problems. An article in Nature in 2005 claimed that 15% of scientists admitted to “changing the design, methodology or results of a study in response to pressure from a funding source”. Solomon Green’s challenge that the Climate Change Working Party should investigate the assumptions, derivation and validity of the climate models, is therefore a fair one. This would not imply that there is anything wrong but rather that additional external review should be welcomed of models that are playing a fundamental role in how economies and societies are being managed. One of the pitfalls awaiting the unwary actuary is epitomised by Kenneth Donaldson’s reference to the paper by Karl et al, which concluded that the so-called hiatus had never happened. In the same month that his letter was published, an article was published (Fyfe et al, 2016) in Nature Climate Change contradicting this conclusion. I look forward to actuaries continuing to make contributions on climate change that generate light and not heat. Dermot Grenham FIA 13 March 2016

Demand for oil It is just three years since the paper Limits to Growth – The World is Not Enough was published in this magazine warning us that “demand (for oil) was outstripping supply” and “current reserves are not enough to meet the demand into the future – and yet-to-be-found reserves are questionable”. The paper was largely written by non-actuaries. It was supported by a research report presented by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries without the qualification that it was written by the same non-actuarial authors: Resource Constraints: Sharing a Finite World. Implications of Limits to Growth for the Actuarial Profession. The report contained extensive statistics and commentary, which neatly ignored the rise in US fracking activity and its then-expected continuation, and focused on the suggestions by some observers that published numbers for reserves had been deliberately exaggerated. It is worthwhile noting how far removed the oil industry is today from the Malthusian forecast in that paper – in just three years. The estimated proved reserves in the most recent BP Statistical Review of World Energy (at end 2014) are 1.7trn barrels, compared with those (considered to be optimistic) in the 2012 paper of 1.2-1.3trn barrels. The current price of less than $30 a barrel compares with the over $100 applying in 2012. While there may be political reasons for the low price, it still demonstrates that current supply availability to meet the world’s needs in the foreseeable future is not a problem. Perhaps the authors could be called upon to comment. Geoff Dunsford FIA 26 January 2016

The editor welcomes readers’ letters but reserves the right to edit them for publication. Please email editor@theactuary.com. The deadline for receiving letters for the May 2016 issue is 19 April 2016. April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 5 www.theactuary.com

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Fiona Morrison is the president of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

President Comment

I’d ban regulation...

Regular readers will know that I get my inspiration for this column from a variety of random sources. Quite often I find myself each month wrestling with ideas, which to me are interesting, but to you, the reader, may be less so. Nevertheless, I do attempt to write about subjects that are not only topical but also of real importance to us as a profession and as professionals. I hope that by focusing on a specific issue that I feel passionate about, it not only gives you an insight into me as your president but also the big issues of the day that I think should be on all of our minds as we go about our daily business. This month I am going to focus on professional regulation. I hope what follows resonates with you because you have a role to play here. I’d ban regulation... the word I mean. I don’t know about you, but I think that all too often it gets a bad press. It always seems to me to be the soft target, the easy option for people and businesses to take a pop at. They see it as a burden, an expensive overhead that adds very little value to their business. As a regulated professional I find these views misguided and wide of the mark, but I guess I would say that, as the president of the IFoA. I think the word ‘professionalism’ has much more positive connotations, and perhaps we should focus on this word when we talk about the value that our regulatory, or professional, framework adds to business and the wider society. No one will dispute that being professional is a good thing. Interestingly, a report commissioned in 2009 by three professional bodies, The Law Society, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, entitled British Professions Today: The State of the Sector, summed it up perfectly for me when they concluded that: “Professionals in the UK form part of the backbone of the services-based economy, play key roles in the political process, and, perhaps most importantly, provide vital services in our day-to-day lives.” The report highlighted that the problems in the banking sector, exposed by the 2008 financial crisis, illustrated all too clearly the

Fiona Morrison says the word ‘regulation’ gets too much bad press, but that standards are key to the integrity of the profession need for professional standards, including rigorous qualifications, appropriate monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. Absolutely I say. It is for this very reason that I am such a keen advocate of the IFoA’s regulatory strategy, why I place enormous value on our status as professionals and why I think it is important to write about it. The IFoA undertakes its regulatory role, first and foremost, in the public interest. But what does that mean, not just to us as members, but to the users of our services and, by extension, the general public? For me it is simple; we have a primary duty to assure public trust. This is achieved by maintaining the quality of actuarial work by ensuring that: our education syllabus is appropriate so we produce high-quality professionals with the appropriate skills, knowledge and behaviours; we set appropriate standards and require our members to comply with them, including keeping knowledge up to date; and lastly, we speak up, where appropriate, on matters of public interest. I would also suggest that rigorous, yet proportionate, enforcement is also essential not only in serving the public but protecting

“We have a primary duty to assure public trust. This is achieved by maintaining the quality of actuarial work”

the reputation of our profession. Or as professor Andy Friedman put it in his 2015 discussion paper The Professional Body Sector Contribution to Social Infrastructure: “Confidence in professionals, professions and professionalism is generated and influenced by practices which meet standards of technical and ethical competence defined and promoted by professional bodies.” But does our regulatory strategy really make a difference – does it build trust in the users of our services? I firmly believe the answer is yes, and so do those who responded to the Financial Reporting Council’s survey last year on the perceptions of actuarial quality. This shows that the profession is held in high regard by stakeholders. Of those surveyed, 96% were fairly or very confident in the integrity of the profession itself. But as a profession we cannot rest on our laurels, and that is why over the next 12 months we will be launching a campaign, building on the successful launch of the Quality Assurance Scheme, to promote the benefits of professionalism and the value it adds to business and society. So the next time you are faced with criticism at the cost of employing a regulated professional, remember to point out that this will help to bring trust and credibility to the business. What investor or consumer wouldn’t want that? a

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 7 www.theactuary.com

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Derek Cribb is the chief executive of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

CEO Comment

Where do you want to go?

This is a question you might ask yourself once a year – perhaps when making new year’s resolutions, or when you are going through an annual review at work. Where do you see yourself in one year? In five years? Too often we forget we already have the tools to help us achieve our ambitions. Our continuing professional development (CPD) helps us develop the broader skills to get us to these goals, rather than just being something that takes up 15-30 hours a year; a chore to get through in order to continue to be called a qualified member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Derek Cribb explains why continuing professional development plays a key role in reaching your own goals and opportunities

A worthwhile endeavour These 15-30 hours may feel burdensome when you are trying to fit your CPD into an already busy professional and personal schedule. However, when looking at the overall picture, it’s not a lot of time to spend investing in your future. When you do the maths, 30 hours per year represents less than 2% of your annual working hours. I don’t think that is too much time to put towards ensuring your skills are relevant to the most up-to-date thinking, and that you are continuing to develop professionally. In my view, spending 2% of your time to ensure the other 98% is spent to its optimum isn’t a high price to pay. The IFoA strives to create really innovative, groundbreaking CPD that, at its core, focuses on developing and enhancing your technical and professional skills. Content is designed to reflect the real challenges actuaries face on a day-to-day basis and provides support in addressing the issues. I am always surprised when I hear comments that our CPD requirements are too restrictive. This in my view is to misconceive its overarching purpose in embedding lifelong learning and development. The CPD scheme provides the encouragement and opportunity to develop your potential as more rounded professionals. Staying up to date with relevant areas of specialism is of course

important, and why we have such a strong interest from members in area-specific conferences, where attendees can get the latest information, research and thinking.

Soft skills However, developing your professional, including ‘softer’, skills at a broader level should also be a key focus when thinking about CPD. Not only will this enhance your skills in your current role but it will also benefit your future career, as the lessons learned will undoubtedly be transferable. In this way, the CPD scheme can help support you if you seek to move into new areas of business, as well as developing your competencies for your current role. It’s reassuring news that the Financial Reporting Council’s survey last year, on the perceptions of actuarial quality, shows that the profession is held in high regard by stakeholders. Of those surveyed, 96% were fairly or very confident in the integrity of the profession. This is a ringing endorsement and is, in no small part, down to the focus our members place on continuing to develop their

“Take the opportunity to develop your broader skills, push yourself out of your comfort zone and invest for the future”

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professionalism and ethical standards. The series of videos we have produced over the past few years to assist members in meeting their professional skills training requirements are a case in point. They include engaging content that helps actuaries deal with the real issues they are facing day-to-day. This year, the video content has moved away from focusing on a particular theme, such as whistleblowing or conflicts of interest, with the new content covering a broader range of professional issues. All are designed to illustrate how the Actuaries’ Code can help in dealing with some of the challenges you may face both in your personal and professional lives, and as a guide to making sound ethical decisions when faced with difficult professional dilemmas.

Seize the day The key to staying current is to not get stuck in a rut. Continuous learning throughout our working lives, supported by the principles embedded in our CPD scheme, is one of the key things we should all prioritise. So take the opportunity to develop your broader skills, push yourself out of your comfort zone and invest for the future. Seize the opportunity to progress. Your profession gives you the tools you need, but only you can determine how you will use them. a

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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News ARIAL PROFESSION

Upfront Boost your career chances with global enterprise risk management qualification Are you an actuary wanting to work in enterprise risk management? Then get a headstart with a universal qualification from the CERA Global Association (CGA). Since the development of this highly regarded actuarial qualification in 2007, the number of chartered enterprise risk actuaries (CERAs) has grown steadily and now stands at just over 3,000 worldwide. CERA is a globally recognised and accredited qualification that was initially established in the US by the Society of Actuaries in 2007. In 2009, 14 national associations from 12 countries joined to create the global CERA credential that addressed the

growing need for highly qualified risk professionals in the finance and non-finance sectors. As one CERA has said: “The nonfinancial business arena is enormous, and actuaries are well placed to add real value in the risk management process. We must grasp the opportunity that the CERA qualification has created, and play our part in that arena.” In 2015, the number of CERA holders outside the UK grew by 20.5% and the IFoA saw average growth of just over 10 CERAs a month, bringing its total to 459. Enterprise risk management (ST9) continues to be the second most popular exam in the specialist technical (ST) series. As a result, the CGA has increased the number of CERA seminars held each year by 25% to accommodate this increased level of interest.

ATRC: call for papers The dedicated website for the 2016 Annual Teachers’ and Researchers’ Conference (ATRC) is now live. A call for contributed papers is open and will close on 9 May 2016. This annual two-day event provides a forum to exchange the latest research ideas in actuarial science and related areas. The theme of ‘Bridging the gap between academia and industry’ aims to facilitate the discussion between academics and practitioners and to highlight the mutually beneficial link between these two worlds. The conference will be held on 4-5 July at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. Sessions on 4 July will focus on themes of interest to life, pensions, long-term care and health actuaries; 5 July will include talks on general insurance, finance, novel analytical techniques, and a session on IFoA actuarial research and education. To submit a paper, visit bit.ly/1paEoS0

Figure 1 Growth of CERA qualification 0 3500 0 3000 0 2500 Total CERA holders 0 2000

New holders in the last year

0 1500 1000 500 0 2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Find out about how to join the CERA community at www.ceraglobal.org Follow CERA on social media: www.facebook.com/CERAGlobal www.twitter.com/CERAGlobal

Be prepared for CPD year-end As the end of the continuing professional development (CPD) year for categories 2-6 is rapidly approaching, we would like to take this opportunity to remind all members of their obligations under the 2015/2016 CPD scheme (bit.ly/1UVFZry). If you are in any doubt about your requirements or if you have any questions, please contact the membership team at membership@actuaries.org.uk

Students: new CPD requirement Student members are required under the IFoA CPD scheme to complete either stage 1, 2 or 3 of professional skills training (PST), whichever is relevant. For the first time, for the 2015/2016 CPD year (bit.ly/1M9j3O9), student members undertaking stage 3 PST are required to record their activity. This must be entered in your online CPD record by 31 July 2016. You can access your record via the ‘my account’ page at www.actuaries.org.uk

Climate change and Brexit spark letters to FT The IFoA submitted two letters to the editor of the Financial Times. The first was in response to Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s call for disclosure of climate change risks, and the second in response to an article by the FT’s chief

economics commentator, Martin Wolf, on the complexity of issues faced by voters on the EU referendum. Both letters were published earlier in the year and can be viewed online. Full letter in response to Mark Carney’s call can be found at bit.ly/1R9MQaX Letter in response to Martin Wolf’s article can be found at bit.ly/1R9rO2r April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 9 www.theactuary.com

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News

How squirrels, mice, ostriches and pilot fish all came to live under pension freedoms By Teresa Roux and Colette Dunn Before the introduction of pensions freedoms came widespread speculation that consumers would cash in their pensions and blow the lot. The prospect of large swathes of the population leaving themselves nothing to live on in old age rang alarm bells in the media. Tales abounded of flashy Italian cars bought with pension fund cash. There were fears and concerns within the industry too. Adopting a measured approach, actuarial and management consultancy Milliman looked overseas for countries where no compulsory annuitisation existed to gain insight of the effects on markets (particularly the annuity market) and consumer behaviour. The prevailing school of thought was that most retirees would elect not to take an annuity. UK market research by Bdifferent revealed that, while 38% of those questioned wanted to take the cash, 70% wanted to stay with the same pension company. Crucially, one aspect of what the majority needed from their pension remained unchanged… an income for life. In the new world of pension freedoms, there were risks to be managed at retirement, the individual being ultimately responsible for potentially life-changing decisions. There

were concerns that the least wealthy and financially competent would struggle to choose the most suitable route. Without the benefit of advice steering them in the right direction, the fear was that people would run out of money during their retirement. How hard did reality bite? The first two months saw over £1bn in cash taken from pensions (source: Association of British Insurers). And from April until June 2015, 82% of the uncrystallised funds pension lump sum (UFPLS) full encashments were for pots under £30,000 (source: Financial Conduct Authority). The fear became reality that many consumers, particularly those with smaller pots, would take the cash. Sales of annuities dropped drastically, and there was significant growth in drawdown sales. Different market research among the over-55s found that most individuals were aware of their options, relishing the freedom to choose and be in control of their own finances. However, most admitted to having done little in the way of financial planning for retirement. Worryingly, many were not even aware of the value of their pension pots. Neither had they considered what percentage of their working income they would need to survive or be comfortable in retirement. The decisions they face at retirement are daunting; few feel

confident making their own investment decisions. Higher-net-worth individuals will use the services of a financial adviser, but most appear to rely solely on information from their pension provider. So, the advice gap is not only alive but is vigorously kicking. Each individual is different, but consumer segmentation has identified some categories that have merit in terms of behaviour and attitudes towards retirement planning. The ‘pilot fish’ has a long-term financial adviser and is happy and confident in following their recommendations. ‘Squirrels’ are truly independent information-gatherers, who are confident to make decisions and deal direct. The ‘mouse’ is organised and realistic about the need to sort income but overwhelmed by choices and timorous about decision-making. Finally, ‘ostriches’ (half of the population) know they need to take action, but depression about income makes them bury their heads in the sand. Teresa Roux is founding partner of Bdifferent, which specialises in financial services research, and Colette Dunn is head of strategy at Milliman. They both spoke at the IFoA’s ‘Life in Retirement – Consumer Needs in the New Post Retirement Market: Implications for Actuaries’ event To view all upcoming events, visit bit.ly/1QGUnke

Strategic review ensures education structure fit for the future Professor Clifford Friend, director of education, gives an update on the IFoA education review Associateship and Fellowship of the IFoA are among the world’s most prestigious actuarial qualifications. They are held by members because of their international currency, enabling them to work in markets around the world. Maintaining this pre-eminent status is therefore a key aspect of the IFoA’s education strategy. The syllabus for each of the current Associate/Fellowship examinations is reviewed annually and, every decade or so, a wider review also takes place to ensure that they meet the evolving needs of the profession 10

and the increasingly international character of the IFoA’s membership. Over the past two years, a strategic review group has been overseeing such an exercise, engaging directly with employers and drawing on the specialist expertise of volunteers, university partners and learners. A new draft curriculum and examination structure is now being developed and will be considered by the IFoA Council in June 2016. Following this, further consultation is planned during late 2016 to prepare for the new examinations in 2019. A key area addressed by the review’s working groups has been the need to demonstrate competency to actuarial regulators through the application of actuarial knowledge. The review has

recommended a redistribution of subjects between modules to provide more coherent study programmes, and to introduce a small number of new areas of learning that will be critical to the future practice of actuarial science – such as data analytics. The review has ensured that the proposed curriculum will not increase the burden of study, nor the number of examination hours. It has recommended renaming some examination subjects to reflect their content more accurately, and combining other subjects – such as investment and corporate finance – into single study areas. It is also proposed that the work-based skills assessment will mimic the IFoA’s continuing professional development scheme to prepare learners for their professional development

post-qualification, and to move material that is specific to a particular jurisdiction into practice modules to meet the requirements of local regulators. A complete overhaul of the assessment of communication skills is being undertaken to ensure this is truly fit for purpose. Following stakeholder consultation and final drafting, a transition plan will be developed so that learners studying for the current examinations are not disadvantaged. The proposed new curriculum and examinations have received positive feedback from employers, and implementation will be handled carefully through close engagement with our learners. Details of the proposed changes will be announced once Council has met in June.

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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New research programmes announced as IFoA expands Actuarial Research Centre

Promoting actuarial careers to the young There is a world of opportunity available to those entering the jobs market. Here at the IFoA we are passionate about ensuring young people are informed about the advantages of becoming a Certified Actuarial Analyst (CAA) and/or actuary and we do this in a number of ways. Members contacting us for materials and attending a school or college talk near them ● Schools/colleges contact us, we send along a career ambassador (member) to provide a talk ● We attend over 15 university careers fairs annually ● We attend three national careers exhibitions annually. ●

Many young people are questioning the need to go to university. Increased fees coupled with the better availability of apprenticeships and professional qualifications means the world of work is somewhere you can earn and

learn fresh out of school or college. With the launch of the CAA in 2014 the IFoA is delighted to be joining this energetic and diverse market place. The CAA offers a route into the financial sector for bright, maths-savvy students who chose not to go to university. The ability for the IFoA to diversify and provide a career path which differs from the traditional route is very exciting and we hope to see our first school leavers taking up roles in 2016. If you’d like to do more to promote an actuarial career, we can help, contact us on bit.ly/22jEYyW

How do we manage investment strategies in a changing environment? To what extent can causeof-death modelling help to inform future life expectancy? These are just a couple of the questions that the IFoA’s Research and Thought Leadership Committee (RTLC) asked of the actuarial community last summer in a large call for research. Its aim was to address some of the significant challenges in actuarial science and complement the extensive research undertaken by IFoA working parties. The IFoA received 25 research proposals, involving over 100 institutions, from over 20 countries. The call for research also marked the expansion of the IFoA’s Actuarial Research Centre (ARC), which was established in 2012 by the Scottish Board. The RTLC sees an opportunity to use the ARC to deliver commissioned research programmes, creating a global network of actuarial researchers and related disciplines. Following a rigorous review of the 25 proposals received, the RTLC identified three inaugural research programmes for the expanded ARC, addressing the following areas: ● Future pension products that meet customer needs, balancing stability, performance and cost Cass Business School and Heriot-Watt University ● The development of new statistical and actuarial methods in the use of Big Data, in the context of health and wider applications University of East Anglia ● The development of a new generation of mortality and morbidity models, with a specific focus on the drivers for mortality – Heriot-Watt University; Cass Business School; the University of Southampton; Aarhus University, Denmark; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Longevitas Ltd RLTC chairman, professor Mark Cross says: “We set out some of the key challenges in actuarial science and were overwhelmed by the response from the actuarial community in how it could address them. We have three world-class programmes, and I am delighted that they will form the foundations of our newly expanded Actuarial Research Centre.” The total funding for the above research initiatives and two other calls for research (to be announced shortly) is around £3.1m, which is expected to be funded by the IFoA, industry partners, universities and other actuarial associations. Similar to the original Actuarial Research Centre, a key feature is that all research combines robust academic rigour with industry relevance. While IFoA volunteers mainly bring a practitioner perspective, the RTLC also recognises that the ARC will benefit from academic leadership and has appointed three world-leading experts in actuarial science to support this aim: ● Professor Andrew Cairns, Heriot-Watt University – ARC director ● Professor Steven Haberman, Cass Business School – ARC associate director ● Professor Shaun Wang, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore – ARC associate director. These appointments and the funding of the three large programmes make it an exciting time for the IFoA’s research agenda. Further updates will appear during the coming months. If you would like to know more about the ARC, or your organisation would be interested in becoming a supporter, please contact: arc@actuaries.org.uk or visit: www.actuaries.org.uk/arc April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 11 www.theactuary.com

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News

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES CURRENT ISSUES IN PENSIONS SEMINARS Bristol, 13 April bit.ly/1QGVi4i

London, 20 April bit.ly/1UidROs These one-day seminars are an ideal opportunity for pensions delegates to discuss a variety of topical issues, including what exactly trustees expect from their scheme actuary, the role that actuaries for UK pensions schemes can play in the context of integrated risk management and the

impact of pensions freedoms in a rapidly changing economic climate. Attendees will also review case studies and hear from the IFoA General Council team. Please book online.

