Published in London by the Staple Inn Actuarial Society

The
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Actuary
THE MAGAZINE FOR THE ACTUARIAL PROFESSION

August 2011

Heart of the matter

Examining the real risk factors of heart disease

Plus: Investment: Regulatory drivers Technology: BlackBerry vs iPhone

Inside: Paul Sweeting Q&A Dilnot review Predictive underwriting Fiduciary management Jobs

Adjustment to new mArkets cAn be tAken A lit tle too fAr.

www.hannoverlifere.com

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See page 5 for the editorial team Incisive Financial Publishing 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG T +44 (0)20 7316 9000 Publisher/display sales Philip Harding T +44 (0)20 7316 9393 E philip.harding@incisivemedia.com Managing editor Sharon Maguire T +44 (0)20 7316 9016 E sharon.maguire@incisivemedia.com Recruitment sales manager Melanie Jacob T +44 (0)20 7316 9618 E melanie.jacob@incisivemedia.com Designer Nicky Brown Senior sub-editor Sam Robson Production manager Matt Parle T +44 (0)20 7316 9766 E matt.parle@incisivemedia.com Group editor-in-chief Jonathan Swift Group publishing director Mark Burton Print and distribution Polestar Colchester, Essex Subscriptions For subscriptions from outside the actuarial profession: UK, Eire and Europe: 50 a year/5 a copy. For the rest of the world: 75 a year/7.50 a copy. Please contact: Alison Jiggins The Actuarial Profession, Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 2QT T +44 (0)20 7632 2100 E alison.jiggins@actuaries.org.uk Students on actuarial science courses at universities may join the Staple Inn Actuarial Society for 6 a year. They will receive The Actuary as part of their membership. Apply to: Membership Department, The Actuarial Profession, Maclaurin House, 18 Dublin Street, Edinburgh EH1 3PP. T +44 (0)131 240 1325 E membership@actuaries.org.uk Changes of address should be made known to the membership department as above. For delivery queries please contact: Manisha Khanduri E manisha.khanduri@incisivemedia.com Internet The Actuary website: www.TheActuary.com SIAS website: www.sias.org.uk Actuarial Profession website: www.actuaries.org.uk

Editorial
August 2011

Striding forwards
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries new Council took ofce with effect from 28 June and in mid-July I attended my rst meeting. The agenda was designed in a manner that encouraged members to get to know one another better and agree what we needed to achieve. We also discussed our priorities for the year, which was extremely useful for me as a new addition to the team. I feel proud to represent my profession in this way and thank those of you who have written in with your kind words of congratulations. Our themes for August are investment and life insurance. Peter Gatenby, senior actuarial partner at Mazars, stands on his soapbox to comment upon the Dilnot report on long-term care proposals for the UK. The report has created signicant media interest and promises to be well received by the public. Our interview of the month is with Paul Sweeting, fellow member of Council and European head of J.P. Morgan Asset Managements Strategic Investment Advisory Group. As if having a full-time industry role, volunteering for the profession and having a family is childs play, Paul also holds a part-time post as professor of actuarial science at the University of Kent. In upcoming events, SIAS urges you to keep your calendars free on the evening of 1 November for its annual general meeting followed by the Jubilee Lecture delivered by Roger Bootle, an honorary fellow and leading economist. The Actuary had previously published an interview with Roger in November 2009 (www.TheActuary.com/870189) and in this lecture Roger will discuss the changes needed to make the nancial system resilient to a repeat of the nancial crisis. The process for appointing The Actuarys next editor is under way and we plan to make an announcement on these pages soon. Watch this space! Finally, the team has been working feverishly to launch our new website at www.TheActuary.com. We hope you approve of the results.

Circulation 20 888 ( July 2009 to June 2010)