INTERNATIONAL MORTALITY AND LONGEVITY SYMPOSIUM 2016 7-9 September, Royal Holloway, Surrey bit.ly/1YC4DgM This conference offers a forum for the exchange of information on the latest relevant research, and an opportunity to learn about established knowledge from a range of different disciplines, all with the aim

of better understanding and managing this complex yet critical subject. Hear from a variety of industry experts, including: Professor Jay Olshansky, chief scientist and co-founder, Lapetus Solutions; professor Thomas Kirkwood CBE, associate dean for ageing, Newcastle University; Dr Amlan Roy, managing director and head, global demographics and pensions research, Credit Suisse; and Daniel Ryan, head of R&D, life, health and big data, Swiss Re.

GIRO 2016 20-23 September, Convention Centre Dublin bit.ly/1TwHooR

Bookings for the premier general insurance conference are now open. There is a range of ticket options available to suit everyone, including group discounts for companies sending six or more delegates. Join your peers to discuss key topics, such as pricing, reserving, modelling and the future of the insurance industry. If you are considering submitting a paper for the Brian Hey prize, please note that the deadline is Friday 22 July 2016. Please use this paper template (bit.ly/1YC4Sby) and send your submissions to aili.pello@ actuaries.org.uk

LIFE CONFERENCE 2016: CALL FOR SPEAKERS 2-4 November, Edinburgh International Conference Centre bit.ly/1QJVWPO The Life Conference is the premier event for professionals interested in life insurance. The programme committee is starting its search for a wide range of speakers to generate thoughtprovoking discussion and debate. If you would like to propose a workshop session for this year’s conference, then we want to hear from you.

Health, Care and Protection Conference 2016 Plenary speakers this year include: Aubrey de Grey, biomedical gerontologist and chief science officer of SENS Research Foundation Andy Couchman, Co-chairman of Protection Review, managing director of Bank House Communications and one of the UK’s leading commentators and consultants on life and health insurance Professor Nicholas Wood, Galton Professor of Genetics and research director of the UCL Genetics Institute

11.5 CPD hours

18-20 May, The Rum Warehouse and Titanic Hotel, Liverpool The Health, Care and Protection Conference (formerly the Health and Care Conference) is an annual conference aimed at all insurance professionals with a passion for harnessing insurance risk in their organisations. The conference uses a combination of workshops from experts in their field to explore how changes in innovation, technology, medical advances (including genetics), the political landscape and other market movements will impact the future of insurance risk management in the health, care and protection markets. Offering 24 workshops, six plenaries, professional skills and a masterclass session, we aim both to inform and provoke discussion on current market topics, topical issues and potential strategies that will help shape the industry’s future.

After dinner speaker: We are delighted to confirm Ed Byrne, one of Britain’s most recognisable stand up comedians, as our after dinner speaker.

Sponsorship and exhibition: The IFoA has a wide range of sponsorship opportunities available to companies that are keen to promote their brand to a targeted group of healthcare and protection professionals. If you are interested in engaging an audience of insurers, reinsurers and consultants from the healthcare industry, there are a range of sponsorship and exhibition packages available that have been designed to ensure you have a solid platform to allow you to stand out and make an impact whilst receiving maximum exposure for your specific budget over the three days of the conference. For more information or for booking enquiries, please contact waleed.soliman@actuaries.org.uk A range of ticket options are available, including group discounts. Visit www.actuaries.org.uk for more information.

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THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Soapbox Opinion

Wian Pieterse is head of protection Dr Konstantinos Drakos pricing and technical risk is at LV= associate professor at Athens and a Fellow of the Institute and University of Economic Faculty of Actuaries

Change is inevitable, growth is optional* Situated in the historic Liverpool docks, the venue for the Health, Care and Protection Conference 2016 was once the hub of a thriving port, storing tobacco and rum from exotic locations in its cavernous warehouses. In many ways, this UNESCO World Heritage site is a monument to an area that pioneered modern dock technology in a time of rapid change – Britain’s Industrial Revolution, successfully surviving even air raid damage during the Second World War. The question on everyone’s lips is: ‘Can it survive an invasion of 200 actuaries and their unquenchable thirst for knowledge?’ Only time will tell.

Wian Pieterse explains why there is more to talk about at this year’s Health, Care and Protection Conference than ever before

Change… and opportunity We, too, are fortunate to live in times of exceptional change – nowhere more so than in the fields of technology, analytical capability, access to data and medical advances. Most of us attending the conference will remember times when the most data we could easily transfer was around 8mb, using a pack of floppy disks. Contrast that to today, where we can receive 8mb of data in less than 30 seconds ‘through the air’ on a mobile device. But we’re not only receiving data constantly, we have also become prolific sources of data flows ourselves; with the majority of the population probably unable to truly grasp the size of their digital information footprint. One such source is the ‘wearable’, which is all the rage... how many of us have succumbed to the Fitbit fad? The technology within most wearables is nothing new; gyroscopes, accelerometers and magnetometers are ‘old’ sports and fitness technology repackaged. For those of us interested in health data that is currently hard to mine and only accessible indirectly, the real excitement is what might come next. Fairly soon, I think we can expect smaller devices that measure your blood sugar levels, track alcohol use or measure body temperature, hydration, blood pressure or vitamin deficiency. The possibilities are (almost) endless and have substantial implications for life and health insurance.

Change is everywhere around us, in the UK and beyond – an ageing population, shrinking workforce, mass immigration to Europe, global shift of power from West to East, obesity and allergy trends. Many things are happening today that mean society as we know it will most likely not exist in future.

already alive today (see interview, p14). Just think of the consequences! So it is no surprise that there is increasing noise around how these issues will affect our industry. It seems as though, following a period of relative stability, disruption is imminent, which makes our Conference programme superbly timed and relevant.

Global trends Our friends and enemies are changing as well. Medical advances mean that cancer, heart attack and stroke survivorship is better than ever before. Old enemies such as HIV and diabetes are managed much better, to the point that these previously uninsurable risks are now catered for by some insurers. But global epidemics have become a constant worry, with frequent news reports of possible threats that could bring the world to a standstill. Recent examples are avian flu, Ebola and, most recently, the Zika virus. Perhaps most worrying of all, though, is that our trusty sword in the battle against infection – the antibiotic – is proving less and less effective. The situation is so acute that the director-general of the World Health Organization has warned of “a postantibiotic era, in which many common infections will no longer have a cure and, once again, kill unabated”. All this makes predicting the future of life and health insurance a pretty difficult job. And then along comes Cambridge gerontologist Aubrey de Grey, claiming that the first person to live to 1,000 years is

Topical agenda The Health, Care and Protection Conference aims to offer sessions covering a rich menu of topics focused on new products, innovation and topical issues. This year is no exception, with sessions from a futurologist, clinical directors and Aubrey De Grey on why the days of age-related morbidity and mortality are numbered. With a much more relaxed and intimate feel than the bigger conferences, you can also expect stimulating dialogue with fellow insurance professionals in underwriting, claims and product development, helping expand your knowledge beyond the technical actuarial. I hope many of you can join us for a crammed full agenda. Or, you might just want to find out whether the Rum Warehouse and Titanic Hotel – lives up to its name. a Wian Pieterse is the chairman of the organising committee for the 2016 Health, Care and Protection Conference. * Quote from leadership expert John C Maxwell

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 13 www.theactuary.com

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You know, people have this crazy concept that ageing is natural and inevitable and I have to keep explaining that it is not�

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On my agenda features@theactuary.com

Lifelong learning Leading ageing expert Aubrey de Grey talks to Sheila Harney and Jessica Elkin on halting the ageing process and what it means for society

PHOTOGRAPHY: TOM CAMPBELL

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Dr Aubrey de Grey is a prominent biomedical gerontologist and chief science officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of Rejuvenation Research, a Fellow of both the Gerontological Society of America and the American Aging Association, and sits on the editorial and scientific advisory boards of numerous journals and organisations. During his 20 years of work on the biology of ageing he has become well known for his often controversial views and eccentric manner. These centre on the largely theoretical potential to develop techniques to eliminate ageing from our bodies and extend human life expectancy significantly, for potentially up to 1,000 years. We meet de Grey in a pub in Cambridge on a bright yet chilly Sunday afternoon. He is an intriguing figure; his cut-glass English accent contrasting with the Old Testament-style beard (apparently his wife is a fan) and eclectic attire. Originally a computer scientist, he graduated from Cambridge in 1985, and spent several years working on artificial intelligence research in software verification. During that time he met his wife, a biology professor. “So over the next couple of years I kind of accidentally learnt a lot of biology,” he explains. “Very gradually it began to dawn on me that we were never talking about ageing. To me, ageing was the world’s most important problem. It was so obvious that I never tested the assumption. I always presumed that everyone else thought the same.” Shocked to discover that biologists were not focusing on this issue, de Grey started to devote his spare time to educating himself on his wife’s specialism, before eventually switching career fields to focus on the topic full-time a few years later. Although his first few papers were well received, once he began to talk about reversing the ageing process he struggled to gain acceptance within the scientific community: “You know, people have this crazy concept that ageing is natural and inevitable, and I have to keep explaining that it is not.” His views on ageing are simple. “The human body is a machine with moving parts and like a car or an aeroplane, it accumulates damage throughout life as a consequence of normal operation.” Historically, efforts to postpone the ill health of old age have focused on finding ways to clean up our metabolism so that we accumulate damage to the body more slowly. About 15 years ago, de Grey had a ‘Eureka!’ moment upon realising that the most practical way to achieve this would be to find ways to repair the damage rather than looking to slow it down. “I realised we can classify different types of genetic damage into seven major categories, for each of

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Hear more from Aubrey de Grey... He will be a keynote speaker at the IFOA Health, Care and Protection Conference on 18-20 May, and also the Pension, Risk and Investment Conference on 31 May-2 June. Register at www.theactuary.com

which there is a different repair approach”. This is the focus of the SENS foundation. “We have all these diverse projects across various strands of research that we think need to be done, and because we are an independent non-profit charity, we have the luxury of being able to work on the hardest problems.” Although some of his views are met with scepticism and disbelief, he feels that the scientific community is become more accepting of his ideas, citing a recent breakthrough publication in Science, one of the world’s leading scientific academic publications. “As time goes on, our progress becomes more significant in proving the feasibility of my ideas. When I first started talking about these, people found them heretical and there was a lot of denigration from the scientific community, but I’ve gradually won them over. Other people are also making progress in actually implementing what we’re doing. Just recently, an important US paper came out that showed you could extend the lifespan of mice using a particular type of damage repair that we’d been talking about for a decade.” The topic of longevity expansion has also featured in mainstream media of late, with a particular focus on preliminary studies that have found anti-ageing properties in drugs such as Metformin, Rapamycin and Resveratrol, which all demonstrate a phenomenon called calorie-restriction mimetics. De Grey explains what this means for his research. “Essentially, these are drugs that trick the body into thinking that it’s in a famine situation when it isn’t. Studies have shown that if you take a mouse or a rat and you reduce its normal food intake by 30%, it lives about 30% longer than it would otherwise. “This was discovered 80 years ago and has been a major topic of interest among gerontologists. Unfortunately, it doesn’t scale. The longer-lived the species that you look at, the less the effect of famine in terms of longevity. “A few years ago, a couple of studies on calorie restriction in monkeys showed that you get a few per cent, if that, in terms of longevity increase from calorie restriction. And of course, the point is that if bona fide starvation/famine doesn’t actually increase longevity much for long-lived species, you wouldn’t expect drugs that mimic this effect to do much either. So I’m not very hopeful.” However, the recent interest in Metformin has led to a breakthrough with the regulatory authorities,

You can extend the lifespan of a mouse now using a type of damage repair we’d been talking about for a decade” 16

especially in the US, in terms of broadening the drug’s potential applications. Historically, as ageing was not considered a disease, it wasn’t a medical condition for which a drug could be developed and approved. De Grey concedes that the media furore over Metformin has had one positive outcome for his studies: “Gerontologists and the regulatory people at the Food and Drug Administration agency in the US, have finally come to a common ground that allows ageing to be considered as a medical condition, which is a very positive development.” If de Grey’s predications are solid, what does he think this means for the actuarial profession? “I sympathise with the actuarial profession, because the fact is, the people who pay you to do your jobs really don’t want to know the truth.” Obviously, if his predictions come to fruition, there would be enormous implications for our industry; life and pensions in particular. Giant changes in life expectancy are likely to spark a renegotiation of pension contracts, as well as the way we approach our healthcare system, state benefit system and provide insurance. De Grey refused to be drawn on the wider impact that successfully achieving his goals could have, commenting: “I think it is foolish to speculate on what society is going to be like, even in 20 years, let alone 200 years from now. So many things are going to be different. The only thing we can do is prepare for as many alternative possibilities and consider how we might minimise any problems that might be created as a consequence of solving the problem of ageing.” He believes dwelling on the bioethical considerations is missing the point: “We have to recognise that the problem we have today is enormous. Therefore it’s critical not to be intimidated by the prospect that we have too many people, or living longer might be boring, and not let those considerations actually slow us down in terms of the development of medicines that get ageing under control.” When questioned further, de Grey readily admits that the likelihood of his research successfully extending his own lifetime is low. “As for any pioneering technology, the timeframe is extraordinarily speculative. Nobody has the faintest idea how long it’s going to take. I put it at 20-25 years from now when we have a 50-50 chance of getting to a decisive level of comprehensiveness that works, which I’ve called longevity escape velocity. If we do get there by then, I’ve got a fair chance of benefiting. But I have absolutely no doubt there’s at least a 10% chance we won’t get there for another 100 years because we hit new problems that we haven’t thought of. So if I look at my own personal prospects, or the prospects of any other particular person, the timelines and uncertainty result in this all being very speculative.” He prefers to take a long-term approach and focus on the potential for wider benefits.“It was 10 years ago I started to look at the causes of death and the percentage of people who die of age-related causes, which is rising fast. The thought that every single day I could bring the defeat of ageing forward, which I probably do once a month, means something like 100,000 lives saved worldwide. This humanitarian aspect is important to me.” a

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Always

undogmatic Wherever there are risks there are also opportunities: we look at the world from many perspectives and are experts in working with our customers to translate risks into opportunities. In so doing we chart our own course.

28% of Iceland‘s electricity is generated from geothermal sources

www.hannover-re.com

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Health Obesity

Food for thought

Dale Rayman explains how the growing obesity crisis can be tackled through policy change, better-designed wellness programmes and smartphone apps

It’s not a pretty statistic. According to research published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, nearly a quarter of all adults in England are obese and 62% are overweight. Even more worrying is that approximately a quarter of children aged 4-5 and 10-11 are overweight. The main culprits behind this obesity trend? Sugars and fats. The massive intake of sweet treats and an obesity crisis fuelled by poor nutrition have captured the attention of UK policymakers. In October 2015, Public Health England published a report: Sugar Reduction: The Evidence for Action (the Sugar Report), which detailed the harmful impact of eating too much sugar and outlined a framework for action. In the US, health-related problems from sugar consumption and poor nutrition are even more pervasive than in the UK. Prior to 1980, energy intake remained relatively constant, but subsequently there has been a dramatic increase for both children and adults, with obesity and diabetes reaching epidemic proportions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 35% of adults are obese and 69% are overweight, while 20% of teenagers are obese. Unless something changes drastically, the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization predicts that 52% of Americans will have diabetes or pre-diabetes by 2020. In countries with social healthcare systems, the speed to action may be greater because the government can measure the direct impact on 18

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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DALE RAYMAN is

Live links on our app! p!

programme costs of health issues like obesity. For example, in the UK a study published in the Journal of Public Health shows that obesity and its consequences cost the NHS £5.1bn per year. Norway, Finland, Hungary, France and Mexico have imposed higher taxes on products with added sugars, and initial results indicate that this has reduced sales. The UK is set to undertake such a programme, and the Sugar Report does recommend regulation of price promotions on high-sugar foods, especially those targeted at children, and increasing prices of such foods, possibly through taxation. In the US, initiatives to increase taxes on products with added sugars have generally failed, with manufacturers arguing for freedom of choice. In the US, employers bear the brunt of costs when personnel are hospitalised or miss work owing to nutrition-related illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. In the absence of government-led action on nutrition, most large employers have deployed wellness programmes to help employees get and stay healthy. However, many of these have failed to slow the progression in weight gain, mainly because they invest disproportionately in fitness, stress reduction and tobacco cessation, relative to improving nutrition. Yet evidence shows that poor nutrition has a significantly greater impact on health status. In fact, a 2013 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that dietary risks have almost three times the impact on both mortality and disability as low physical activity.

Food choice complexity Why is the most consequential of the wellness pillars being given short shrift? Many wellness companies simply have not developed effective solutions to manage unhealthy eating. Traditional approaches to improving nutrition haven’t worked. Persuading people to order special foods, go on diets or track what they eat is unsustainable. Telling them to eat more vegetables and fruits and less sugar and fat isn’t adequate, nor is outlining the consequences of obesity. As BJ Fogg, director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University, recently noted, “We shouldn’t believe that providing information leads to action – we humans aren’t so rational.” What failed healthy eating solutions don’t take into account is the complexity of an individual’s daily food choices. Employees’ lack of engagement in their own health is a top obstacle to changing behaviour. To counteract this, many US companies offer incentives for participation in wellness programmes or for achieving health-related goals. However, even GETTY

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vice-president of analytics and chief actuary of Zipongo

with incentives, eating nutritiously in our current society is extremely challenging for the average person. We are surrounded by fast-food chains, junk-food manufacturers, price promotions and clever marketing campaigns. The food industry bombards us with advertising of high-sugar, high-calorie foods and beverages. More is spent on promoting these products than on healthy foods. Furthermore, today’s portion sizes are much larger than in the past. In the 20-year period between 1977 and 1996, the average portion size for many foods increased at fast food outlets, other restaurants and even at home. Based on one JAMA study, Patterns and Trends in Food Portion Sizes, these included a 33% increase in the average portion of Mexican food (from 408 to 541 calories), a 34% increase in the average portion of cheeseburgers (from 397 to 533 calories), a 36% increase in the average portion of french fries (from 188 to 256 calories) and a 70% increase in the average portion of salty snacks such as potato crisps and popcorn (from 132 to 225 calories). Choosing to eat healthily is also

Dietary risks have almost three times the impact on both mortality and disability as low physical activity. Why is the most consequential of the wellness pillars being given short shrift?”

complicated by the fact that, for the average person, selecting the right balance of fibre, carbohydrates, fats, sugar, vitamins and sodium isn’t easy. A busy lifestyle makes such calculations especially difficult, and it is easier to get a burger and chips at a favourite fast food joint than to try to make sense of nutritional details. People also have social factors to contend with. They want to go out to restaurants with friends and family and to eat at work with colleagues, while at home they want the option of cooking or ordering in. They do not want nutrition plans that restrict these choices.

Getting with the programme Wellness programmes need to make it simple to eat well and to recognise the complex social factors that affect eating behaviours, through the use of technology and the latest research on behavioural economics. They would work across the country with grocery stores, restaurants and company cafeterias on the nutritional content of their meals. Participants would be informed of the healthier choices, whether they are at home, at work or on the go, with the information being personalised to match individual dietary needs (whether vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian or paleo), health status (diabetic, hypertensive) and allergies such as peanuts. Some vendors now provide simple smartphones apps that navigate the complex maze of food choices and point individuals to healthy options wherever they choose to eat. Armed with these, people no longer need to become experts in navigating the nutritional landmines, as they have their own, personalised, virtual nutritionist. Empowering people to improve their eating choices in this way works, as evidenced by the experience of a Silicon Valley-based technology company with more than 50,000 employees worldwide. In a pilot programme using such a solution, this company saw an impressive 75% improvement in the eating habits of participants. They increased their intake of fruit by an average of 135% and vegetables by an average of 91%, along with other substantial increases of 106% in fish, 82% in nuts and seeds, 91% in water, 34% in fibre and 15% in calcium. Most importantly, 45% of employees who began the programme overweight had moved into the ideal weight range by the end of the 12-month pilot. Experts predict that it won’t be long before doctors are replacing medication prescriptions and the associated myriad of side effects with personalised food prescriptions carried on our phones, all without limiting where we choose to eat. a April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 19 www.theactuary.com

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Health and care Social care funding

In the

long run Thomas Kenny provides an overview of the costs of longterm care and the options available in an ageing society

Social care funding in the UK is a ticking time bomb. The demographics are clear – over the next 20 years the population over 85 is set to more than double, and yet social care has also been victim to continuous funding cuts. Councils have cut £4.6bn from adult social care budgets since 2009-10 – almost a third in real terms, despite the fact that there are 433,000 older or physically disabled adults living in residential care settings across the UK. With the first phase of the Care Act being implemented in April 2015, public awareness of the care funding system has increased, but 30% of the public still believe that social care is funded by the state like the NHS. Public awareness of the care funding system needs to be raised to allow people the opportunity to make financial plans in their

Figure 1: Length of stay in care homes

retirement for the potentially huge costs they could face if they enter residential care. The average total cost is over £100,000 based on an average life expectancy for self-funders of 3.5 years, but some people incur much higher costs. Figure 1 (below left) shows a typical length of stay distribution for people in Bupa care homes – over 2.5% are expected to live more than 10 years. With an average cost of residential care of £30,000 per annum, the costs can be catastrophic. Most over-45s (82%) have not thought about future social care needs or spoken to their families about what to do in this eventuality and so it can come as a nasty surprise. While domiciliary care costs are lower, typically around £11,000 per annum, these can also grow considerably over a period of time. There is a lack of awareness of not only who pays for care costs, but also around the products available that could be used to provide for these costs.

1,200

Pension freedoms 1,000

Frequency

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0 0

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One recent change in the retirement market is likely to have a knock-on effect in the care arena. In April 2015, new pension freedoms came into effect (see Figure 2, right), which removed the obligation to buy an annuity and introduced more flexibility and choice at retirement. While these are a good thing, it is imperative that the public are given the information and advice they need to make informed decisions with their pension money. If they are aware of the potentially large costs of social care in later life, they may think twice about building a conservatory or going on a cruise. While greater choice is usually a good thing for consumers, giving retirees the choice to spend their pension savings without the appropriate level of advice is a bit like giving learner drivers the right to drive a car without a

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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THOMAS KENNY is head of retail pricing at Partnership and chair of the IFoA Pensions and Long-Term Care Working Party’s Products Research Group

minimum level of instruction and the requirement to pass a test. The difficulty with pension and long-termcare policies is that they are long-term policy decisions, and it is only many years down the road that we will know with certainty if the policy has worked or failed. However, we know of the experiences of other countries, such as Australia, where they are looking into incentivising securing income at retirement. In our latest paper published in December, we covered three main topics, which looked at the impact of pension freedoms and the Care Act on this sector as well as some of the other challenges which it faces. It is still too early to understand exactly how individuals will respond to the pensions freedom and choice agenda. One of the recommendations from the paper is that a joint government and industry approach to collecting data on how people are responding to the new system will be helpful. This will assess whether education, the use of defaults, or incentives for long-term-care products, such SHUTTERSTOCK

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Figure 2: The new options available from April 2015

Want some cash

Want flexibility of cash and income

Want security of income

Request a cash withdrawal

Designate funds to drawdown

Purchase a lifetime annuity

Uncrystallised funds Pension lump sum 25% of cash lump sum is tax free

Flexi-access drawdown

Annuity options

(designated funds are crystallised and remain invested)

including enhanced annuity

Up to 25% of funds crystallised can be taken as tax-free lump sum

Up to 25% tax-free cash lump sum

i.e. up to one-third of designated funds

No future income

Income taken from designated funds on an ad-hoc basis (or by purchasing a life annuity or temporary annuity)

75% treated as income and taxed at marginal rate

All income taxed at marginal rate

Income taken on a regular basis for the rest of life Annuity income taxed at marginal rate

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Health and care Social care funding

as tax relief and employer contributions, could be effective in helping people to use their savings to meet care costs.

Figure 3: Increase in personal costs from saving an additional £10k towards care costs

£10,000

Incentives to save?

£9,000

Increase in personal funding over the first 3 years

£8,000 Increase in personal funding over the first 10 years

£7,000 £6,000 £5,000 £4,000 £3,000 £2,000 £1,000 0

0

£20,000 £20 £ 0,00 00

£40,000 £ 0,00 £40 00

£60,000 £ 0,00 £60 00

£80,000 £880,00 00

£100,000 £100,00 00

£120,000 £120,0

Assets at point A i off entering i care b before f additional dd l savings i

Means-tested benefits provide a muchneeded safety net for those with the most substantial needs and lowest of incomes, and we welcome the increases in the means testing thresholds from 2020 set out in the Care Act. However, the current system may act as a disincentive to savers. For example, an individual who is now projected to have assets of between £20,000-£60,000 at the point of entering care, who decides to save an additional £10,000 to meet any potential care costs, will lose at least 80p in meanstested benefits for each additional £1 they save (see Figure 3, left). For the additional £10,000 they have saved, at least £8,000 is lost in means-tested benefits, meaning that only £2,000 of their additional savings can be used to take control

It is still too early to understand exactly how individuals will respond to the pensions freedom and choice agenda Figure 4: Progression of care costs for Mary, who is single, with savings of £30,000, owns a house valued at £200,000 and uses the Deferred Payment Agreement

£60,000

Before cap is reached

After care cap is reached (around 3.5 years)

£50,000

£40,000

Excess over local authority rate

Savings

£30,000

Daily living costs £20,000

£10,000

Local authority rate (excluding daily living costs)

Deferred payment agreement (DPA)

Deferred payment agreement (DPA)

Local authority contribution

Local authority contribution

Deferred payment agreement (DPA)

Savings run out in year 2 Private pension

Private pension

Private pension

NHS-funded allowance Attendance allowance (AA)

NHS-funded allowance Attendance allowance (AA)

NHS-funded allowance Attendance allowance (AA)

State pension

State pension

Funding in year 1

Funding in year 2

DPA Private pension NHS-funded allowance AA

Private pension

State pension

State pension

State pension

Funding in year 3

Funding in year 4

Funding in year 5 and thereafter

NHS-funded allowance

0

Care home fees

22

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Figure 5: Potential products for funding long-term care

N No Preretirement? ■

over the quality of their care. Under the post-2020 means-testing thresholds set out in the Care Act, this 80p loss would reduce to 50p being lost for each additional £1 saved for this cohort. So £5,000 would be lost with the new means-test thresholds rather than £8,000 at present. Individuals may see this direct link between additional savings and a loss in means-tested benefits as a disincentive to save. While the system set out in the Care Act means that savers would be better off than under the current system, the proposed new system may still act as a barrier to saving. To help encourage people to save, one solution could be to create a new product (or category of products) that allows savings to be exempt from the means test up to a specified threshold. This should include closing the current loophole for investment bonds, where assets held in an investment bond are not included in the means test.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Accelerated Wol Variable annuity Protection Personal savings bonds Care ISA Pension care fund

Disability-linked annuity

Immediate needs annuity

Accelerated Wol Variable annuity Protection Personal savings bonds Care ISA Pension care fund

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Y Yes Current care needs?

Want to protect against longevity risk?

No

Yes

Yes

Want a secure income that increases with care needs?

Yes

No No

■ ■

Products in italics are not currently available in UK market Products in black are pension products, white are non-pension products and yellow can be both

Case study: the complexities of the care funding system There are a large number of financial factors that a person will have to consider should they need to enter residential care: ● There are three components to an

individual’s care costs: daily-living costs, local authority set care costs and any top-up costs ● The calculation of an individual’s state support is also complex, not only because of the way the means-testing thresholds work, but in taking account of the attendance allowance, personal expense allowance and the NHS-funded allowance ● How an individual’s housing and savings are counted towards the means test is also affected by whether their partner will continue to live in the house once they enter care, as well as whether they decide to remain in their own home while receiving care ● Lastly, the individual will have to work out how they will combine their state pension, private pension and any other private savings with their housing wealth to meet their care costs. Figure 4 (left) illustrates the example of Mary, a single woman who enters residential care with nursing in later life. Mary’s house is worth £200,000, she has £30,000 in savings and an income of £21,000 p.a. from her state pension (£151.25 per week), NHS-funded allowance (£115.92 per week), attendance allowance (£85.18 per week) and her private pension. Mary’s care home costs the England average of £42,985 pa and she uses her private pension and savings to meet the cost of her care for the

first two years. Once her savings are depleted she takes advantage of the universal deferred payment agreement (DPA) to release the equity in her home. The universal deferred payment agreement allows individuals to use their housing wealth to meet the care home fees. This scheme is managed by local authorities and there are strict criteria that individuals must meet to be eligible. This scenario will look different for each individual’s set of circumstances and it is important that individuals and their families are encouraged to understand the system. For each set of circumstances, the person would need to understand their potential selffunding requirements and the state support they are likely to receive. It is important that the government puts measures in place that mean individuals do not have to grapple with this complexity at the point of crisis. Clarity around this process will be a prerequisite if individuals are to understand and be encouraged to save towards their potential care costs. We recommend a government-led, targeted and ongoing awareness-raising campaign that helps people to understand what their potential care costs might be, what state

support is available and how care costs may affect their savings.

How to fund long-term care There are a range of current and potential products that could be used and they are described in detail in our paper. It depends on the circumstances of the individual(s) involved and which product is likely to be best for their needs. Products for funding long-term care can access wealth accumulated in property, pensions or non-pension personal savings. Equity release and a UK equity bond (the latter is not available in the UK yet) are two product types that can be used to access property wealth, with the money being either directly used to fund LTC needs or being applied through the products summarised in Figure 5. There are a number of activities we are looking to undertake during 2016, including: developing a tool to help people understand their potential care costs; expanding our incentive-to-save analysis to look at different means-testing levels and supporting the push to make data on long-term care costs publicly available to support further product development in the LTC market. a

Read more online The paper is due for publication in April 2016. The paper published in December can be found at bit.ly/1P9MUpB. Thomas Kenny will be speaking at the IFoA Health, Care and Protection Conference in May

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 23 www.theactuary.com

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General insurance Pricing

The

uncertain

world pricing

of

Edward Tredger considers whether a Bayesian framework can help actuaries manage pricing in an uncertain environment 24

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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GETTY

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Live links on our app! p!

The phenomenon of the underwriting cycle is well known, and the prevailing soft conditions are arguably the most significant current issue facing the London Market, manifesting itself in over-capacity, falling rates and a flurry of merger activity. Understanding the nature and drivers of the underwriting cycle is of real importance to most (re)insurers. The most commonly discussed driver of this cycle is the supply and demand for capital, as investors look to bring it into the insurance market to seek out higher returns. However, there is another cause of the cycle that relates to updating our view on the true price of risk in an uncertain environment. This ‘pricing’ cycle (which will drive the well-known ‘reserving’ cycle as the true price of risk is recognised) can be at least as significant as the flow of capital for some lines of business. Here I will explore this part of the cycle from a point of pricing under uncertainty and show how it can be managed quantitatively at both an individual risk and a portfolio level. In the London Market, premium rating is often based on underwriters’ expert judgment and in some cases can be highly uncertain. In many cases, there is a widespread belief among underwriters (if not actuaries) that it is impossible to produce a ‘correct’ price for certain risks, given the information available, if indeed such a concept is appropriate at all. In the event of no claims, rate decreases are normally in the region of 5-10% or more. On the other hand, there has been an implicit understanding that, once a large claim occurs, the risk will renew at a significant rate increase, which will offer the insurer some ‘pay-back’ for the claim, somewhat mitigating the initial uncertainty surrounding the true claims cost. To some extent, these rate increases are designed to repay an insurer for a recent claim, but also reflect an updated view of the true price for the risk, based on new information. While, of course, there is no deliberate link to Bayes’ theorem, this updating of views in light of

EDWARD TREDGER

is a senior pricing actuary at Novae

experience is exactly what Bayesian statistics attempts to formalise. In a Bayesian framework, we could call the initial price for a risk the ‘prior’, which can then be updated based on claims experience, to give the ‘posterior’, which then forms next year’s prior and so on. It should be noted that the extent of updating using new information depends on the relative information content of the prior versus the experience. For example, a brand new line of business which experiences a large influx of claims would respond much more heavily than a well-established class with close-to-expectation experience. While this point may seem obvious, the reliability of the prior is often overlooked in practice.

Bayes’ theorem:

Although Bayes’ theorem offers a mathematically precise way of changing rates in the event of claims (or no claims), we are now facing a market where repayment of claims via large rate increases is far from guaranteed. With this in mind there are good grounds to revisit the issue of understating the gap between theory and current market conditions. An example of a ‘pricing’ cycle, driven purely by claims experience, is shown in Figure 1 (below). Consider a single risk, where our initial estimate of claims frequency is 0.05 claims per year, based on a confidence level of 10 years’ experience. Since we are uncertain about the true frequency of claims, we will adjust our estimate over time. New claims are then simulated with a probability of 0.05 per year – our initial estimate was in fact precisely correct but we do not KNOW it is correct, and so we

Figure 1: Pricing over time 0.07 .07

Claims frequency

06 0.06

Large rate rises follow claims (true rate still highly uncertain)

05 0.05

Soft market results from benign experience

04 0.04 03 0.03 .02 0.02 0.01 0 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100

Time (years)

will logically refine it over time. The graph demonstrates the cycle that can occur as a result of revising our estimates using a Bayesian approach, and that a pricing cycle is perfectly consistent with a market attempting to revise its judgment in light of uncertainty. There are times where pricing is more than adequate (>0.05) and times where the rate drops more than 60% below adequacy. This approach is in fact the mathematically optimal way to revise prices year on year, assuming each risk should be rated from its own experience alone. While a loss in this example should theoretically lead to rate rises of over 100% in some cases (early in the cycle, where less past data is available), such marked increases are increasingly difficult to achieve in a soft market, partially owing to competitors feeling able to undercut without having personally experienced the claim. However, if a portfolio of similar risks is held, a Bayesian approach would suggest sharing the claims experience across the group, resulting in less volatile rate changes at an individual risk level. This is an example of diversification at work to dampen out claims experience, the very basis for insurance itself. It should be noted that where claims occur owing to market-wide events, which will be highly correlated across a portfolio of risks, diversification of rate changes is necessarily much more limited. These market-wide drivers then become a potential cause of the underwriting cycle, owing to changes in our estimation of risk, not purely the demand for capital. On the other hand, superfluous capital will dampen the upwards impact of claims on rate change, as was seen in the aviation market recently, but this dampening will often go beyond what is actuarially justifiable, given the need for the market to respond to new claims data. These observations raise some interesting questions for actuaries, such as: ● Are the observed rate decreases we see in the market partially a function of uncertain pricing updating for new information, rather than a market force driven by supply and demand for capital? ● Should actuaries adopt a coherent, Bayesian, framework for updating hazard rates in light of new experience? ● Does the market introduce mis-pricing by restricting rate increases on loss-making risks? Actuaries need to face the reality that prices are inherently uncertain and that there are consequences to this acceptance. Therefore, pricing views are in constant need of refinement, both technically and also taking into account soft information to help manage the cycle and make actuaries more commercially relevant to employers. a April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 25 www.theactuary.com

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Pensions risk and investment Conference

A DY NA M I C TRIO 31 May sees the launch of the IFoA’s first Pensions, Risk and Investment Conference, joining three large practice area conferences under one roof. This offers delegates the chance to attend a wide range of cross-practice sessions and topics outside their immediate specialisms, and to network with others from different areas and with different interests and experiences. On behalf of the conference programme committee, the IFoA and the AFIR-ERM, welcome you to Edinburgh.