Marjorie Ngwenya Editor editor@the-actuary.org.uk

www.TheActuary.com

August 2011

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Editorial advisory panel Peter Tompkins (chairman), John Batting, Margaret de Valois, Matthew Edwards, Martin Lunnon, Richard Purcell, Andrew Smith, Chris Sutton, Sherdin Omar Editor Marjorie Ngwenya E editor@the-actuary.org.uk T +44 (0)7794 031 225 Features editor Tracey Pritchard Lane Clark & Peacock LLP, E features@the-actuary.org.uk T +44 (0)20 7432 3071 Deputy features editors Adam Jorna Sonal Shah E features@the-actuary.org.uk Profession news editor Alison Jiggins E alison.jiggins@actuaries.org.uk T +44 (0)20 7632 2172 Industry news editor Terren Friend E news@the-actuary.org.uk People/society news editor Kelvin Chamunorwa Towers Watson E social@the-actuary.org.uk T +44 (0)7502 107 322 Student page editor Matthew Welsh E studentpage@the-actuary.org.uk Arts page editor Richard Elliott Scottish Life E arts@the-actuary.org.uk T +44 (0)7814 509 081 Puzzles editor Tom Bratcher Towers Watson E puzzles@the-actuary.org.uk Published by the Staple Inn Actuarial Society. The editor, The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and Staple Inn Actuarial Society 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, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, 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. Important information for contributors to The Actuary By submitting content for publication you confirm that: (a) You (and/or other named contributors) are the sole author(s) of the content submitted; (b) The content you submit is original and has not previously been published (unless you specifically advise us to the contrary); (c) You havent previously licensed the use of the content you submit; (d) So far as you are aware, the content submitted will not infringe any third-party rights, be defamatory or in any way illegal. SIAS August 2011 All rights reserved ISSN 0960-457X

Contents
August 2011

p28

Life insurance: Heart of the matter

Garth Lane looks at heart disease and the use of statins to treat high levels of cholesterol

News
12 16 18 20 44 Profession news Industry news People/society news SIAS events Appointments and moves

Comment
3 Editorial
Marjorie Ngwenya is striding forward

6 Letters
In which actuaries discuss longevity risks and endowment risks

8 Presidents comment
Jane Curtis seeks the views and support of members to achieve the next steps forward

Features
22

10 Soapbox
The Dilnot recommendations are an opportunity not to be missed, says Peter Gatenby

Investment: Driving tests

Umar Ilyas steers a course through the regulatory drivers in areas of institutional investment

43 Book review
Peter Tompkins gets to grips with The Case for Working with your Hands by Matthew Crawford

24

Investment: Aiming for a good outcome

Christine Berry asks where the responsibilities lie within pensions fiduciaries

Regulars
37 Technology
Is the BlackBerry or iPhone best for business?

26

Pensions: The tipping point

Matthew Furniss finds that high inflation isnt necessarily a bad thing for pension schemes

39 Arts
Richard Elliott cuts through the hyperbole to find the best of this years Edinburgh Festival

30

Q&A: Paul Sweeting

Marjorie Ngwenya talks to Paul Sweeting about balancing volunteer work, authorship, academic obligations and time with his family

40 Puzzles
Win a 50 Amazon voucher in our prize puzzle

32

Life insurance: A new dawn

Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy reflects on the strategic shifts in Indias life insurance industry

42 Student page
Matthew Welsh says it is time to optimise your high-quality free time

34

Life insurance: Life in the fast lane

Paul Hately looks at life insurances aim to balance customer needs for convenience and low prices

43 Actuary of the future

Rachel Gow of Aviva Ireland

36

Conference preview: Life conference

Jason Hurley introduces this years Life conference

WRITER OF THE MONTH

Garth Lane is the editorial teams choice for August for his article on statins, and receives a 50 book token courtesy of:

MORE CONTENT ONLINE

Additional features content can be found at www.TheActuary.com

www.TheActuary.com

August 2011

Letters

Your view

Letters to the editor

In which actuaries discuss longevity risks and endowment risks

Letter of the month

Restriction risks: Response to Niki Cleal, July 2011
Niki Cleals article quite rightly argues that the removal of compulsory annuitisation increases flexibility but potentially adds risk for individuals investment and longevity. The longevity risk has two components general improvements in health status leading to increased life expectancy and also the specific risk of an individual living significantly longer than the average. I would also argue that the quality of financial planning and the availability of suitable longevity hedges currently are not adequate for this new era of flexible decumulation. It appears that, too often, financial planning in the decumulation phase seeks to maximise the value of the remaining assets rather than focus on optimising the income stream that best matches the expected monetary value of the individuals preferred lifestyle. This latter approach is difficult to manage where you are effectively decumulating over an unknown time horizon. An important step here is to reduce the longevity risk which can be achieved expensively through the purchase of a traditional annuity but is better delivered by the use of a cheaper advanced life deferred annuity (ALDA). Published works in this area, including Milevsky and Gong & Webb, have demonstrated that much of the longevity risk for individuals can be mitigated by using ALDAs. Importantly, by appropriate use of these types of products it allows the individual to decumulate their assets over a known time period, with the ALDA providing stop loss protection in the event of the individual living longer than expected. This approach is gaining in acceptance in the US where the volume of maturing DC (401k) plans is growing. As an industry we need to improve the quality of advice and products in this important area now to avoid a generation of retirees making poor financial decisions with little or no opportunity to recover subsequently. Mike Tyler
13 July 2011