PENSIONS, RISK AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE 2016 31 MAY-2 JUNE 2016, EICC, EDINBURGH BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW bit.ly/23UTE5S 26

Pensions In our everyday work there is significant overlap between pensions, investment and risk practices. The pensions programme has been designed to meet the learning needs of defined benefit and defined contribution specialists alike. Topics with a defined benefit theme include integrated risk management, investing for self-sufficiency and the latest developments in European pensions. The defined contribution sessions include topics such as investing in illiquid assets, international arrangements and member engagement. There will also be a number of sessions covering broader pension topics, such as taxation changes and hot topics in legislation. There will indeed be something for everyone! We could not hold a pensions conference without discussing the significant changes to the pensions landscape seen over the past couple of years. Michelle Cracknell of the Pensions Advisory Service will team up with Philip Brown of LV= for a plenary looking at ways in which the industry can help people make the most of their pensions in light of the changes. We also have longevity expert Aubrey de Grey (see p14) challenging actuarial practices in predicting mortality, and well-known journalist Paul Lewis providing his views on the challenges posed by the end of certainty for retirement income. Barbara Fewkes, pensions committee chair

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Risk

AFIR-ERM

As befits a cross-practice discipline, the risk strand of the conference will include a wide range of presenters and topics. In addition to sessions already mentioned, we will hear from a former government actuary and an expert from the oil and gas industry who will give us their views on risk management in their respective fields. A London Market chief risk officer and presenters from a GIRO working party will give us a session helping us to make better judgments in our risk assessment activities. Two of the working parties sponsored by the enterprise risk management (ERM) board will be updating us on their research, and there will be a mixture of technical and non-technical sessions covering the whole range of ERM activity, and all the traditional areas of actuarial practice. With such a broad range of presenters and topics, any actuary with an interest in risk management will find stimulating professional discussions and the chance to compare notes with people who work in other disciplines.

This year, we are also joined by the Actuarial Approach for Financial Risks/ Enterprise Risk Management (AFIR/ ERM) Colloquia, a section of the IAA, providing additional technical sessions that can be attended by all. Topics covered in the AFIR/ERM Colloquia are expected to include longevity risk, ALM and stochastic liability modelling, project risks, model validation, back testing and a range of investment-related topics, including corporate bonds and investment strategies. There will be plenary presentations focused on current issues and based on key research results from international university and industry researchers. The aim is to present the main ideas and implications so that practitioners can gain insights into the ideas and potential applications to their business. The AFIR/ERM section Colloquia also includes a session based on the Bob Alting von Geusau Memorial Prize paper from 2010-2011, entitled The Devil is in the Tails: Actuarial Mathematics and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, by Catherine Donnelly and Paul Embrechts.

Stephen Wilcox, risk committee chair

Investment The investment programme features workshop sessions from a wide range of presenters working as investment fund managers, investment consultants and practitioners working within insurers and investment banks. Themes for discussion include: investing within an evolving regulatory framework; managing liquidity; systemic risk; impact investing; climate change; and linking longevity risk to investment strategy. Steven Bell, chief economist at BMO Global Asset Management, will challenge the view of whether high risk and low returns is the new normal. Ashok Gupta, deputy chair of the Bank of England’s Pro-cyclicality Working Group, will present the Group’s findings on pro-cyclicality and structural trends in investment allocation by insurers and pension funds. Investment specialist Paul Craven will round off the conference with his behavioural economics plenary.

Michael Sherris, AFIR/ERM committee chair

Emily Penn, investment committee chair April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 27 www.theactuary.com

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General insurance

Live links on our app! p!

Low-cost risk protection

Jeff Blacker, Henry Yan and Eamon Kelly look at microinsurance and explain why it is an interesting and rewarding alternative to more conventional areas of insurance

Showing

potential Microinsurance is low-cost risk protection for low-income people, usually in developing countries. It is also known as impact, inclusive, affordable, or mass insurance. The most common products are loan, health and accident, disability, funeral, property and agriculture insurance. The common thread is the aim to include populations that were previously excluded from insurance markets and hence products usually have small policy sizes, minimal administration costs and little or no underwriting or policy exclusions. Microinsurance provides an important financial service for two reasons. First, low-income people are generally more vulnerable to risk owing to the types of work, exposure to ill-health, accident, weather and other perils. Second, they are less likely to have access to a social safety net. They rely on family, friends, community and sometimes lenders to alleviate suffering and offset financial loss when help is needed. If, say, a rickshaw driver who is the family breadwinner has an accident, suffering damage to the vehicle or personal injury, then their whole family could fall into poverty. Low-income people in developing countries have proportionately higher exposure to risk and higher probable loss compared to those in modern, developed economies. Microinsurance provides an opportunity for actuaries to apply their skills to make a positive impact on people’s lives. It is an 28

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JEFF BLACKER

FSA, MAAA is an independent consulting actuary and the principal editor for a new book Actuaries in Microinsurance

opportunity to contribute to the social responsibility of the actuarial profession and ‘give something back’. It is inspiring and rewarding to see insurance used to help change people’s lives and directly protect people from the often-disastrous impact of life-changing events. While working for a common good, you meet people you would never otherwise have met and visit parts of the world you wouldn’t have seen. You work in different contexts, learning from these very interesting markets. There are also greater intellectual challenges to be had through problem solving and creative thinking in different dimensions. It is useful to be forced to think outside the box and challenge the status-quo. For example, microinsurance products must be designed to allow for quick and easy claims settlements. This can mean solving issues related to data and evidence required to process a claim, product design features to deal with moral hazard and fraud, and how to deal with customers in remote rural areas or who perhaps have low literacy skills. Simplicity in product design requires a combination of professional skills, operational know-how and empathy.

HENRY YAN FIAA, FIA is a pensions and investment actuary and chair of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Microinsurance Member Interest Group

distribution costs and challenges where the population is spread out. As the market grows, there is more evidence of the business case and profits to be gained. But it is not obvious what the right level of profit to aim for is in this sector. Lack of direct and relevant data can be problematic. How can you laterally source data? How would you price a policy without sufficient or reliable data? Once the product is designed and priced how do you test the product and ensure it is properly integrated and managed in the insurer’s operations? Application of the actuarial control cycle is a critical skill and something not always understood or applied. Insurers may also be hindered by a regulatory and supervisory framework that neglects this market, even where microinsurance could potentially apply to a high percentage of the population.

Growth to come The volume of microinsurance is large and growing but has yet to reach its full potential. The Munich Re Foundation has published a number of ‘landscape studies’, which set out the figures of lives covered, amounts of premium in force and types of products available through time and across geographic region. These show that microinsurance reaches nearly 265 million people, with annual growth of customers insured at approximately 30% in Africa and 25% in Asia and Oceania. While the growth rates are impressive, microinsurance initiatives face many challenges to achieve scale, sustainability and impact. Barriers to developing microinsurance markets range from concerns of customer acceptance of insurance to sophisticated issues of market development. One basic concern is the level of customers’ trust in insurance providers. Many lowincome people simply do not trust insurance, often having heard stories of brokers and agents who abscond with insurance premiums, or insurance companies who do not pay out claims when it seems they should. Consumer protection and customer education can help. Other low-income people have not had exposure to insurance and simply do not understand it or see a reason for it. On the supply side, insurers need to see the business case to invest in this market. There may be high GETTY

p28_29_april_microinsurance.indd 29

Insurers who do not adapt may find themselves marginalised as their traditional client base is eventually eroded by more innovative operators”

EAMON KELLY FIAA

is an independent consulting actuary specialising in developing insurance markets. He recently consulted in Uganda and Egypt

Comprehensive diagnostic studies have been completed in over 20 countries to educate and help national regulators develop an appropriate legal framework in their country, but there is still a long way to go. So what innovations have occurred in microinsurance markets and what lessons do they have for mature insurance markets? Mobile phone insurance is one example of innovation in the development of new business models. The ‘freemium model’ provides free insurance for say, three months on the purchase of a mobile phone or other product or service, after which clients pay a premium if they wish to continue to receive cover. This model has seen a rapid rise in the number of low-income customers insured. In some countries, insurance companies are working with the innovators to open these new markets. Those insurers who do not adapt may find themselves marginalised as their traditional client base is eventually eroded by more innovative operators. Regulatory frameworks in some countries have been developed by considering the specific nature and needs of low-income people. The concept of proportionality can be applied to microinsurance in terms of capital requirements for insurers. Product disclosure requirements have adapted for clients through development of simple policy design.

Learn more... An Institute and Faculty of Actuaries event will be held in London on Thursday 12 May 2016 to explain and discuss this emerging area. Topics will include case studies and recent global landscape studies illustrating the fast pace of development and changing business models. The London meeting provides an opportunity to launch the recent book Actuaries in Microinsurance. This collaborative book was written by 22 actuaries about their microinsurance experience and contains anecdotes that give non-microinsurance experts a personal and amusing sense of what it is like to work in developing regions around the world. It also contains technical material related to actuarial work within the field of microinsurance. a

Find out more... An Institute and Faculty of Actuaries event on microinsurance will be held in London on Thursday 12 May 2016. www.actuaries.org.uk

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 29 www.theactuary.com

29/03/2016 09:57


Reinsurance Flood Re

Head

above

water

Gemma Gregson and the Flood Working Party discuss Flood Re, a scheme designed to increase the availability and affordability of flood insurance Storms battered Britain in December 2015, bringing flood misery to thousands of homeowners and once again raising questions about what should be done to tackle flooding and its effects. Unfortunately there have been many floods in the UK in recent years, bringing with them increased claims costs for insurance companies. These, combined with advances in modelling techniques allowing those homes at highest risk of flooding to be pinpointed with greater accuracy, mean that the availability and affordability of home insurance has become a major problem. Some homeowners are unable to find cover at all, while others are subject to large excesses and premiums. Many scientists blame climate change for the increase in frequency and severity of flood events and predict that this upward trend is likely to continue, so it is a situation that needs to be addressed. In an attempt to do so, the government, in collaboration with the insurance industry, has established Flood Re. Flood Re is a reinsurance scheme, run by the insurance industry, but with a public function. With policy objectives set out in legislation and as a custodian of public money, it is directly accountable to parliament. Its vision is that it will provide affordable flood cover to those 30

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households who need it the most, increase the availability and choice of insurers for customers and also create a level playing field between new entrants and existing insurers in the UK home insurance market. Insurers can choose to transfer the flood risk element of a home insurance policy to Flood Re, which will pay out in the event of a claim. Insurers continue to set premiums and excesses and manage the relationship with the customer.

Keeping afloat Flood Re is funded through a combination of premiums and an annual levy. The levy is payable by all UK home insurers, regardless of whether or not they transfer any risks to the scheme. Initially set at £180m per annum, each insurer’s share is proportional to the total amount of home insurance business written. Premiums, based on the council tax band of the property, are paid by insurers for each risk transferred. Each claim is subject to an excess of £250, or the policy excess set by the insurer if greater. At the time of writing, Flood Re is on course to launch this month, only a short time after the winter floods. With initial estimates of the repair bill running into billions, some have questioned whether an event on the same scale

would leave it unable to pay all the claims. However, in addition to its own funds, it has reinsurance arrangements in place, reducing its exposure to large losses. In keeping with Solvency II regulations, it aims to meet claims in all but the most extreme events, such as those that might be expected to occur only once in 200 years. If further funds are required, it has the ability to call on insurers to pay an additional, compulsory, levy. Furthermore, the cost to Flood Re is likely to be only a fraction of the total repair bill. In addition to affecting flood prone areas, large-scale events tend to affect properties that have not been flooded before, and so at the time of flooding they are unlikely to be ceded to the scheme.

Availability and affordability Flood Re was designed, in part, to address the shortcomings of the previous arrangement, the Statement of Principles, which was last signed by the government and the insurance industry in 2008. Intended to be a temporary measure, it was a non-binding agreement between certain insurers and the government, which said that insurers would continue to offer cover for domestic properties and small business customers in high-risk areas, using riskreflective pricing, providing that the government managed flood risk effectively. Not all insurers signed up to it, and it offered insufficient choice of provider to customers. Under risk-reflective pricing, properties that are deemed to be high risk are costly to cover. Although this is a feature of an effective insurance market, it can create affordability issues. The ability to pass flood risk on to a third party in return for a fixed premium should mean that insurers could offer potentially affordable home insurance for homes that are eligible for Flood Re. So customers who have struggled to find an insurer to cover them in the past could suddenly find they have a choice of providers. However, passing risks on to Flood Re is optional. With insurance companies having differing views on the flood risk in a particular area and premiums linked to council tax bands, insurers will have their own opinion as to whether ceding a risk represents value for money, and they may even decide not to transfer any risks at all to the scheme. Furthermore, commercial properties are excluded from Flood Re and, for consistency with the Statement of Principles and to avoid encouraging development on flood plains, only residential properties built before January 2009 are eligible. The operating costs of Flood Re will be carefully controlled, but nevertheless the scheme needs to be paid for through the levy, GETTY

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GEMMA GREGSON is a senior consultant at Insight Risk Consulting and a member of the Flood Working Party

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 31 www.theactuary.com

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A return to risk-reflective pricing is only likely to succeed if the risks themselves change” the cost of which will ultimately be passed on to customers. Since the levy is proportional to market share, some insurers, including those who avoid writing high flood risk business, may need to increase premiums. Any increase in premiums, especially following the recent increase in Insurance Premium Tax, is likely to hit those customers on low incomes the hardest, raising questions about the fairness of the scheme and whether its benefits will outweigh the costs. Although Flood Re will hopefully meet its affordability and availability objectives for properties that meet the eligibility criteria, this is unlikely to happen overnight. Despite an onboarding process designed to ensure that providers are ready from day one, business from some channels, such as through brokers who require third parties to implement the necessary systems changes, might be deferred until later in the year or longer. For those insurers who have the processes in place at the outset, they will probably cede risks already written to cost-effectively reduce their exposure. The decision of whether to

increase the amount of home insurance written, especially in high-flood-risk areas, is a strategic one. Considerations include operational capacity for increasing volumes of business and claims, attitude to risk and views on competitors’ likely market strategies. While initially there may be some careful expansion for new business, only over time will the appetite for new business mature and stabilise.

Weathering the storm Like its predecessor, Flood Re is only intended to be temporary. The aim is to return to risk-reflective pricing by 2039. It may seem odd that the plan is to return to the situation that Flood Re has been created to improve. A return to risk-reflective pricing is only likely to succeed if the risks themselves change. For that to happen, there needs to be a change in practice and attitude across many different areas. Climate change is a long-term issue and there needs to be a long-term strategy for flood management. On an individual level, homeowners could minimise the damage

Live links on our app! p!

caused by smaller floods in particular if they adopt resistance and resilience measures such as installing flood guards, using waterproof plaster board and placing electrical sockets high up the wall. On a national scale, there needs to be greater investment in flood defences, and, with population growth putting increasing pressure on housing stock, there needs to be stricter controls in place to ensure that there is no further building on flood plains. It is too early to say whether Flood Re will be a success or not. It is obviously not a defence against flooding; it does not do anything to stop floods or reduce their cost. However, if it can help relieve the financial burden on homeowners while providing breathing space for resilience and defence measures to be implemented, then it could be of great benefit to society. a Members of the IFoA’s Flood Working Party who contributed to this article are: Sam Boaden, Neil Chapman, Stephen Cox (chair), Victoria Jenkins, Jane Kempler, Philippa King and Jinit Shah

Aon Benfield

ReMetrica: Bringing stochastic modelling to Life ReMetrica for Life, Health & Pensions now offers a fully stochastic framework to evaluate the key risks of long term products and more accurately influence reinsurance purchases, predict cash flow and analyse financial strategies. Discover more at aonbenfield.com/remetrica_demo

Risk. Reinsurance. Human Resources.

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At the back student@theactuary.com

Student Manipulation of ‘choice architecture’ is everywhere, says Jessica Elkin, so how about making study techniques architecturally sound too?

NUDGE NUDGE, THINK THINK If you’ve studied behavioural economics, chances are you’ve come across nudge theory. Actually, you’ve definitely come across nudge theory – it’s just that you may not have recognised it as such. It’s the concept of directing people’s behaviour through unforced means, usually through manipulation of the ‘choice architecture’. Importantly, a nudge doesn’t forbid options or create financial incentive, and it must be simple and cheap to bypass. Auto-enrolment is an excellent example of nudge theory. The individual still has free choice regarding whether to save into a pension, but the alteration of this choice from opt-in to opt-out has seen the level of savings rise dramatically. And you’ve almost certainly been in a supermarket and had to queue up alongside various little temptations: either sugary snacks, or small ‘useful’ items such as antibacterial hand gel and lip balm. This is no accident, but an attempt to manoeuvre your decision-making. Don’t tell me you’ve never picked up a mini torch and suddenly wondered if it’s something that you really need.

Pretty fly for polite guys My favourite example is a simple, yet effective one, set up at Amsterdam Airport. In the centre of each of the men’s urinals, a picture of a common fly has been engraved – and the levels of ‘misdirected urine’ (not my phrase) have dropped by a staggering 80%. I can’t imagine what was going on beforehand. Nudge theory is usually used for beneficial PHIL WRIGGLESWORTH

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means, whether to encourage healthy eating, or pension saving, or… more accurate micturition. It can be controversial though. Some – not me, for what it’s worth – would argue that opt-out organ donation is a step too far. Or that manipulating people’s choices is a shady area and best avoided. You can imagine how it could be abused by an awful government to gain compliance. In fact, our government set

up a ‘nudge unit’ called the Behavioural Insights Team, which has a nice Orwellian ring to it. Australia and the US also have such units. They’re not secret though, just not well known. What a comfort! The thing is, though, sometimes people make bad decisions. Sometimes a change to behaviour is a welcome thing. It’s debatable whether this counts as a nudge, but I have had many smokers say to me how glad they are that smoking indoors was banned. They are still able to smoke, but it’s more inconvenient; therefore they smoke less, and they are happy about it. And there are many of us who prefer biscuits and snacks to be placed further away, to avoid temptation. For me, in April especially, the best nudge of all would be to get me to study more, or simply better, so as to perform better in exams. I would welcome such a nudge. How to achieve it is something I’ve been considering this month. Sure, it would infantilise me, and take away some of my moral integrity, but I’m comfortable with that.