Forward features in The Actuary

The Actuarys team welcomes contributions from members or contacts in and around the profession. Below is the schedule of themes for the next few months along with the deadline for submission. If you would like to contribute, please contact Tracey Brown at features@the-actuary.org.uk with suggestions. For a full list of 2011 issue themes, visit www.TheActuary.com/875190

October 2011
(Published 29 September, editorial deadline 12 August, advertising deadline 13 September) Careers: graduate Risk management Mortality/longevity

November 2011
(Published 27 October, editorial deadline 16 September, advertising deadline 11 October) Solvency II Pensions Careers: new fields

December 2011
(Published 24 November, editorial deadline 14 October, advertising deadline 8 November) General insurance ERM Investment

The writer of the letter of the month receives a 25 Amazon voucher

Exposure to risk
I refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Review for the year to 2011. This report repeats an elementary statistical error in its 2010 report it says that in 2010 the number of cases that had to be referred to an ombudsman increased over the 2009 year by 24%. It failed to say, however, that exposed-to-risk increased from 113,949 to 166,321, which is far more than 24%. The result is that the proportion that required an ombudsman decision actually reduced. The proportion for the year to 2010 was 6.5%, whereas FOS regarded a proportion of about 8% as normal. This is not evidence of a ...shift towards more entrenched

disputes with businesses increasingly taking a hard-fought and legalistic approach, and consumers becoming more demanding and less willing to concede. The proportion of cases referred to an ombudsman is indeed higher in the year to 2011, at 10.6%. However, the average for the two years: to 2010 and to 2011 is 8.6%, which is around the 8% considered normal. How can FOS be trusted to make decisions with regard to endowment mortgage risks, and FSA Treating Customers Fairly, Principles for Businesses, Principle 6 when it does not appear to be allowing for exposed-to-risk?

YOUR LETTERS
More letters are available online at www.TheActuary.com/category/ comment/letters The editorial team welcomes readers letters but reserves the right to edit them for publication. Please e-mail actuaryletters@incisivemedia.com. The deadline for receiving letters for the September issue is 15 August 2011.

Anthony Pepper
5 July 2011

August 2011

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Presidents comment

Jane Curtis

Jane Curtis outlines the next steps forward and seeks the views and support of members to achieve these aims

Strategic operations
One of the more immediate consequences of becoming president is the increase in emails owing into my inbox. Although the tide can at times appear overwhelming, it is more than a pleasure to communicate with members. I like to think the Professions membership is still small enough for individual views to count and for each one of you to make a difference to how the Profession operates. Take, for example, the recent consultation exercise on the strategic review. As I mentioned in last months article, I was hugely encouraged that over 1,200 of you responded to our survey. To all who contributed I want to thank you and recommend you continue with this positive participation. I think everyone can gain from increased involvement and voluntary work within our organisation. This sentiment is not new. One of my predecessors, Charles Wood, expressed a similar view over 50 years ago when he said: Pride in the profession grows in proportion to the service which is rendered. We have much to be proud of but I am sure there is more that each of us could be doing. One of the core strands in the new strategy is education a personal passion of mine and our objective here is to provide high-quality qualications for our students and a lifelong education for our members. Pleasingly, nearly 84% of those responding to our consultation survey were satised or very satised with this objective. There was also positive support for the core qualication model described below. actuarial skills, less time and cost to get to recognised level.

Level 2: Qualification level actuary/fellow

n Generic qualication no UK-specic material n The qualication should be in line with IAA and Groupe Consultatif requirements for being fully qualied n Obtain annual update on professionalism matters and anything else of relevance n Work-based experience requirements to continue to apply broadly as present.