Trends and friends I could definitely start by removing my phone and other distractions, but inspiration past this is hard to find. Replace all books in my flat with ones on enterprise risk management? Get my friends to only invite me out to places in Uxbridge? (I’d still go.) Some nudges work via social influence. A trial with HMRC increased tax payment rates by 15% by telling late taxpayers most people in their towns had already paid their tax; and people are more likely to switch from expensive energy providers if you tell them the average rates in their street. So what I really need is for everyone to tell me how much they’re studying, regularly. Or one person to verify how much everyone else is studying. Who fancies doing this? Thinking about it continually may remind you of how soon the exams are. I find the six-week mark is where the panic really starts to set in. Maybe you could start a nudge circle with your mates. Anything to tackle weak will is welcome. Sadly, though, it’s all a trap you set for yourself – coming up with strategies on this is just another way for you to avoid actually doing anything. If you want to know more on nudge theory, I suggest you read the prominent work Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by Thaler and Sunstein. I won’t be doing this myself of course – only copulas will pass before my eyes from now on. a April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 33 www.theactuary.com

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BOOK REVIEW

The Rise of the Female Executive by Peninah Thomson and Clare Laurent with Tom Lloyd PUBLISHER: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN-10: 1137451424 Price: £29.99

This book is an addition to the ‘women in the workplace’ genre that focuses on progress made towards meeting the recommendations in the Davies report. These were for boards of FTSE 100 firms to have a minimum of 25% women by 31 December 2015. The authors assess progress and consider future goals that should be targeted, such as increasing the number of women on executive committees (ExCos). The topic is covered comprehensively, so this is a useful reference tool, especially for HR people trying to implement the detail of the Davies recommendations and consequent commitments from chief executives. A good example is Santander, where Antonio Horta Osório committed to 40% of the top 8,000 jobs being held by women by 2020. There are some interesting and well-presented ideas. I liked the concept of the ‘pipeline’, which looks at where female non-executive directors (NEDs), executive directors (EDs) and ExCo members will come from, and how firms are ensuring there are enough women for the future. Firms need to consider women entering their industry, women leaving the industry and, crucially, whether they tend to take roles that ‘peak below the board’. The book also suggests that Davies report recommendations be extended to ExCos. Changes to UK corporate governance mean that boards are typically smaller now than in the past, and so there are fewer ED roles available generally. In the view of the authors, UK companies have moved to a dual board system with ExCos acting as management boards and the main board as a supervisory board – I do wonder if the UK implementation of Solvency II should change in the light of this. The proportion of women on ExCos is a lot lower than on boards, at about 14% (although figures are sketchy), and the recommendation of the authors that targets should be set for this is a good one. The authors run a mentoring company for senior women. The stories told by mentors and mentees give some useful tips. I was intrigued to note that one of my ex-employers is in the medium-level mentoring scheme and that I’d never heard of it. It goes to show that even with great HR departments it’s hard to cover a whole organisation effectively. The stories illustrate that a mentor is more than a critical friend – they provide contacts, support and, to some extent, patronage. All of which seems like the best way to get more 34

Firms need to consider women entering their industry, women leaving the industry and, crucially, whether women tend to take roles that ‘peak below the board’ ”

women in senior positions, as getting onto the lists for roles involves being recommended. The book has some discussion of quotas and the pros and cons – the authors are not fans. The UK approach of threatening quotas unless firms change has worked for boards, although French firms didn’t take their government’s threats seriously and now have quota laws. Apparently quotas have given rise to ‘golden skirts’, women who have several NED roles to fulfil quotas. I didn’t spot a reference to ‘golden trousers’... Although not a large part of the argument here, flexible working and childcare do crop up strongly as a factor in women not progressing to ‘the elite’. While I know this is true, it’s still sad that childcare is seen as a woman’s job. That said, stories about senior jobs taking a lot of time, being tiring, but lots of fun are very true. Lots of figures were presented in a narrative form – what’s wrong with tables or graphs? The authors also weren’t very structured in their arguments and flip-flopped between numbers of women on boards, women EDs and women on ExCos. But on the whole I liked the new, relevant information, and what I took away is that everyone is different – data gets you so far, but everyone’s story is individual to them. ● Kathryn Morgan is director of regulatory operations, Gibraltar Financial Services Commission

MORE ONLINE Latest reviews at www.theactuary.com/opinion

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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At the back

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Coffee break

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iQ

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A 200-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

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BY NYLFIA

Reader, marry up the clues to reveal a theme to do with a personality who created great personalities Across 9 10 11 12 13 15

© Nylfia

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Very small and indistinct when leading characters confused (7) Nonsense in a some setting for computers (7) Net receipts? (5) Pace of life? (5,4) Undoubtedly sounded from near Croydon (7) Article about leg at that point (7) Author applies total ban with Rochester as foregone? (9,6) Frank Sinatra’s first three hits played to empty centre? (7)

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23 Come together over question on Latin novelist (7) 24 Don probing for spores? (9) 26 Parrot, or vocal Kiwi? (5) 27 “Campo” Lyme Regis containing multiple repeating sub-units? (7) 28 Ticket dispenser at halt on Freeway (7)

Down 1 2

Cuts detected from short while checking bugs (10) At first, salve agents applied to muscle contraction causing

Lost and found Mensa puzzle 655

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extreme ache - pain in the butt (8) 3 Call 18 by another name (4) 4 Salesman breaking allowance for cash in advance (6) 5 French town has essential characters for hottest novel (8) 6,8 German agreement to new England song on the radio? That’s novel (4,4) 7 Stretch tailed off (6) 8 See 6 14 Not well in the French city (5) 16 Blunder over matches in Irish Barony (5)

17 Stitching bait and line together? (10) 19 Vault in Surrey at activity (8) 20 Can’t get away when Nasty opens with ace (2,6) 22 Simple pasta (6) 23 Unknown artist takes time going into, for example, backwards spiral (6) 24 Exercise taken after collector of letters found innocent, for example (4) 25 Girl shows hesitation to a degree (4) 26 Short time working in daydream (4)

Correct to the letter Mensa puzzle 656

www.mensa.org.uk Replace each set of dashes in the following sentence with a seven letter word. The same seven letters must be used for both words. What are the words?

It seemed like a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ when the Jones family saw a picture of their beloved Olly in the newspaper and they were able to discover his whereabouts and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ him.

SJC = 27, NDW = 230, LGR = 90 and VHA = 14,

TPY = ? FOR PUZZLES SOLUTIONS – April 2016 Answers and more can be found online. Please go to www.theactuary.com/puzzles

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 35 www.theactuary.com

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News NEWS UPDATES FROM THE ACTUARIAL

People & Society

Getting crazy By Jennifer Strickland

Progress report from Nigeria By Laura Llewellyn-Jones Led by Marjorie Ngwenya, the IFoA hosted an actuarial industry seminar on 1 February in Lagos Nigeria. The event was well attended with lots of lively discussion on actuarial skills and capacity development in the Nigerian context. There was a student programme in the morning, an industry seminar in the afternoon and a networking event in the evening attended by about 80 people. There were a number of interesting points raised in these sessions, in particular that universities in Nigeria do not currently provide exemptions on actuarial courses. This is something students would like to change, particularly given that some of the Nigerian courses can be much longer than UK courses. The new Certified Actuarial Analyst (CAA) qualification was well received, although the workshop highlighted the need in the market for more actuaries. There is a new regulation

stipulating that every insurer and re-insurer that offers life business needs to establish an actuarial department to be manned by an actuary or person with relevant qualification and experience. This is creating more demand for actuaries, as many insurers are yet to have an in-house actuary. Presentations were given by Dr Habila Amos from the National Insurance Commission on its support for the actuarial profession, industry leaders, as well as discussions on volunteering and capacity building. Many solutions were offered on how employers and others could assist with actuarial capacity building in Nigeria; among them the need for an active local actuarial community. The IFoA would like to thank the British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Ray Kyles, for kindly hosting the event in his residence, as well as the UK Trade & Industry in Nigeria for its assistance. Thanks to Old Mutual for sponsoring the reception.

On 4 February, 184 actuaries met up to fight it out for the title SIAS Pub Quiz Champions 2016. QuizQuizQuiz (QQQ) provided a superb array of questions, once again setting up the night to be the tightly fought battle of the intellects that we’ve seen in previous years. Notable questions ranged from expecting us to recognise Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy from a single note (not to boast, but I actually got this one) to setting the whole room air-typing on imaginary keyboards trying to figure out which keys had bumps. As Max from QQQ read out the results, starting with the wooden-spooners Yager Bombers, championhopefuls were biting their fingernails in anticipation. The overconfident Millipedia had their dreams of glory crushed as they bottomed out at

Joint effort for ethics By Jinnang Tang On 25 February, the Chinese Actuarial Network in the UK and The Actuarial Network at Cass successfully organised a joint talk event for the first time. The event ‘Business Ethics: Lessons from Corporate Scandals’ was held at Cass Business School. It was seen as a great opportunity for the two sides to share resources and cross-network. The joint collaboration also paved the way for future events, which will involve parties from the actuarial profession. The thought-provoking presentation was delivered by Ashley Hamilton Claxton from Royal London Asset Management. By starting with real-life case studies, Ashley vividly demonstrated the importance of ethics and corporate conduct being at the core of good governance. She was able to draw on her wealth of experience in corporate governance analysis, environmental and social research throughout the talk, and handle a great number of interesting questions from the audience. The talk concluded with risks and warning signs of poor governance and the all-too important ‘I do not give financial advice’ slide.

One for the other half By Lesley Dumbreck The Other Half Club was founded decades ago, primarily as a dining club for the partners of actuaries. While we still aim to dine at the Café du Marché, Charterhouse Square, three times a year, the range of our social activities has expanded. Most

36

of our events take place in or around London for ease of access. Dinners are for members and their guests only but all other events are open to members, their partners and friends. Every year we arrange a guided walk. This month, we are combining a tour of Highgate Cemetery and the newly restored Kenwood House with a walk across Hampstead Heath. A return visit to the Chelsea Physic Garden is planned for late summer. Our membership of the Guildhall

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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ARIAL PROFESSION

If you have any newsworthy items for these pages please email social@theactuary.com

at the quiz 23rd – one above their imaginatively named colleagues Milliman 2 – despite getting 72% of the answers correct. When he reached the 19th team and scores were already at 75%, tensions were mounting, with the score differentials narrowing with every step and only six marks between first and seventh place. Fourth place was shared between Hashtag You Ain’t no Quiz Team, BoE and The Last Eyre Bender, all scoring a very respectable 85% of their answers correct. Third place was won by Glass of Milk at the Halibut with 86%, second by APR Acolytes with 87%. The winners of the coveted title – and so by definition the six cleverest actuaries in the whole of London – were Joy Hoover Division, who got an impressive 88% of the 92 questions correct. An excellent range of suitably cheesy team names were put forward, with my personal favourites being actuarial-themed such as TyrannoSIAS Rex and TAS-Manian Devils. The winners of the Best Team Name (which we can’t actually include in this article for reasons of politeness) were awarded the excellent prize of several bags of Maoam. Special mention should go to Barely Legal and Very Specific and Legal & General Knowledge who showed dedication to the spirit of the pub quiz, proving unwilling to admit that the night was over, and carrying on drinking in an empty bar, snacking on abandoned Maoam. Lastly, thank you to everyone who attended – I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. Keep an eye on the website for details of future events, and drop us an email at social@sias.org.uk if you have any questions.

Networking began after the presentation, with food and drink kindly sponsored by Mansion House. To all of us, the night offered a fantastic talk and a great chance to meet with old and new friends. To some of us who studied at Cass, the night perhaps meant a bit more, as it also meant moments spent reminiscing about those countless notecrunching nights in the library, or that rare enlightening moment while chatting with that professor in lecture room 2002.

School of Music and Drama gives us access to their concerts, plays and other events. We are always looking for something or somewhere a little bit different to visit. In the past we’ve organised successful visits to the Restaurant at the Clink, HMP Brixton and also an ice sculpting exhibition. We try to arrange tours of buildings or institutions not always open to individuals. As an example, our recent visit to 2 Temple Place proved ALAMY / SHUTTERSTOCK

p36_37_apr_soc_news.indd 37

extremely popular with our members. Although their exhibitions are open to the general public, tours of the house are restricted to group bookings. During the coming months groups of us will be visiting Grange Park Opera in Hampshire, and also the Royal College of Needlework based at Hampton Court Palace. We are delighted to welcome new members. If interested, contact Lesley Birse, our administrator, or me at theotherhalfclub@gmail.com.

Argonauts sail on... By Marian Elliot

Time for tee The Worshipful Company of Actuaries is holding its annual Masters Golf day this year at the Beaconsfield Golf Club on Wednesday 25 May. The invitation to join the members of the livery and their partners is open to all actuaries who enjoy a social golfing occasion. It is also an opportunity to enjoy a game of golf on a very attractive Buckinghamshire course as well as learning more about the activities of the actuarial livery. The golfing competition will start at 1pm, after which there will be a dinner where the Master will present his trophy and other prizes. Non-golfers are cordially invited to join the golfers for dinner at around 7pm. The cost for golfers will be £90 and for non-golfers (three-course dinner and wine) £38. Further details can be obtained from Jeff Medlock at

jeffmedlock@ hotmail.com

The Argonauts Dining Club is for actuaries working outside traditional fields and has a rich heritage going back to the time of Frank Redington and George Ross-Goobey. The membership of today is made up of investment management professionals, independent trustees, academics, risk officers, general insurance actuaries and others working outside traditional actuarial roles. On 25 February, the Argonauts dinner was held at the beautiful Tallow Chandlers’ Hall, one of the oldest livery halls in London, built just after the Great Fire. Fiona Morrison, president of the IFoA, generated a lively discussion with her talk on roles actuaries can play outside traditional areas. She also explored the perception of the actuarial skill set and views of potential employers. Chris Rofe, CEO of the Royal Institution (Ri), gave a wide-ranging talk about the work the Ri is doing to communicate scientific work to the wider public. In particular, he highlighted Maths Masterclasses, which go beyond the school curriculum and serve to inspire teenagers. The feedback for these sessions, received from teachers, parents and students, gives an insight into the effect that the Masterclasses have had on students’ lives. The Argonauts meet three times a year and our dinners are mostly held in Livery halls, with an annual gala dinner at The Ivy. On 5 May, our annual gala dinner will take place at the newly refurbished The Ivy and the speakers will be Adrian Waddingham (co-founder of Barnett Waddingham) and Helen Pitcher (chairman, Advance Boardroom Excellence). New members are always welcome. If you work outside life or pensions actuarial work and are interested in the Argonauts, please contact me at marian.elliott12@gmail.com or request to join the group on LinkedIn.

Deaths Mr Derek John Bagnall died recently, aged 66. He was a Fellow.

We would be delighted to hear from you if you have any newsworthy items for these pages. Please contact Yvonne Wan at social@theactuary.com

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 37 www.theactuary.com

29/03/2016 10:00


SPONSORED BY

Appointments peoplemoves@theactuary.com

Moves Mercer has appointed Ashlin Noonan (above) as a senior investment consultant. Based in the Woking consulting team, she will be responsible for providing advice to clients on the full range of investment consulting services. Noonan has more than 12 years’ investment consulting and pensions experience with multinational and boutique professional services firms, including roles at KPMG, Towers Watson and Novare Actuaries & Consultants. She joins Mercer from Cartwrights where she developed and launched a completely new investment consulting service.

Aon Hewitt has appointed Michael Walker (above) to its risk settlement group as a principal consultant. Walker rejoins the company after spending the past two and a half years working in Legal & General’s pension risk transfer business. Prior to that he spent 12 years as a consultant in Aon Hewitt’s retirement practice, advising several major pension scheme clients, as well as leading their trustee training operations. Walker is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and has a masters in mathematics from the University of Warwick.

Aon Hewitt, has announced the appointment of David Bunkle (not pictured) as a partner in its retirement and investment business. He will be based in Aon’s Leeds office. Bunkle has rejoined Aon Hewitt after starting his career as an actuarial trainee in 1997. He returns after spending eight years as a director with KPMG, to lead some of its key accounts and to focus on further developing its strategic risk advisory

proposition. Bunkle has a BSc in mathematics from Durham University. RPC Consulting announces the appointments of Peter Lee, Natasha Regan, Tony Lovick and James Norman (above left to right) to the actuarial division of the business. Lee will lead the personal lines team, overseeing the development of the firm’s personal lines software

within the Tyche platform. He is a qualified actuary with over 25 years’ experience, specialising in non-life insurance. Regan joins the general insurance team as a director, where her role will be general and broad. She is a qualified actuary with 20 years’ experience in non-life insurance, including Solvency II, risk modelling, reserving and pricing work. Lovick joins as director of pricing. His focus will

www.hfg.co.uk

ALEX BATES

ACTUARY OF THE FUTURE

Employer and area of work

Favourite Excel function?

Greatest risk you have ever taken?

Punter Southall, pensions.

IMREAL – because I am.

How would your best friend describe you?

How do you relax away from the office?

Alright.

I wore socks and sandals on the beach last summer. There were a few naysayers but I’m confident I pulled it off.

Drinking pints with my mates and watching reality TV.

What motivates you? Fear of failure.

What would be your personal motto? Live fast, die old.

Name five dream companions to be stuck on a desert island with? Steve Webb; Rachel Riley; Peter Andre; darts player Raymond van Barneveld; and last but not least, Ben Fogle.

What’s your most ‘actuarial’ habit? Not sure if this is especially actuarial, but the first thing I do every morning is check the statistics from the previous night’s basketball games. 38

be to develop the pricing team and presence within the London Market. Lovick’s expertise extends across general insurance pricing and insurance telematics. Norman joins as head of research, bringing with him 11 years’ experience in financial modelling for insurance companies. His role will span general insurance, life insurance and investments with a strong link to the Tyche development team.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently? I went to leave a comment on a Will Young YouTube video only to find that I had already left the same comment eight months earlier.

Alternative career choice? Darts caller or Premier League referee.

What song best describes your work ethic? Lady Sovereign – 9 to 5 (Ordinary Boys remix)

If you could go back in history, who would you like to meet? Henry VIII. Classic monarch and a great musician.

If there was a movie produced about your life, who would play you, and why? It would need to be someone that combined Ryan Gosling’s looks with Robert Downey Jr’s charisma. So I guess it would have to be Paul Danan.

If you could be anyone else, who would it be? Justin Bieber.