Level 3: Practicing/specialist fellow

n Entry through exams or transitional experience applications or through senior actuary endorsement under an approved regulation through rms process n In order to act as advisor on one of the ve specic areas, the individual has to be qualied in the relevant speciality. Advisor can mean in-house within employer and external consultant n Five specialisms and one general advisor specialism n Any reserved role would be treated as an extra specialism for the purposes of CPD n Meet minimum CPD requirements, which should be no more onerous than as present. You have told us that we need to elaborate the details on these roles before giving us your wholehearted support prior to moving forward on this basis. We are committed to further consultation and listening to what you have to say. In the meantime, we would appreciate feedback on areas such as: n How do these roles t in to the general career paths of actuaries and students? n How do these roles meet the needs of our members globally?

us how much they have got back from their work helping with committees

Many volunteers tell

Level 1: Technician
n Passed technical exams not required to do higher level, practical exams or softer skills. Professionalism required n Meet demand for lower cost, technical skills for more number-crunching type roles n Attractive to those interested in technical

n What is the appropriate mix of examinations, work-based experience and CPD for each level? n Which specialisms should be included? n What is the best name for each level and how should they be described? n What should be the transitional arrangements for existing members? At the next stage of the consultation, we are asking for volunteers from the Council to join a Strategy Implementation Group, which will develop the three-tier model as a working premise. They will ask for and respond to the views of members, employers and other stakeholders. We hope to have this stage of the process completed by the end of 2011 so that the Council can press ahead with making a full decision on changes by the middle of 2012. This time of year always sees a batch of newly qualied actuaries, many of whom I hope could donate a voluntary hour or two a week from their freed-up time to the Profession. Many volunteers tell us how much they have got back from their work helping with committees, projects, examinations and offering career support. This has proved to be of tangible benet to their employers, also. By way of a small thank you to many of those who have already contributed back to the profession, we are organising a number of garden parties, the rst of which I will be looking forward to hosting this month. In future columns I hope to tell you about more opportunities to get involved and the exciting plans we have for conferences, events and research. More details of the strategy and how to volunteer can be found at www.actuaries.org.uk. If you want to nd out more about getting involved please email volunteering@actuaries.org.uk

August 2011

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Soapbox

Peter Gatenby

The Dilnot report will shift more of the burden of coping with old age onto the individual and away from the taxpayer, says Peter Gatenby

Long-term solution
On 4 July, Andrew Dilnot and his fellow commissioners published their report on the funding of long-term care in the UK. The report covers a number of areas and makes various recommendations, the two most important of which are an increase in the means test limit to 100,000 and a cap on the amount that people will have to pay for care out of their own pockets. The main recommendation of the Commission is that a public/private partnership is put into place in which people who need care will fund the rst 35,000 of care themselves, after which time the State will pick up the rest of their long-term care costs. If government decides to accept and implement such a cap then it will lead to the development of a whole host of nancial services products to help people fund the capped amount. Products to help people fund for the cap will range from savings and investment vehicles, equity release, disability pension annuities and long-term care insurance either on a standalone basis or added to other relevant products, such as life insurance, income protection and critical illness. As actuaries, we will be called on to assist in the development and pricing of a number of these products. Long-term care insurance products were rst developed and sold in the UK during the 1990s but they were expensive as they were designed to cover all of the care costs from the point that care was needed, an open-ended liability. Consequently, only the wealthy or reasonably well off could afford them. for long-term care. It is possible to consider three high-level scenarios for people as they age in retirement: 1. They never have a need for long-term care and therefore a level income in real terms in retirement should satisfy their needs. 2. A number of years after retirement they start to experience problems with the normal activities of daily life, perhaps as a result of arthritis, breathing problems, heart problems and so on, and may therefore have a need for a gradually increasing income in real terms in order to be able to pay for help around the house. 3. A catastrophic event such as a stroke or heart attack or a severe senile dementia such as Alzheimers or other major illness occurs, and there is sudden need for a large amount of expensive care either at home or in a nursing home leading to a dramatic increase in monthly outgoings. Our current pension rules allow for point 1, but do not allow for points 2 or 3, and it has always seemed logical to me that our pension annuities should be constructed so as to allow for an increase in payments on a denable long-term care event. Dilnot suggests that such annuities should be allowed and that pension rules should be changed accordingly. If the government does decide to implement the Dilnot recommendations then the uncertainty that has existed in the past will be removed, which means that many more people will be likely to consider using insurance, pensions and other nancial services products to fund their long-term care costs. To fail to take this opportunity to provide a fairer system for all will be a failure by the government to tackle what is a worrying and nancially destructive issue for a growing number of people.
Peter Gatenby is the senior actuarial partner and leads the actuarial practice at Mazars LLP

decide to implement the Dilnot recommendations then the uncertainty that has existed in the past will be removed