Do you know an actuary destined for greatness? You can nominate an Actuary of the Future by emailing

aotf@theactuary.com

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Appointments

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,ĞĂĚ ŽĨ WĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ Θ ĞŶĞĮƚƐ͕ ƵƌŽƉĞ͕ &ƌĂŶŬĨƵƌƚͬ ŵƐƚĞƌĚĂŵ ƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ ŽŵƉĞŶƐĂƟŽŶ WĂĐŬĂŐĞ

;ǁǁǁ͘Ăďď͘ĐŽŵͿ ŝƐ Ă ůĞĂĚŝŶŐ ŐůŽďĂů ƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ ƉŽǁĞƌ ĂŶĚ ĂƵƚŽŵĂƟŽŶ ƚŚĂƚ ĞŶĂďůĞƐ ƵƟůŝƚLJ͕ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ͕ and transport & infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. dŚĞ 'ƌŽƵƉ ŽĨ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ ŽƉĞƌĂƚĞƐ ŝŶ ƌŽƵŐŚůLJ ϭϬϬ ĐŽƵŶƚƌŝĞƐ ĂŶĚ ĞŵƉůŽLJƐ ĂďŽƵƚ ϭϯϱ͕ϬϬϬ ƉĞŽƉůĞ͘ Ɛ ƉĂƌƚ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ŽŶŐŽŝŶŐ ĐŽŵŵŝƚŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽǀŝƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ĐŽŵƉĞƟƟǀĞ ĐŽŵƉĞŶƐĂƟŽŶ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞƐ͕ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝƐ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĨŽƌ Ă ,ĞĂĚ ŽĨ WĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ ĂŶĚ ĞŶĞĮƚƐ Ͳ ƵƌŽƉĞ ƚŽ ĚĞƐŝŐŶ͕ ŝŵƉůĞŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ŵĂŶĂŐĞ ƌĞƟƌĞŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ďĞŶĞĮƚ ƉůĂŶƐ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƚŚĞ ƌĞŐŝŽŶ͘ dŚĞ ƌĞŵŝƚ ǁŝůů ŝŶĐůƵĚĞ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ ĐůŽƐĞůLJ ǁŝƚŚ ƐĞŶŝŽƌ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ƐƚĂŬĞŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ǀĞŶĚŽƌ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ ŽĨ ŬĞLJ ĂĚǀŝƐĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƐƵƉƉůŝĞƌƐ ŝŶ Ă ǀĂƌŝĞƚLJ ŽĨ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶƐ͘ dŚĞ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐĨƵů ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞ ǁŝůů ŶĞĞĚ ƚŽ ĚĞŵŽŶƐƚƌĂƚĞ ĂŶ ŽƵƚƐƚĂŶĚŝŶŐ ƚƌĂĐŬ ƌĞĐŽƌĚ ŽĨ ƐĐŚĞŵĞ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ ĂŶĚ ĚĞůŝǀĞƌLJ ŝŶ ƵƌŽƉĞĂŶ ĞŶĞĮƚƐ͕ ŇƵĞŶĐLJ ŝŶ ďŽƚŚ 'ĞƌŵĂŶ ĂŶĚ ŶŐůŝƐŚ ĂŶĚ ĞdžƉŽƐƵƌĞ ƚŽ ůĂƌŐĞ ĂŶĚ ĐŽŵƉůĞdž ƉůĂŶƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĂĐĐŽŵƉĂŶLJŝŶŐ ƚĂdžĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ůĞŐĂů ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ͘ ŝƚŚĞƌ Ă ĐŽŶƐƵůƚĂŶĐLJ Žƌ ŝŶ ŚŽƵƐĞ ĐŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ ďĂĐŬŐƌŽƵŶĚ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĐŽŶƐŝĚĞƌĞĚ͘ ŝƐ ŇĞdžŝďůĞ ĂƐ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƌŽůĞ ĂŶĚ ĂŶ ĂƩƌĂĐƟǀĞ ĐŽŵƉĞŶƐĂƟŽŶ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞ ǁŝůů ďĞ ŵĂĚĞ ĂǀĂŝůĂďůĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƐƵĐĐĞƐƐĨƵů ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞ͘ ůů ƚŚŝƌĚ ƉĂƌƚLJ ĞŶƋƵŝƌŝĞƐ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĨŽƌǁĂƌĚĞĚ to this address. ŽŶƚĂĐƚ͗ Ă͘ŐĂƌƚƐŝĚĞΛŝƉƐŐƌŽƵƉ͘ĐŽ͘ƵŬ dĞů͗ нϰϰ ϮϬϳ ϰϴϭ ϴϲϴϲ

^ĞŶŝŽƌ YƵĂŶƟƚĂƟǀĞ &ŝŶĂŶĐŝĂů ZŝƐŬ ŶĂůLJƐƚ͕ ƵƌŝĐŚ ,& džĐĞůůĞŶƚ WĂĐŬĂŐĞ

KƵƌ ĐůŝĞŶƚ ŝƐ Ă ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ 'ůŽďĂů ZĞŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ͘ dŚŝƐ ƌŽůĞ ŝƐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ƚŚĞŝƌ ZŝƐŬ ŶĂůLJƐŝƐ ƚĞĂŵ͘ Ɛ Ă YƵĂŶƟƚĂƟǀĞ &ŝŶĂŶĐŝĂů ZŝƐŬ ŶĂůLJƐƚ LJŽƵ ǁŝůů ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƚĞ ƚŽ ƌŝƐŬ ĂŶĂůLJƐŝƐ͕ ƉĂƌƟĐŝƉĂƚĞ ŝŶ ƚĞĐŚŶŝĐĂů ĐŽŵŵŝƩĞĞƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ƌŝƐŬ ŵŽĚĞů ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ 'ƌŽƵƉ ĂŶĚ ĂĐƚ ĂƐ ĂŶ ŝŶƚĞƌĨĂĐĞ ƚŽǁĂƌĚƐ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ƐƚĂŬĞŚŽůĚĞƌƐ ĂŶĚ ƌĞŐƵůĂƚŽƌƐ ƐƵĐŚ ĂƐ WZ ĂŶĚͬŽƌ &/ED ͘ zŽƵ ǁŝůů ďĞ ŝŶǀŽůǀĞĚ ŝŶ ƐƉĞĐŝĮĐ ƚĂƐŬƐ ƌĞůĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ^ŽůǀĞŶĐLJ //͘ ĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞƐ ĂƌĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŽ ŚĂǀĞ Ă hŶŝǀĞƌƐŝƚLJ ĞŐƌĞĞ ŝŶ ĐƚƵĂƌŝĂů ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ͕ DĂƚŚĞŵĂƟĐƐ͕ WŚLJƐŝĐƐ ĂŶĚ ŶŐŝŶĞĞƌŝŶŐ Žƌ ĂŶLJ ŽƚŚĞƌ ƋƵĂŶƟƚĂƟǀĞ ĚŝƐĐŝƉůŝŶĞ ĂŶĚ ŚĂǀĞ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ZŝƐŬ ŶĂůLJƐŝƐ ŝŶ ĂŶ ŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ Žƌ ƌĞŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĞŶǀŝƌŽŶŵĞŶƚ͘ ŽŶƚĂĐƚ͗ ĐŚĂƌůĞƐ͘ĞĂĚLJΛŝƉƐŐƌŽƵƉ͘ĐŚ dĞů͗ нϰϭ ϰϭ ϳϲϲ ϯϭϮϲ

>ŝĨĞ ĐƚƵĂƌLJ͕ 'ĞƌŵĂŶLJ Žƌ ^ǁŝƚnjĞƌůĂŶĚ ŽŵƉĞƟƟǀĞ ^ĂůĂƌLJ н ĞŶĞĮƚƐ WĂĐŬĂŐĞ

>ĞĂĚŝŶŐ ŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝƐ ůŽŽŬŝŶŐ ƚŽ ĞŶŚĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƚƵĂƌŝĂů ƚĞĂŵƐ ǁŝƚŚ ƚŚĞ ĂĚĚŝƟŽŶ ŽĨ Ă >ŝĨĞ ĐƚƵĂƌLJ͘ WƌŝŶĐŝƉĂů ƚĂƐŬƐ ǁŝůů ƌĞǀŽůǀĞ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ D s ĐĂůĐƵůĂƟŽŶ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƚĞƌŶĂů ŵŽĚĞůƐ͘ zŽƵ ǁŝůů ĂůƐŽ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉ ŐƵŝĚĞůŝŶĞƐ ĨŽƌ ůŝĨĞ ĂĐƚƵĂƌŝĂů ďĂůĂŶĐĞƐ͕ ĂŶĚ ƉƌŝĐŝŶŐ ͬ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ĂƉƉƌŽǀĂů͘ dŚĞ ŝĚĞĂů ĐĂŶĚŝĚĂƚĞ ǁŝůů ďĞ Ă ŶĞĂƌͲ Žƌ ĨƵůůLJ ƋƵĂůŝĮĞĚ ĂĐƚƵĂƌLJ ǁŝƚŚ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůŝĨĞ ŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ͘ 'ŽŽĚ ŬŶŽǁůĞĚŐĞ ŽĨ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐŽŶƐŝƐƚĞŶƚ ƉƌŝŶĐŝƉůĞƐ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ ŝƐ Ă ƉƌĞͲ ƌĞƋƵŝƐŝƚĞ͘ džƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ^ŽůǀĞŶĐLJ // ĂŶĚͬŽƌ ^^d ŝƐ ĚĞƐŝƌĂďůĞ͘ DŽ^ĞƐ Žƌ WƌŽƉŚĞƚ ŵŽĚĞůůŝŶŐ ƐŬŝůůƐ ĂŶĚ ĞdžƉĞƌŝĞŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚ͕ ƉƌŝĐŝŶŐ ĂŶĚͬŽƌ ƌĞƐĞƌǀŝŶŐ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ůŝĨĞ ŝŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ǁŝůů ďĞ ĂŶ ĂĚǀĂŶƚĂŐĞ͘ WůĞĂƐĞ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ƵƐ ĨŽƌ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ͘ ŽŶƚĂĐƚ͗ ƉŚƵ͘ŶŐŽĐΛŝƉƐŐƌŽƵƉ͘ĐŽ͘ƵŬ dĞů͗ нϰϰ ϮϬϳ ϰϴϭ ϴϲϴϲ

>ŽŶĚŽŶ KĸĐĞ͗ /W^ 'ƌŽƵƉ͕ ĞǀŝƐ DĂƌŬƐ ,ŽƵƐĞ͕ Ϯϰ ĞǀŝƐ DĂƌŬƐ͕ >ŽŶĚŽŶ ϯ ϳ: dĞůĞƉŚŽŶĞ͗ нϰϰ ϮϬϳ ϰϴϭ ϴϲϴϲ ŵĂŝů͗ ĂĐƚƵĂƌŝĂůΛŝƉƐŐƌŽƵƉ͘ĐŽ͘ƵŬ tĞďƐŝƚĞ͗ ŚƩƉ͗ͬ​ͬǁǁǁ͘ŝƉƐŐƌŽƵƉ͘ĐŽ͘ƵŬ dǁŝƩĞƌ ͗ Λ/W^'ƌŽƵƉh< >ŝŶŬĞĚŝŶ͗ /W^ 'ƌŽƵƉ ACT Rec Apr16.indd 41

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 41 www.theactuary.com

24/03/2016 15:17


Appointments

ADDING VALUE THROUGH COACHING Fenchurch Associates believe that simply securing a new hire is no longer enough. You deserve much more from your recruitment specialist. When it comes to talent management, you need an ongoing VHUYLFH WKDW SURYLGHV \RX ZLWK TXDOLW\ VXSSRUW IURP VWDUW WR þQLVK We add value to the recruitment process through our partnership with professional Career Coach, Alice Stapleton, who supports our candidates and clients throughout the whole career journey. FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT: FENASSOCIATES.COM/CAREER-COACHING

OUR SERVICES, YOUR ASSET Backed by practicing Actuaries, we’re the true general insurance recruitment specialists.

+44 (0)20 7256 9777 |

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR ALL POSITIONS IN: › › › ›

ACTUARIAL CATASTROPHE MODELLING EXPOSURE MANAGEMENT BUSINESS ANALYSIS

FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN

RESERVING ACTUARY Up to £100,000 London I am currently looking for a recently qualified reserving actuary, who is ready to take on more responsibility & managerial duties.

LIFE INSURANCE ACTUARIAL CONSULTANT £ Salary + bonus & benefits Prague

› ›

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ANALYSIS STRATEGY & CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT WWW.FENASSOCIATES.COM

DIRECTOR OF MARKET RISK MANAGEMENT Competitive salary, bonus, benefits, relocation allowance Hong Kong

ACTUARIAL ASSISTANT (RISK) Salary, bonus, benefits, full study support M25 north corridor Fantastic opportunity for a life student actuary to contribute to the Risk Measurement & Reporting team by supporting delivery of the risk measuring and reporting aspects of Enterprise Risk Management Framework to facilitate effective and appropriate risk management across the business.

For more information please contact Clinton on 0207 621 3774 or c.poore@darwinrhodes.com

If you have experience in Commercial lines we would like to hear from you.

A new opportunity to join the Risk Consulting & Software team of this prestigious consulting firm at Manager level. This new team is providing solutions to client across CEE & in conjunction with wider EMEA team.

This role will be managing a team of 3 Actuarial Analysts as well as being involved in the full reserving cycle.

Services provided in modelling, reserving, pricing, risk management, M&A& consulting. Suit Qualified Life actuary with Czech or Slovak & English language skills.

Fantastic opportunity to join a top 3 Asian insurer. Seeking a Qualified Actuary with strong experience of ALM modelling, Capital management & optimization (local & S2/Economic), Solvency & reserving requirements, Investment management/SAA, product strategy, derivative solutions, with strong interpersonal skills plus result oriented.

For more information please contact Bradley on 0207 621 3771 or b.doyle@darwinrhodes.com

For more information please contact Clinton on 0207 621 3774 or c.poore@darwinrhodes.com

For more information please contact Clinton on 0207 621 3774 or c.poore@darwinrhodes.com

Specialising in High Performance Selection 42

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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Abby Tempest Life +44 (0) 207 337 8810 abby@hfg.co.uk

Paul Fox Risk +44 (0) 207 220 1103 paul.fox@hfg.co.uk

www.theactuaryjobs.com Erin O'Donnell Risk +44 (0) 207 337 1202 erin@hfg.co.uk

Life insurance roles Reinsurance Pricing Actuary

ÂŁ100k - ÂŁ130k basic, Bermuda A leading insurer are looking for an experience Pricing Actuary to join –Š‡‹” ‡”Â?—†ƒÂ? –‡ƒÂ?Ǥ †‡ƒŽŽ› ›‘— ™‹ŽŽ Šƒ˜‡ ƒÂ?Â?—‹–› ’”‹…‹Â?‰ ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡ ƒÂ?† Â?Â?‘™Ž‡†‰‡ ‘ˆ Ž‘Â?‰‡˜‹–› •™ƒ’•Ǥ ‘— Â?‡‡† –‘ „‡ ƒ ˆ—ŽŽ› “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† Â…Â–Â—ÂƒÂ”Â›ÇĄ ™Š‘ ‹• Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ƒ Â?‡™ …ŠƒŽŽ‡Â?‰‡ ‹Â? ƒ •—Â?Â?‹‡” ‡Â?˜‹”‘Â?Â?‡Â?–Ǩ †‡‡’ —Â?†‡”•–ƒÂ?†‹Â?‰ ‘ˆ ƒÂ?Â?—‹–› ’”‹…‹Â?‰ ‹• ‹Â?’‘”–ƒÂ?– ĥ ‹• ƒ– Ž‡ƒ•– Í› ›‡ƒ”• ’‘•– “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ…ƒ–‹‘Â? ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡Ǥ For more information please contact: abby@hfg.co.uk REF: AT0401

ÂŁ40k - ÂŁ50k basic, London Â?‹…Š‡ …‘Â?•—Ž–ƒÂ?…› ƒ”‡ Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ƒ ’ƒ”– “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† ‹ˆ‡ ƒ…–—ƒ”› –‘ Œ‘‹Â? –Š‡‹” insurance arm. They cover risk, M&A, audit and reporting and need a versatile individual to join the team. You must have completed the CT stages of the exams, have at least two years’ experience working in life insurance and be able communicate with a range of stakeholders. For more information please contact: abby@hfg.co.uk REF: AT0402

ÂŁ65k - ÂŁ80k basic, London

ƒÂ? ™‘”Â?‹Â?‰ ™‹–Š ƒ ˆƒ•– ‰”‘™‹Â?‰ ‹ˆ‡ ‹Â?•—”‡” –‘ Š‡Ž’ –Š‡Â? ƤÂ?† ƒ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† actuary with strong longevity skills. Knowledge of Longevity swaps is a must and you must have the ability to challenge assumptions made by other ƒ…–—ƒ”‹‡• ‹Â? –Š‡ –‡ƒÂ?Ǥ Š‡ ‹†‡ƒŽ …ƒÂ?†‹†ƒ–‡ ™‹ŽŽ „‡ ƒ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† ƒ…–—ƒ”› ™‹–Š ƒ– least one year’s longevity experience. For more information please contact: abby@hfg.co.uk REF: AT0403

Pricing/Product Actuary

Longevity Risk Actuary

Bulk Annuity Contract

ÂŁ1000 - ÂŁ1500 per day, Bermuda

• ‹– –‹Â?‡ ˆ‘” •‘Â?‡–Š‹Â?‰ …‘Â?’Ž‡–‡Ž› †‹ƥ‡”‡Â?–Ǎ Š‡Â?ǤǤ ‡”Â?—†ƒ ‡…Â?‘Â?•Ǩ Â?ƒŒ‘” …‘Â?’‘•‹–‡ǯ• ”‡‹Â?•—”ƒÂ?…‡ ƒ”Â? ”‡“—‹”‡• ƒ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† …–—ƒ”› ™Š‘ Šƒ• experience of pricing annuities, both individually and bulk purchase business. In addition strong understanding of how Capital, Reporting and Solvency requirements impact upon these business activities also required. For more information please contact: david.crawford@hfg.co.uk REF: CR0401

Consultant

ÂŁ65k - ÂŁ75k basic, London

After the completion of the majority of the Solvency II work a number of our clients are moving to refresh their product range and looking ˆ‘” •—’’‘”– –‘ Š‡Ž’ ƤÂ?ƒŽ‹•‡ Â?‡™ ’”‘†—…–•Ǥ ƒÂ?†‹†ƒ–‡• Â?—•– Šƒ˜‡ ’”‹‘” product developing experience and ideally investment exposure. For more information please contact: abby@hfg.co.uk REF: AT0404

ÂŁ600 - ÂŁ800 per day, Various locations

ALS Prophet Guru

I am working on an exclusive basis with my client to help to help them deliver on their reach targets, the right candidate is likely to be in work but whenever the next contract end date comes, be that in one month or 6 you will want a change of scene and challenge. For more information please contact: david.crawford@hfg.co.uk REF: CR0402

Risk roles Interim Operational Risk Manager (GI)

ÂŁ600 - ÂŁ900 per day London

A London Lloyd’s syndicate are looking for an operational risk contractor with experience of Solvency II implementation. A rounded experience in risk will help the client on a number of pieces of current work, as well as managing junior members of the team. For more information please contact: paul.fox@hfg.co.uk REF: PF0401

Exposure Management Actuarial Student

ÂŁ40k - ÂŁ50k basic, London

A rare opportunity has arisen for an Actuary to join the exposure management team of a leading syndicate. Using your actuarial knowledge, you will analyse and enhance their CAT risk framework and monitor their exposure. You will analyse man made catastrophes and be responsible for running that aspect of the Internal model. Exposure management knowledge is not a pre-requisite. For more information please contact: erin@hfg.co.uk REF: EO0401

Validation Analyst

ÂŁ55k - ÂŁ75k basic, London

An opportunity for an Actuary to pursue a career in risk. Working at one of the leading London market insurers you will play a crucial role in the production of Model Validation across the group as well as engaging in all risk management responsibilities. The chosen candidate may come from a capital modelling or validation background and be looking to gain exposure to risk. For more information please contact: erin@hfg.co.uk REF: EO0403

Senior Risk Manager - Lloyd's

ÂŁ70k - ÂŁ110k, London

Our leading insurance client are looking for a dynamic Risk Manager. You will have previous experience managing the risk register and framework, providing input to the internal model and ensuring that risk management adds real value to the business. This role has management responsibility and will have regular ‹Â?–‡”ƒ…–‹‘Â? ™‹–Š •‡Â?‹‘” Ƥ‰—”‡• ™‹–Š‹Â? –Š‡ „—•‹Â?॥Ǥ For more information please contact: paul.fox@hfg.co.uk REF: PF0402

Quantitative Risk Analyst

ÂŁ50k - ÂŁ60k basic, London

A role has been created at a Global General insurer within their risk team. Working alongside the Capital team you will help determine regulatory Capital requirements, produce ORSA reports and meet with relevant risk committees. This role would particularly suit someone who has decided not to continue with the actuarial exams but still wants a technical role. For more information please contact: erin@hfg.co.uk REF: EO0402

ÂŁ30k - ÂŁ60k basic, London

Risk Consultant

A small Life insurance consultancy are looking for a number of Risk Actuaries to join their growing team. Working on projects across a number of clients, you will gain varied experience and a great overview of the market. The ideal candidate will be technically strong and able to liaise with stakeholders across the business. For more information please contact: erin@hfg.co.uk REF: EO0404