If the government does

As well as the cost of long-term care insurance in the 1990s, there was an added issue in the minds of the public of uncertainty in government thinking on long-term care. By capping the amount that an individual is liable to pay to 35,000, insurance products can therefore be developed and sold to cover the capped amount. Consequently, the cost of the insurance will be much less than the products sold in the 1990s, somewhere between one third and one quarter of the cost. This would make long-term care insurance affordable to many more people and would really open up a potentially large market. The knock-on effect would be that the larger life and health insurers would be likely to develop products rather than a few small niche players as in the 1990s. As well as insurance, the report also mentions the concept of the disability pension annuity. It has long been a view of mine that the pension is a natural home

10

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Are you making

the most of your career?
Talk to us: were looking for the brightest and best talent
The countdown to Solvency II is well under way. We are already working with clients to provide leading-edge solutions that will enable them to flourish in the new environment and focusing on what is needed once Solvency II becomes reality. If you are looking for your next move in the insurance/reinsurance industry, are brimming with ideas and would like to learn more about our strategy, why not join us for a career coaching discussion with business leaders Martin Pike (EMEA), Chris Fordham (UK Life) and Karl Murphy (UK P&C). Interested? You can find out more at towerswatson.com/RCScareersUK

Benefits Risk and Financial Services Talent and Rewards towerswatson.com

Copyright 2011 Towers Watson. All rights reserved. TW-EU-2011-21190. June 2011. Towers Watson is represented in the UK by Towers Watson Limited, Towers Watson UK Limited and Towers Watson Capital Markets Limited. Towers Watson Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

News

Profession

Profession backs more radical reform of state pension

Response to DWP consultation favours single-tier flat rate pension, subject to a successful transition, and cautions against single formula approach to state pension age
In its recent response to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation, A state pension for the 21st century, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries has said that it believes that the public interest could be best served by the more radical reform to a single-tier at rate pension set out in option 2 of the DWPs paper. The professional body argues that in future the state pension age should be subject to regular multidisciplinary reviews rather than having automatic changes based on a single formula on life expectancy. Commenting on the Institute and Facultys response, Ronnie Bowie, immediate past president, said: We have argued for some time that a state pension scheme that is fair, simple and transparent should make it easier for people to make informed decisions about their nancial future. We therefore support in principle the governments proposed option for more radical reform to a single-tier at-rate state pension, although there are many points of detail on how the transition would be delivered that still need to be worked out. The ending of contracting out is likely to speed up the reduction in schemes in the private sector offering future dened benet accrual. However, it can be argued that it is in the general public interest to have to nd solutions to help manage the ending of contracting out for a minority rather than let this be a barrier to single-tier reform that should benet the majority. There are signicant problems with trying to adopt a single formula approach to deciding on future increases in state pension age. Firstly, it will not be at all straightforward to decide on what it should be. Secondly, no single formula is likely to be robust enough to give the required stability. And thirdly, life expectancy should not be the only consideration in setting state pension age. We suggest that the key criterion for establishing the best mechanism in this area should be whether it provides stability and sufcient warning, is evidence based and ensures that ultimate accountability is with ministers and Parliament. We outline how a statutory review process would be well placed to t these requirements.

Subscription payments Sessional research

The minutes of Council meeting are now available on the Professions website at http://tinyurl.com/5wa4z7t. Council has approved changes to regulation 24 (http://tinyurl.com/6jcsvnz). Previously, members (except students) were given six months to pay their subscriptions before being defaulted. All members will now need to pay by 31 December each year as Council considers three months as sufcient time in which to make annual subscriptions payments.

meetings your opinions sought

The group of volunteers and staff that organises sessional research meetings is looking at how the Profession can strengthen the offering at its traditional discussion meeting and, where appropriate, consider some new formats for the session beginning in September. Please complete the short online survey (http://tinyurl.com/5w4f5ok) and inuence the discussions.

No increase in subscriptions and practising certificate fees

Following agreement by Council, there will be no increase in subscription rates or practising certicate fees for 2011. In effect this means an overall reduction in fees when the RPI increase normally added is taken into account. All subscription fees will therefore remain the same as set out below: Reduced subscription (all categories): 69

Practising certificate fees

Fees for all practising certicates will remain at 860.