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 43 www.theactuary.com

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Appointments

PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS NON-LIFE LIFE & HEALTH REPORTING ACTUARY, London, ÂŁcompetitive A leading reinsurer is looking to build out their health and life actuarial practice and are keen to speak to a qualiďŹ ed life actuary with an astute and a commercial mind-set. Reporting directly to the head of the team this opportunity would provide you with a platform to develop your own ideas and projects. A key part of the role will be to keep abreast with new regulatory challenges as well as market and technological developments in order to accurately analyse their implications for the reinsurance environment. Contact: liam.hargreaves@eamesconsulting.com | 0207 092 3207

An expanding and highly successful consultancy are keen to speak to individuals to help develop their solutions based business. This advice will help provide and deliver customised solutions within risk management in relation to pension schemes and both corporate and trustee clients. Advice would include providing holistic solutions, which take into account ďŹ nancial goals, risk appetite, investment strategy, funding, beneďŹ ts and accounting. Contact: rob.bulpitt@eamesconsulting.com | 0207 092 3237

MOTOR PRICING MANAGER, London, up to ÂŁ80k

RESINSURANCE PRICING ACTUARY, London, ÂŁ130k

A leading UK personal lines insurer are currently seeking a pricing manager to lead their motor technical modelling team. The role will report directly into the head of pricing and will be responsible for managing a team of analysts, whilst focusing on risk-based GLM modelling across their UK motor book. Candidates will have strong personal lines pricing experience, ideally with exposure to the UK motor market. Contact: james.rydon@eamesconsulting.com | 0207 092 3239

A global broking ďŹ rm is seeking an experienced London market pricing actuary to join their growing analytics function. The role will work across specialty lines including marine, aviation, energy and credit & surety. You will have the technical ability to support the structuring of reinsurance deals but also the softer skills to actively take part and lead client meetings. Applicants must have extensive pricing knowledge; reinsurance would be a plus. Contact: anthony.hill@eamesconsulting.com | 0207 092 3287

SENIOR CONSULTANT, North West & other locations, ÂŁ120k Eames listed as the #1 insurance recruitment & search ďŹ rm in the UK in Recruitment International’s Top 500 Report

If you are looking for your next career move or to discuss other opportunities, get in touch with us today for a conďŹ dential discussion. Contact: actuarial@eamesconsulting.com | 0207 092 3200

London | Zurich | Singapore | Hong Kong

eamesconsulting.com

Jason Sykes Managing Director EA Reg: R1333193 +65 6829 7154 jason@hfg.com.sg

Tong Yu GI Actuarial +44 (0) 207 337 8853 tong@hfg.co.uk

Shuyu Lim GI Actuarial EA Reg: R1433780 +65 6829 7153 shuyu@hfg.com.sg

Christina Chua Life Actuarial EA Reg: R1546910 +65 6829 7158 christinac@hfg.com.sg

APAC Actuarial Assignments Pricing Actuary

Competitive Hong Kong/Malaysia

A global direct insurer seeks a motor pricing specialist who is familiar with the ASEAN markets. The incumbent will need to work independently and take full ownership of the pricing function. Ideally, he / she will need to have at least 5 years’ of pricing experience and well equipped with technical pricing knowledge like GLM and SAS. Please contact shuyu@hfg.com.sg for more information REF SL0401 Open market rate Malaysia

Head of Pricing

Â? ‹Â?–‡”Â?ƒ–‹‘Â?ƒŽŽ› ƒ……Žƒ‹Â?‡† ‡nj‹Â?•—”‡” ‹• Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ‡ƒ† ‘ˆ ”‹…‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” –Š‡‹” Malaysia and Indonesia businesses. As a senior actuary, you will be the primary …‘Â?–ƒ…– ˆ‘” —•‹Â?॥ ‡˜‡Ž‘’Â?‡Â?– ÇŚ ™‘”Â?‹Â?‰ ‘Â? ’”‹…‹Â?‰ “—‘–ƒ–‹‘Â?•ǥ –”‡ƒ–‹‡• ƒÂ?† pricing bases as well as to provide technical advice for Life Insurance clientele in –Š‡ ”‡‰‹‘Â?Ǥ ƒÂ?†‹†ƒ–‡• •Š‘—Ž† „‡ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† ƒ…–—ƒ”‹‡• ™‹–Š •–”‘Â?‰ –‡…ŠÂ?‹…ƒŽ ’”‹…‹Â?‰ knowledge and good business acumen. Should you be interested to know more, please contact christinac@hfg.com.sg REF: CC0401.

Regional Risk Manager

44

HKD $1.2m basic Hong Kong

Reserving Actuary

Competitive Hong Kong/Malaysia

› …Ž‹‡Â?– ‹• ƒÂ? ‡•–ƒ„Ž‹•Š‡† ‰Ž‘„ƒŽ ‹Â?•—”ƒÂ?…‡ Ƥ”Â? •‡‡Â?‹Â?‰ ƒÂ? ‡š’‡”‹‡Â?…‡† Â’ÂƒÂ”Â–ÇŚ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† Č€ “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† ”‡•‡”˜‹Â?‰ •’‡…‹ƒŽ‹•– ™Š‘ ‹• ˆƒÂ?‹Ž‹ƒ” ƒ…”‘•• ƒŽŽ Ž‹Â?‡• ‘ˆ „—•‹Â?॥ in APAC. The incumbent should have at least 5 years’ actuarial experience and is capable to work independently. He / she would potentially oversee both reserving responsibilities in the SEA region. Versatility is key. Please contact shuyu@hfg.com.sg for more information REF: SL0402 SGD $100k - $110k Singapore

Senior Valuation Actuary

‰Ž‘„ƒŽ ‡nj‹Â?•—”‡” ‹• Ž‘‘Â?‹Â?‰ ˆ‘” ƒ ‡Â?‹‘” ƒŽ—ƒ–‹‘Â? …–—ƒ”› –‘ Œ‘‹Â? –Š‡‹” ”‡‰‹‘Â?ƒŽ Valuation team in Singapore. As a senior member of the team, you will perform ƤÂ?ƒÂ?…‹ƒŽ ˜ƒŽ—ƒ–‹‘Â? ƒÂ?† ”‡’‘”–‹Â?‰ •—…Š ĥ ƒÂ?† •–ƒ–—–‘”› ˆ‘” Ž‘…ƒŽ ‡Â?–‹–‹‡• ‹Â? –Š‡ APAC region. You should have strong technical knowledge in Valuation and good IT skills such as VBA and Prophet. Should you be interested, please contact christinac@hfg.com.sg REF: CC0402

Capital Modelling Actuary

HKD $250k - $550k basic Hong Kong

…Ž‹‡Â?– –Šƒ– ƒÂ? ™‘”Â?‹Â?‰ ™‹–Š ‹• —”‰‡Â?–Ž› •‡‡Â?‹Â?‰ ƒ Â?Â‡ÂƒÂ”ÂŽÂ›Č€Â?‡™Ž› “—ƒŽ‹Ƥ‡† ‹ˆ‡ Actuary to manage a small team and also be responsible for performing capital modelling and production of results for assigned local business units. Excellent communication skills, strong technical knowledge across actuarial modelling, valuation and capital management and at least 4 years’ experience in the local market is required. For more information please contact: tong@hfg.co.uk REF: TY0401

A global leading business is seeking a high calibre Life Actuary with hands on Solvency II and Economic Capital Reporting experience to join their team in Hong Kong as Manager/Senior Manager Level. The position holder will stand at the front line of the business, face major players in the APAC region, consult …Ž‹‡�–• ‘� ‘Ž˜‡�…›

ÇĄ ƒÂ?† ”‡Žƒ–‡† –ƒ•Â?• ĥ ™‡ŽŽ ĥ ‘–Š‡” ÂƒÂ†ÇŚÂŠÂ‘Â… ’”‘Œ‡…–•Ǥ For more information please contact: tong@hfg.co.uk REF: TY0402

EA Licence Number: 14C7034

www.hfg.com.sg | +65 6829 7153

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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www.theactuaryjobs.com

2nd Floor, 32 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3BT | 0207 332 5870 | actuarial@mansionhouse.co.uk www.mansionhouse.co.uk

NON-LIF E PRICING ANALYSTS VARIOUS LOCATIONS

ACTUARIAL MANAGER HOME COUNTIES

Cutting edge Personal Lines insurer is looking to grow their Pricing team. You will monitor and analyse underwriting performance as well as develop and implement MI, pricing models and analytical techniques to assist with informing pricing and underwriting decisions. Working closely with underwriters and other key stakeholders, communication skills are of the utmost importance. You will have around 1 to 5 years of experience gained from a non-life insurer with a demonstrable understanding of underwriting and pricing principles. You will have already made a great start to your professional exams and have some experience with pricing tools and techniques such as EMBLEM, SAS and GLM.

A leading provider of motor, home, pet and travel insurance is seeking an Actuarial Manager to lead a team of 4. Reserving and regulatory experience is key as they will lead on reserving reviews and production of SII TP assessments. Reporting directly to the Chief Actuary, the successful individual will play a crucial role in business planning and other Actuarial functions including Capital support. A Newly or Nearly qualiƂ ed Actuary with strong leadership skills combined with experience in Retail Motor and Home business would be an excellent Ƃ t.

£40,000 – £70,000 + package

NON-LIFE

Samantha Yee yees@mansionhouse.co.uk

£85,000 + bonus and excellent bens

LIF E & P E N S I O N S

LIFE

Lloyd Seaborn seabornl@mansionhouse.co.uk

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, LIFE REINSURANCE LONDON

SENIOR PRICING ACTUARY, LIFE REINSURANCE ZURICH

This organisation holds an outstanding reputation in the market and are now in a position to encourage a market leading Business Development Actuary. You will be focusing on client management relationship aspects of the Sales division. Ideally, this individual will come from either Protection or Longevity. This role would suit a high proƂle, internationally experienced, natural leader, with a proven track record of delivery through many years of handling both medium and small sized teams. Applications welcome from International Actuaries.

Due to a change in the Senior leadership team, there is an opening for a well-established and technically focused Morbidity, Mortality and Longevity specialist Pricing Actuary. Leading a team of 16, with 4 direct reports, the ideal applicant will be focusing on the UK and CH markets therefore experience handling both markets is a prerequisite. Having a commercial and business focused mind-set, coupled with an outstanding technical ability, is essential for this senior management hire.

£140,000 + variable of up to 130%

DIRECTOR COVENANT ADVISORY LONDON FRANCE/BELGIUM/LUXEMBOURG Dior Musombo musombod@mansionhouse.co.uk

£100-150K + market leading bonus & beneƓts

Pensions Director sought with speciƂ c covenant expertise. Senior role within growing highly regarded team that also provides bespoke funding solutions and de-risking options to their client base of large and medium corporates.

230,000chf + extensive beneƓts (relocation package)

SCHEME ACTUARY LONDON

Up to £100K + 25% Bonus + BeneƓts

Excellent opportunity to join London based team of global pensions, employee beneƂ ts and investment consulting Ƃ rm, currently seeking a Scheme Actuary. The successful candidate will be a strong client facing actuary, capable of taking on a portfolio of existing clients. Long term career path is excellent.

E UR OP E PRICING ACTUARY REINSURANCE FRANCE

INVESTMENT MANAGER FRANCE

Actuary with strong expertise in life reinsurance needed for a leading reinsurance company. You will be in charge of the pricing, especially the improvement of the pricing technics, assumptions and tool. Moreover you will work on actuarial studies for longevity transaction, especially on the best estimate valuation and pricing. Finally, you will have projects on the proƂ tability analysis as well as the anticipation of the market new trends. This is an international role so proƂ ciency in English is required. You must be autonomous, proactive and have team spirit.

Individual with strong expertise in investment and ALM required for a leading international consulting Ƃ rm. You will be in charge of taking the investment decision for companies. Hence, you will work on various projects such as ALM, strategic asset allocation, pension funds structuration and implementation, as well as Ƃ nancial accounting, reporting and asset data. You will grow within a dynamic and international team. ProƂ ciency in English is required. You must be proactive, curious and have good communication skills.

NON-LIFE ACTUARY LUXEMBOURG

PENSION ACTUARY BRUSSELS

QualiƂ ed GI Actuaries (IABE or similar) with signiƂ cant consulting experience required for this Luxembourg based Insurance company. You will have a solid track record within P&C and be well connected in your market, leveraging off your network to help grow and maintain the business. With a minimum of 3 years of experience you will be expected to take a leadership role generating, executing and overseeing work.

Seeking an experienced Actuary with a strong track record gained within the Pensions sector, for an interesting role with broad exposure towards the whole Belgian insurance market. You will be responsible for monitoring the Belgian regulatory initiatives with a focus on the Pensions sector. University degree in Actuarial Sciences or similar coupled with good knowledge of the Belgian Pensions system second Pillar. Fluent in Dutch, French and English, you will have strong inter-personal and communication skills.

€50-60 + bonus + beneƓts

FRANCE

Elodie Hong Tuan Ha Elodie@mansionhouse.co.uk

€55K – 70K

GERMANY

Julia Dunkelberg dunkelbergj@mansionhouse.co.uk

ACT Rec Apr16.indd 45

€65-105 + bonus + beneƓts

€50K – 65K

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 45 www.theactuary.com

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Appointments

Active Vacancies

Role: Capital Actuary – London/Lloyd’s Market Location: London | Sector: General Insurance | Salary: £80,000 - £120,000 + Benefits | Type: Permanent This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced capital actuary to join a reputable London market insurer. The role will see you deliver capital modelling objectives for the group including regulatory capital assessments, presenting to and communicating with senior stakeholders to improve business decisions. The strategic nature of the role will offer access to all areas of the business and interaction with several departments.

We are currently working on numerous Actuarial opportunities for top organisations across the following sectors; Lloyd’s Market, General Insurance, Broker, Strategy Consulting, Reinsurance and Life Insurance. Please contact us for more information on available positions. Locations with active vacancies UK: London, Kent, Surrey, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburg, Birmingham, Bromley, Dublin. International: Thailand. Indonesia. Malaysia. Vietnam. Australia. Singapore

www.hewittstone.com

Email: info@hewittstone.com

Phone: 0203 773 2321

There’s never been a more exciting time to join The Medical Protection Society (MPS). We’re a mutual organisation that serves more than 300,000 members in the UK and overseas. We are not an insurance company, but we offer discretionary indemnity to our members, we protect them against situations that can arise during professional practice, such as clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries. The protection we provide comes in the form of expert advice, education, risk management and legal assistance. We are recruiting for a Reserving Actuary to work with our Company Actuary as part of our plan to develop an autonomous in house actuarial function. The purpose of this role is to act as a senior member of the MPS Actuarial team responsible for reserving. The job holder will be responsible for the day to day management of MPS reserving projects. Working with other members of the actuarial team, the job holder will deliver: • • • • • • •

Regular reviews of reserves required for MPS segments Monitoring of the out-turn of reported claims versus existing models Insights into the drivers of the reserve movements Input into subscription setting and financial modelling as required Quality assurance of actuarial team work Stakeholder management Technical excellence

The role will involve both devising and implementing actuarial models and regular contact with internal and external stakeholders, both experts and lay-people. Applicants must be a qualified actuary (FIA or equivalent), have a numerical degree or equivalent experience and a strong actuarial background. We would like to see applications from candidates who specialise in reserving, ideally from a GI/non-life area.

www.medicalprotection.org 46

Capital Actuary @ £150,000 Senior S i P Pricing i i A Analyst l t @ £45 £45,000 000 Senior Manager – Reserving @ £150,000 Senior Manager Capital & Risk @ £150,000 Actuarial Consultant @ £500/day Compliance Advisor @ £52,000 Pricing Analyst – Lloyd’s Market @ £50,000 Non Life Senior Manager – Pricing @£150,000 Manager – Personal Lines Pricing @ £150,000 Capital Actuary – London/Lloyd’s @ £120,000 Senior Compliance Monitoring Manager @ £65,000 Household Actuarial Manager @ £70,000 Actuarial Manager @ £100,000 Commercial Pricing Manager @ £80,000 Motor Optimisation Manager @ £75,000 Motor Risk Analytics Manager @ £70,000 Head of Motor Partners Pricing @ £75,000 Actuarial Internal Auditor @ £45,000 Client Leader @ £150,000 Research Actuary @ £70,000 Actuarial Modeller @ £50,000 Senior Actuarial Internal Auditor @ £70,000 Director of Product Development @ £100,000

INVESTMENT ANALYST (x2) London £30k to £45k + benefits

Reserving Actuary London – Oxford Circus Competitive salary + attractive benefits package

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

A fantastic opportunity for those with some institutional investment experience who wish to launch their career with a highly regarded consultancy. (There’s one position in the DC team, and another in the DB team). In this role you will be involved with: • • • • •

Conducting investment manager research and formulating views on investment managers’ capabilities; Calculating investment performance figures for performance monitoring purposes; Drafting performance monitoring reports, including commentary; Understanding the basis of transfers of assets between investment managers and liaising with managers during the transfer; Drafting letters and reports for review by senior staff.

Suitable candidates will be provided with full actuarial or CFA study support.

Pensions Actuary, London (circa £60k to £75k + bonus) Nearly/ newly qualified actuary required to work with both corporate and trustee clients. In addition to attending client meetings and presenting on technical issues, you will be the key point of contact for clients on a day to day basis, whilst managing a small team of actuarial staff.

Parvinder Matharu Newton Recruitment t +44(0)1689 862937 e parvinder@newtonrecruitment.com w www.newtonrecruitment.com Contact

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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www.theactuaryjobs.com KENT: THE UK’s EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY The University of Kent is one of the UK’s most dynamic universities, demonstrated by our strong European and international presence, our excellent research and the quality of our teaching and student experience. Kent was ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity in REF 2014, is a top 20 university in the Guardian University Guide for the third year running, and has achieved the fifth highest score for overall student satisfaction in the 2015 NSS.