Subscription policy and membership operation

Members and students should consult the members section of the Professions website regarding policy and operational procedures. Important information such as how to apply for partial regulation, reduced subscription, surcharges and much more can also be found on the Professions website at www.actuaries.org.uk

Subscription fees for 1 October 2011

Fellows (full regulation): 690 Fellows (partial regulation): 342 Associate (full regulation): 456 Associate (partial regulation): 228 Student (UK/EU): 282 Student (overseas): 192 Afliate: 69

Remittance advice information will be sent to members during August and it is the members responsibility to ensure that the correct subscription is paid. If you previously paid a partial or reduced rate you must ensure that you are still eligible to renew at that rate. Receipts for all payments can be downloaded from the members section of the website. Any enquiries regarding membership matters should be sent to the Membership and Certicates Team, The Actuarial Profession, Maclaurin House, 18 Dublin Street, Edinburgh EH1 3PP, or you can telephone +44 (0)131 240 1325, or alternatively email membership@actuaries.org.uk

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Dilnot Commission report offers opportunities for insurance industry

As Andrew Dilnots report into the funding of care and support is published, the Actuarial Profession has indicated that if the report is implemented, it could present signicant opportunities for the long-term care insurance market. Sue Elliott, a leading health and care actuary and chair of the Actuarial Professions health and care committee, said: In terms of how this might affect the insurance industry, the proposed 35,000 cap for individual costs for care could help re-invigorate the long-term care insurance market. Capping the insurance claims at 35,000 would have the effect of reducing the premiums for the insurance policy to some extent, depending on the period of coverage provided by the insurance. However, it reduces, but does not eliminate, the incentive for the insurance company to look for preventative measures to try to reduce the length of period under claim. Private insurance could take many forms such as immediate-needs annuities (which are currently available), pre-funded insurance of various types, a link to pensions (such as disabled life annuity) and a link to housing wealth using equity release as a funding mechanism. The immediate-needs annuity market currently averages about 95 million of premium per annum. It reached its peak sales in 2004 at just over 110 million based on 1,730 policies, which is signicantly less than the 435,000 people in nursing or residential care where a signicant amount would have been private pay. The Actuarial Profession looks forward to working with the government on the details of the proposals.

CPD determination reports now online

Due to the consistent nature of CPD cases, these have been published on the Professions website and are not to be taken as a reection of their lesser importance under the disciplinary scheme. The following member has faced disciplinary action for failure to record their CPD in accordance with the Professions CPD requirements: Mr. David Thomas Newman; a reprimand; http://tinyurl.com/6h7uxqj The full determination is available at www.actuaries.org.uk

DETERMINATION REPORT FOR ADJUDICATION PANEL

Mr Alan Robert Goodman (the Respondent)
On 5 May 2011 the Adjudication Panel considered a complaint that the Respondent, when instructed by Brodies LLP to give an expert opinion for the trustees of the WTL International Limited Retirement Benets Scheme (Trustees) in connection with a potential claim for damages for breach of contract and negligence in relation to advice given by Mr Eric Edwards (the Scheme Actuary) and/or Scottish Widows plc (SW) as a consequence of which the Trustees made the decision to switch the assets of the scheme from the deferred annuity contract with SW to a managed fund contract also with SW, and when appearing as an expert witness for the Trustees at subsequent proceedings in the Court of Session in conncection with the claim, he: a) relied upon information from a conicted third party and knew that this actuary was conicted b) failed to carry out proper checks on the validity of information received from the conicted party or other sources c) gave contradictory testimony and was required to withdraw parts of his report when giving evidence in court d) took on a role as an actuarial expert without having the necessary expertise e) failed to acknowledge in his report that others in the profession would hold different views to himself. As such he failed to qualify his report to reect both this and that most criticisms made of the Scheme Actuary in his report would fall away if it was decided that a recommendation was not being made by the Scheme Actuary f) failed to advise the pursuers that the new claim based on the premium rate increase assumption, contained in an amendment to Article 5 of the Summons, should contain qualications g) provided opinions on matters that lay outside with his area of actuarial expertise and entered into advocacy on behalf of the Trustees. Such conduct in any, or all of the above, generally falling short of the standard required by the Professional Conduct Standards (version 3.0) and in particular paragraphs 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 8.1, and 8.2, and/or in breach of the requirements of Recommended Practice Guidance Note 24 (version 1.0) and in particular paragraph 4.2.1or IAN The Actuary as an Expert Witness which replaced Recommended Practice Guidance Note 24 (version 1.0) from 9 January 2009, and in any event constituting misconduct in terms of Rule 1.6 of the Disciplinary Scheme of the Faculty of Actuaries, being conduct falling below the standards of behaviour, integrity and competence or professional judgement which other members or the public might reasonably expect of a member..

Applications open for chief executive of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
For further information on the vacancy for chief executive of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, visit www.odgersberndtson.co.uk/ 35788

Determination
Having considered the case report and the appendices submitted by the Investigating Actuary, the Panel determined that the case report discloses a prima facie case of misconduct against the Respondent in accordance with rule 4.4 of the Facultys disciplinary scheme and that the Respondent should be invited to accept that there has been misconduct and the following sanctions: a reprimand; and a ne of 5,000. The full determination can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/3ou87rm

Applications open for chairman of the Professions management board

Council is also seeking a new chairman of the Professions management board to take up appointment as soon as practicable. The job description can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6gr4nfe. Please send your CV to marion.young@actuaries.org.uk by 10 August. Interviews will take place around 17 August.

www.TheActuary.com

August 2011

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News

Profession

Forthcoming events
Actuaries and the Law 8 September, Staple Inn, London 09.00 (registration) 09.30-16.30 2011 is proving to be a year of major change for the pensions industry. This seminar will give insights and updates on vital legal developments and also includes a keynote talk from Stephen Soper, interim executive director for defined benefit funding at The Pensions Regulator and a perspective on the challenges ahead from Paul Couchman, Premier Pensions. Due to the large-scale changes in the pensions legal landscape this year, this seminar will provide an excellent chance to keep up to date and explore new options. This seminar will be very relevant for all actuaries in the pensions industry. It will be of particular interest to actuaries wishing to update employers and schemes on The Pension Regulators thinking and also for actuaries wishing to have a detailed and topical update on issues including special purpose vehicles, Pension Protection Fund entry and discrimination. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/6koz6vx Environmental change: opportunities for actuaries 13 September, Staple Inn, London The Professions Resource and Environment Group is staging a networking evening suitable for all actuaries interested in discussing and finding out more about the opportunities arising as economies respond to resource constraints and climate change. There will be speakers already involved in such issues, including sustainable investment consulting, general insurance pricing, energy consulting and green finance, followed by a panel discussion and networking over drinks. This is a chance to debate how existing work is being affected, and new opportunities created, as economies address the challenges involved. This event will provide an excellent update and networking opportunity for students and Fellows. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/5uofong

Emerging trends in mortality and longevity symposium

13-14 September, Warwick Conferences, University of Warwick, Coventry This symposium will provide an update on the latest thinking across the associated disciplines, a multi-disciplinary forum for the exchange of information on the latest relevant research, and also an opportunity to learn about established knowledge from a range of different disciplines, all with an interest in better understanding and managing this complex yet critical subject. This symposium will be of interest to all actuaries who are concerned with pricing or reserving for mortality and longevity, underwriters, demographers, epidemiologists, policy-makers, gerontologists, other medical researchers and all those with an interest in better understanding the determinants of mortality and longevity, projecting their future course, and managing the uncertainties. By hosting the conference adjacent to the Society of Social Medicines annual scientic meeting in 2011, it is hoped that further participation from the medical, epidemiology and demography academic communities can be attracted as well as the Actuarial Professions core membership. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/ 632l24k

Pensions highlights 2011

21 September, Staple Inn, London 4 October, Novotel, Bristol 09.00 (registration) for 09.30-16.30 These two one-day seminars showcase the highlights of the Pensions conference 2011 and are an excellent opportunity to get an update on some of the topics that are currently affecting the pensions industry. This seminar is aimed at all actuaries working in pensions. Further information will be on the Professions website shortly.

Pensions, benefits and social security colloquium 2011

25-27 September, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The UK Actuarial Profession and the pensions, benets and social security (PBSS) section of the International Actuarial Association (IAA) are hosting the rst PBSS colloquium to be held in the UK. This event will provide a forum for the exchange of information on the latest international pensions, social security and ageing population issues, with a focus on how to make both public and private sector provision for retirement income safe and sustainable. It will provide excellent CPD and networking opportunities. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/69sf7dr