School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS)

Lecturer in Actuarial Science – Part-time (0.6 FTE)

Ref: STM0649

Salary: £32,600 - £46,414 per annum pro rata, dependent on qualifications and experience. A market-related supplement will be paid to a qualified actuary. Applications are invited for the position of Lecturer in Actuarial Science. This post is based at our Canterbury campus and will be available from 1st September 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter. The post is part-time, equivalent to 60% of a full-time post. The successful candidate will join the Centre for Actuarial Science, Risk and Investment (CASRI), which is part of the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS). The Centre is well-established and offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Actuarial Science, all of which are accredited by the UK Actuarial Profession. CASRI has a strong international reputation and, in terms of the range of our courses and the number of actuaries employed, is one of the world’s largest university actuarial departments. The person appointed will contribute to the School’s teaching activities in Actuarial Science and related areas. There is scope for consultancy and enterprise activities, which the School is looking to grow. An excellent package including relocation costs is offered. Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Malcolm Brown, Director of Actuarial Science, Tel: + 44 (0)1227 823508 (direct line) or E-mail: M.S.Brown@kent.ac.uk. Informal visits to the School are welcomed. Women are currently under-represented within CASRI, so we warmly encourage suitably-qualified women to apply. All appointments will be made on merit. Further information is available from our website http://jobs.kent.ac.uk Minicom users please telephone +44 (0)1227 824145. Closing date for completed applications: 24th April 2016 Interviews are expected to be held on 10th May 2016 We actively promote equal opportunity in education and employment and welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

ACTUARIAL ROLES AVAILABLE Since 1861, when Royal London was founded in a London coffee shop, plenty has changed (although the popularity of coffee shops remains undiminished). Royal London is a growing and vibrant business and we are looking to bring in new people across the business to support this growth. The advent of Solvency 2 has also created a need for us to grow the team within the core Actuarial function. We have a wide range of vacancies at all levels from actuarial trainees right through to senior qualified actuaries and are keen to hear from those who want to join the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company. Vacancies are predominantly on a 18 month Fixed Term Contract basis in our head office in Wilmslow, Cheshire with possibilities also available in our Edinburgh office. If you are interested in a career with us please send your CV or query to Actuarial.Recruitment@royallondon.com April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 47 www.theactuary.com

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Appointments N O N - L I F E LIFE R IS K P E N S IO NS I NVESTM ENT HEALTH HEAD OF ACTUARIAL

HEAD OF PRICING ANALYTICS

RESERVING DIRECTOR - NON-LIFE

£ excellent package

up to £120k + generous bonus + benefits

£ excellent package

NON-LIFE MIDLANDS

NON-LIFE LONDON

NON-LIFE LOCATION UPON APPLICATION

STAR2814

STAR3044

STAR2807

Excellent opportunity to take up a wide-ranging Head of Actuarial position within a major insurer. The role encompasses capital modelling, reserving, reinsurance, investment and business strategy, and team management.

Our client is seeking a qualified GI actuary to use their significant non-life pricing experience to lead and oversee the development and delivery of a market-leading pricing infrastructure.

Rapidly expanding actuarial consultancy seeks a qualified non-life actuary to take the lead on its reserving proposition, offering cutting-edge solutions and contributing to the overall strategy of the business.

HEAD OF RISK

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

NON-LIFE PRICING CONSULTANT

£ excellent package

up to £80k + bonus + benefits

NON-LIFE BIRMINGHAM

STAR2983

£ excellent

NON-LIFE MIDLANDS

STAR2972

NON-LIFE SOUTH EAST

STAR3104

We are currently working on an exciting opportunity for a non-life actuarial expert to provide prudential risk oversight for general insurance risk for a market-leading insurer.

This exciting role will appeal to a candidate with their finger on the pulse of changing market dynamics and the opportunities they present for a market leader to develop and improve its pricing capability.

Major insurance group is seeking a partqualified non-life actuary with pricing experience to provide analytical support for pricing plans across the motor business.

LONDON MARKET RESERVING

NON-LIFE RESERVING ACTUARIES

LONDON MARKET PRICING

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

£ excellent package NON-LIFE LONDON

STAR2945

NON-LIFE SOUTH COAST

£ excellent package dependent on experience STAR3050

NON-LIFE LONDON

STAR3091

Global reinsurance firm has an exciting opportunity for a part-qualified or qualified non-life actuary to play a key role in supporting the development of the reserving processes within its Syndicate.

Leading insurer has a number of excellent opportunities for qualified non-life actuaries to provide support for the reserving function, leading the quarterly IFRS reserving process.

We are working on a unique development opportunity for a personable and ambitious candidate. Your knowledge base will include pricing and modelling, with experience of London Market casualty lines.

CAPITAL MODELLING MANAGER

GI CONSULTING IN THE CAPITAL

INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANCY

£ excellent package

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

£ excellent package

NON-LIFE BRISTOL

STAR3106

NON-LIFE LONDON

STAR2988

LIFE NON-LIFE INTERNATIONAL

STAR3116

If you are a talented non-life expert with experience of delivering quality model outputs then this is an excellent opportunity to join the capital modelling team of a major insurance group.

Major professional services firm seeks a part-qualified or qualified GI actuary with capital and reserving experience to lead the provision of cutting-edge advice to a wide range of clients.

Seeking a qualified actuary with demonstrable people-management skills to be responsible for the delivery of a range of high-quality insurance consultancy services.

ACTUARIAL MANAGER + ANALYSTS

RISK AND REWARD

LONDON MARKET PRICING

£ depends upon experience

£ excellent package dependent on experience

£ excellent package

NON-LIFE LONDON

NON-LIFE LONDON

NON-LIFE SOUTH EAST

STAR3126/3127

Innovative insurance company is seeking to hire both an actuarial manager and a number of analysts to work across Motor and Home portfolios. Strong analysts from other actuarial disciplines will be considered.

STAR3090

STAR3109

A superb opportunity for a qualified actuary with expertise in non-life risk. This role will reward a technically astute actuary with both a deep technical skill set as well as developed interpersonal skills.

Leading London Market reinsurer has an exciting opportunity for a qualified non-life actuary with exceptional communication skills to take the lead on the delivery of pricing solutions.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ACTUARY

GI PRICING ACTUARY - PARIS

PRICING ACTUARY - REINSURANCE

€ excellent package

€ excellent

STARVACANCIES NON-LIFE DUBLIN

STAR3101

International insurer seeks a qualified non-life actuary to deliver clear business insight into the underwriting performance of a range of Business Units.

48

BMD excellent package STAR3115

Leading global insurer seeks a non-life pricing expert with a speciality in governance. The successful candidate will review pricing of large accounts, developing trend and change monitoring processes.

NON-LIFE BERMUDA

STAR3097

Our client is seeking a non-life pricing actuary with reinsurance pricing experience. You will be responsible for maintaining and enhancing the pricing models for all lines of business including Property, Casualty and Specialty.

Antony Buxton FIA

Louis Manson

Irene Paterson FFA

Joanne O’Connor

MANAGING DIRECTOR +44 7766 414 560 antony.buxton@staractuarial.com

MANAGING DIRECTOR +44 7595 023 983 louis.manson@staractuarial.com

PARTNER +44 7545 424 206 irene.paterson@staractuarial.com

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR +44 7739 345 946 joanne.oconnor@staractuarial.com

Ivan Clarke

Lance Randles MBA

Paul Cook

Peter Baker

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR +44 7889 007 861 lance.randles@staractuarial.com

A ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + +44 7740 285 139 paul.cook@staractuarial.com

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR +44 7860 602 586 peter.baker@staractuarial.com

DIRECTOR - INSURANCE SEARCH THE ACTUARY+44 • April 2016 7870 181 444 www.theactuary.com ivan.clarke@staractuarial.com

ACT Rec Apr16.indd 48

NON-LIFE PARIS

24/03/2016 15:23


www.theactuaryjobs.com

ACTUARIAL POST RECRUITER OF THE YEAR 2012 . 2013 . 2014 . 2015 EXCLUSIVE - FINANCIAL REPORTING

CORPORATE ACTUARIAL DIRECTOR

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

£ excellent package

£ excellent package

£ excellent package

STAR3083

LIFE LONDON

STAR3008

LIFE LONDON

STAR2912

Develop your career in a role where you will be involved in all aspects of financial reporting, working closely with multiple stakeholders across the business.

We are currently working on an exciting opportunity for a qualified life actuary to join a leading reinsurer where you will make an impact within its longevity business, taking responsibility for financial reporting.

Leading reinsurer has an exciting opportunity for a qualified life actuary to lead and deliver product innovation for the European business unit across both longevity and protection.

SHAPE THE FUTURE

THE PATH OF LIFE

PLANNING AND FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS

£ depends upon experience

£ excellent + bonus + benefits LIFE NON-LIFE LONDON

STAR3130

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

LIFE LONDON

STAR3034

LIFE SOUTH COAST

STAR3095

A unique opportunity for an insurance actuary with good knowledge of Solvency II and a passion to influence regulation affecting the capital management of the Insurance industry.

Our client is seeking a high-calibre life actuary to join its growing team in London. The successful candidate will have strong stakeholder management skills and an excellent appreciation of risk within a Solvency II context.

Leading financial services company has an exciting opportunity for a qualified actuary to provide technical expertise and advice in the specialist actuarial area of Planning & Financial Solutions.

SYSTEMS ACTUARY - ASSET MODELLING

STRATEGY & VALUE MANAGEMENT

NATIONWIDE LIFE CONSULTANCY

£ excellent package

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

LIFE LONDON

STAR2979

LIFE BRISTOL

£ excellent + benefits STAR2982

LIFE PENSIONS LONDON

STAR2985

Our client is seeking a qualified life actuary to take ownership of the development, testing and documentation of the asset modelling within its firm. Knowledge of Moses / MoNet / Prophet software is desirable.

Leading insurance group is seeking a partqualified or qualified life actuary to support analysis of commercial aspects of change, oversight of projects, and assessment of regulatory impacts on its business.

Leading professional services firm has a number of exciting opportunities across the UK for part-qualified actuaries to join its specialist teams providing expert actuarial advice to a wide range of life and pensions clients.

CAPITAL ACTUARY

PRICING ACTUARY - LIFE/PENSIONS

SPECIALIST PENSIONS CONSULTING

up to £75k + bonus + benefits

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

£ depends upon experience

LIFE PENSIONS LONDON

STAR2969

LIFE PENSIONS LONDON

STAR3056

PENSIONS LONDON

STAR3084

Our client is seeking an ambitious partqualified or qualified capital actuary to join its high-performing team. This is an excellent opportunity to take up a role that opens doors to capital markets and the world of transactions.

Our client is seeking a qualified actuary with life or pensions experience to join its new business team as a pricing actuary. The succesful candidate will be a self-starter with strong people management skills.

We are currently working on a number of exciting opportunities for qualified pensions actuaries to get involved in M&A work and the wider HR implications of these deals.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

ALM CONSULTANCY

SENIOR INVESTMENT CONSULTANT

£ excellent package

£ excellent + bonus + benefits

£ very competitive package

PENSIONS LONDON

STAR3123

Entrepreneurial firm seeks a qualified pensions actuary with exceptional technical skills plus commercial acumen to take up a hands-on research and delivery role.

INVESTMENT LIFE LONDON

STAR3054

Leading global consultancy seeks a qualified actuary or CFA with asset side experience in capital markets, trading, hedging, ALM, LDI, risk or capital management to join its cuttingedge team.

FOR MORE VACANCIES VISIT

INVESTMENT LONDON

STAR3063

Research-led consultancy seeks a qualified investment consultant or pensions actuary, with a strong desire to move to investment, to join its growing team.

www.staractuarial.com

REINSURANCE PRICING & REPORTING

STOCHASTIC MODELLING LEAD - PARIS

PRICING & STRUCTURING ACTUARY

BMD excellent package

€ excellent + bonus + benefits

BMD excellent package

LIFE BERMUDA

STAR2925

Global reinsurer seeks a part-qualified or qualified life actuary to join its growing organisation where you will support the pricing, valuation and profitability analysis of annuity reinsurance transactions.

ACT Rec Apr16.indd 49

LIFE PARIS

Star Actuarial Futures Ltd is an employment agency and employment business

LIFE NORTH

STAR3103

Global composite insurer seeks a qualified life actuary to lead its Stochastic Modelling team. With strong leadership skills and MoSes experience, you will have a good command of the French language.

LIFE BERMUDA

STAR3024

Leading international reinsurance firm has a fantastic opportunity for a qualified life actuary to take the lead in the structuring and pricing of reinsurance deals, with a particular focus on bulk annuity and longevity swap transactions.

Jo Frankham

JJan Sparks FIA

Adam Goodwin

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR +44 7950 419 115 jo.frankham@staractuarial.com

A ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR + +44 7477 757 151 jjan.sparks@staractuarial.com

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR +44 7584 357 590 adam.goodwin@staractuarial.com

Clare Roberts

Carolina Emmanuel

Diane Lockley

SENIOR CONSULTANT +44 7714 490 922 clare.roberts@staractuarial.com

SENIOR CONSULTANT +44 7495 564 958 carolina.emmanuel@staractuarial.com

S SENIOR CONSULTANT +44 7492 060 219 + ddiane.lockley@staractuarial.com

April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 49 www.theactuary.com

24/03/2016 15:23


Appointments

Evolution of the Contract Market

24,000 GLOBAL CANDIDATES

41 OJ ACTUARIAL CONSULTANTS

420 LIVE ACTUARIAL VACANCIES

77,000 GLOBAL NETWORK

50

Benjamin Moses, Associate Director UK Actuarial and European Contract at Oliver James Associates, discusses the rise in demand for contractors across the GI/ Life markets and the breadth of opportunities available. >P[O JVTWSPHUJL OPNO VU [OL HNLUKH HUK Ä YTZ Z[YP]PUN [V TLL[ UL^ YLN\SH[VY` Z[HUKHYKZ [OL KLTHUK MVY JVU[YHJ[ ^VYRLYZ ^P[OPU -PUHUJPHS HUK 7YVMLZZPVUHS :LY]PJLZ OHZ ZVHYLK V]LY [OL SHZ[ ML^ `LHYZ 0UJYLHZPUNS` I\ZPULZZLZ OH]L YLSPLK VU PUKLWLUKLU[ JVU[YHJ[VYZ HZ HU HS[LYUH[P]L [V JVUZ\S[HUJPLZ HUK [OPZ ^H` VM VWLYH[PUN PZ OLYL [V Z[H` (Z SLNPZSH[PVU JVU[PU\HSS` KL]LSVWZ HUK PUZ\YHUJL WYVK\J[Z L]VS]L [V ZLY]L H JOHUNPUN THYRL[ JVU[YHJ[VYZ HYL LZZLU[PHS PU HSSV^PUN Ä YTZ [V VWLYH[L H[ [OL MVYLMYVU[ VM [OL THYRL[ HSVUN ^P[O RLLWPUN VU [VW VM JYP[PJHS KLHKSPULZ 0[ PZ ^LSS RUV^U [OH[ [OL 3VUKVU .LULYHS 0UZ\YHUJL THYRL[ OHZ HS^H`Z ILLU HU PUJYLKPIS` JVUZPZ[LU[ THYRL[ MVY JVU[YHJ[VYZ 6]LY [OL SHZ[ TVU[OZ ^L OH]L ^P[ULZZLK H ZOHYW PUJYLHZL PU [OL U\TILY VM .0 YVSLZ HWWLHYPUN PU YLNPVUHS WHY[Z VM [OL <2 HZ TVYL JVTWHUPLZ HYL YLHSPZPUN [OL ]HS\L VM JVU[YHJ[VYZ V]LY [YHKP[PVUHS JVUZ\S[HUJ` \ZL 0[ PZ [OV\NO[ [OH[ [OL THQVYP[` VM .0 YVSLZ HYL :VS]LUJ` 00 KYP]LU OV^L]LY [OPZ PZ UV[ [OL JHZL .0 PUZ\YLYZ \ZL JVU[YHJ[VYZ MVY T\S[PWSL WYVQLJ[ YVSLZ PUJS\KPUN 7YPJPUN 7YVK\J[ +L]LSVWTLU[ *HWP[HS 4HUHNLTLU[ 9LZLY]PUN HUK TVYL ;OL º+H[H ,]VS\[PVU» PZ ZLLPUN THU` PUZ\YLYZ UV^ [\YUPUN [V UL^ [LJOUVSVNPLZ HUK ZVM[^HYL [OH[ ^PSS HPT [V OLSW TH_PTPZL WYVÄ [Z HUK [HYNL[ THYRL[PUN [V JVUZ\TLYZ ;OPZ PZ WYLZLU[PUN H O\NL VWWVY[\UP[` [V [OVZL ^P[O [OL YLX\PYLK RUV^SLKNL HUK ZRPSS ZL[Z [V NL[ PU]VS]LK PU ZVTL L_JP[PUN WYVQLJ[Z V]LY [OL JVTPUN `LHYZ

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THE ACTUARY • April 2016

www.theactuary.com Oliver James Associates -PUHUJPHS 7YVMLZZPVUHS :LY]PJL :WLJPHSPZ[Z

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Benjamin Moses - Contract ILUQHTPU TVZLZ'VQHZZVJPH[LZ JVT Richard Howard - Life YPJOHYK OV^HYK'VQHZZVJPH[LZ JVT Paul Francis - GI WH\S MYHUJPZ'VQHZZVJPH[LZ JVT

CURRENT VACANCIES 4VYL SH[LZ[ ]HJHUJPLZ H[

www.ojassociates.com Reserving – Senior Actuary London ‰ )VU\Z )LULÄ [Z

Senior Risk Manager – Emerging Risks London ‰ )VU\Z )LULÄ [Z

Market Risk Actuary England £800 - £1000/ day

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Investment Risk Consultant Surrey £60,000 - £65,000

Credit Risk Actuary London £70,000 - £90,000 + Excellent Package

Actuarial MoSes Developer South East England £550 - £750/ day

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PUMV'VQHZZVJPH[LZ JVT

-YVT V\Y Vɉ JLZ PU 3VUKVU 4HUJOLZ[LY Zurich, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, New York and Singapore we cover the UK, Ireland, Continental ,\YVWL <:( HUK (ZPH 7HJPÄ J YLNPVUZ

^^^ VQHZZVJPH[LZ JVT '61(ZZVJPH[LZ VSP]LY QHTLZ HZZVJPH[LZ April 2016 • THE ACTUARY 51 www.theactuary.com Oliver James Associates -PUHUJPHS 7YVMLZZPVUHS :LY]PJL :WLJPHSPZ[Z

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Appointments www.the-arc.co.uk

The Actuarial Recruitment Company

A fresh approach

Pricing Actuary London

General Insurance To £85K

Capital Analyst London

General Insurance Circa £60K

A newly qualified actuary is needed for this pricing focused role in an established London Market business. Covering a wide range of business lines, the successful candidate will support portfolio and transactional pricing, development of new pricing models, provide training for underwriters, provide MI, maintain pricing documentation as well as mentor junior members of the team. Pricing experience from a London Market background desirable. Ref: ARC26244

A part qualified actuary with ideally Igloo experience is needed to support capital modelling for an international insurance and reinsurance business. The role will involve development and maintenance of elements of the internal model, working with reserving and pricing actuaries to improve the model, liaison with the business for model parameterisation, assisting with regulatory submissions and support for model validation. Capital experience from a London market or other equivalent environment desirable. Ref: ARC26253

ERM Actuary London

Management Consultancy London

General Insurance Circa £90K

A major international specialist insurer is looking for a nearly qualified or qualified actuary to work closely with the Group CRO and specialise in technical/actuarial risk management within the business. The role will be involved in areas such as exposure analysis, model validation, stress testing, risk and control monitoring and reporting. The client is looking for a candidate with very strong communication skills as there will be extensive interaction with senior management. Ref: ARC26303

General Insurance £Competitive

Working in a multidisciplinary team this role will provide management consultancy services to a range of financial services businesses. The successful candidate will be a qualified actuary with a proven track record of problem solving and in making a positive difference within their previous employers. Our client is looking for a dynamic individual from a consulting or company background ideally who has previous exposure to risk management work. The role provides a great opportunity to broaden experience into wider fields. Ref: ARC26283

Call us anytime including evenings and weekends on 020 7717 9705 or email enquiries@the-arc.co.uk Andy Clark BSc FIA Roger Massey BSc MBA FIA

0781 333 7891 0781 398 9016

andy@the-arc.co.uk roger@the-arc.co.uk The Actuarial Recruitment Company is an employment agency

52

THE ACTUARY • April 2016 www.theactuary.com

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