GIRO conference and exhibition 2011

11-14 October, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool The theme this year is Navigating risk: are actuaries at the helm?. The journey to Solvency II is well underway in the actuarial profession and whether or not you are directly involved in preparing your organisation for this new regime, your work will no doubt be impacted in some way. As a path is navigated through this additional workload, it is clear that actuaries are key to the delivery of Solvency II. When a post-Solvency II world is visualised, ask yourselves to what extent actuaries, although heavily involved, are really inuential in all their areas of work? By examining the part actuaries play in organisations today, you begin to envisage where you will nd yourself when the journey is completed and landfall is made. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/5ws4uad

Momentum conference 2011: for actuaries of today and tomorrow

30 November 2 December, Hilton Deansgate, Manchester The Momentum conference is the premier conference for recently qualied (up to ve years) and about-to-be-qualied actuaries and is attended by delegates from all practice areas. It allows an opportunity for delegates to develop crucial softer skills, learn from industry experts and increase technical knowledge to add further value to a young actuarys skill-set. For further information, visit http://tinyurl.com/6fuuvy9

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An eventful twelve months for the Scottish board

New leader David Martin reviews progress as he takes over from Gordon Bagot
The Scottish board has just reviewed its rst year, following the merger of the Institute and Faculty. Activities to meet the boards aims have been many and varied. A series of events took place in Scotland, including sessional research events. We have pioneered pre-sessional meetings for younger members and renewed liaison with the two students societies (FASS and GASS) and the group aimed at younger members (Our Changing Future). There has been co-ordination, via Heriot-Watt University, with the brand new Scottish Financial Risk Academy (SFRA). We are very proud to be one of its founder members and look forward to their third Colloquium on Solvency II on 28 September. We also look forward to hosting the prestigious lecture organised by the Institute and Faculty in Edinburgh on 10 October, to be given by Sir Harry Burns, Scotlands chief medical ofcer. The Board is entrusted with overseeing the use of a 500,000 endowment. Principles for its use have been drawn up and proposals are being considered. These currently include the exciting prospect of a Scottish Actuarial Research Centre. The Board is seeking to establish a legacy of high-quality actuarial research. We welcome proposals from the wider Scottish constituency. More details will appear on our area of the website and via our e-newsletters. Our Charitable Trust Fund has established prizes and awards ranging from encouraging high-quality papers and presentations from younger members to encouraging school pupils in mathematics. A sub-group is working with the Professions public affairs team to develop a customised programme to identify and take forward specically Scottish elements within the Professions active public affairs strategy. This includes interaction with inuential parties in Scotland, including MSPs. At its meeting on 29 June, the board thanked its rst leader, Gordon Bagot, for all his work. Gordon has stepped down and I am now honoured to take on the role of leader, with Keith Miller as deputy. Martin Potter was welcomed as a new member of the board following his election to Council. Gordon Wood and Alan Watson were both re-elected to Council and will continue on the board. All members of the Profession are invited to join the new Scottish Constituency Community on the Professions website at http://tinyurl.com/ 6c547sb Contact details, discussion threads, details of our eight key responsibilities and a fuller report on the years activities, David Martin, leader of can be found there. the Scottish Board

Following the success of our Bachelors and Masters programmes in Actuarial Science, we are delighted to announce the launch of our new MSc in Actuarial Management.

THE PROGRAMME
This advanced programme allows a successful student exemption in two of the Core Applications subjects (CA1 and CA3) and a choice of up to three Specialist Technical (ST) subjects. A student who graduates with a full set of exemptions has only three more examinations to pass, as well as gaining the necessary work experience to qualify as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. You can apply for either the full 12-month MSc or 9-month PG Diploma which can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis, offering great exibility to students. The lectures will be given by highly experienced, qualied actuaries.

THE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Entry requires at least a Bachelors degree of upper-second class honours level (or equivalent), with sufcient actuarial or nancial content to meet the prerequisites for an acceptable choice of courses. It is not necessary to hold exemptions from all of the professions CT subjects.

FIND OUT MORE

To nd out more, call or e-mail Ms. Amanda Hearn, Programme Manager on 0131 451 8337 or email mscactman@ma.hw.ac.uk You can also nd out more on our website www.macs.hw.ac.uk

Distinctly Ambitious
www.hw.ac.uk

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News

Industry

Register for weekly news alerts at www.TheActuary.com/emailsignup

Economic risks and global energy

At the Actuarial Teachers and Researchers Conference 2011 in Oxford on 14 July 2011, Oliver Bettis, pricing actuary at Great Lakes and a member of the Professions Resource and Environment member interest group, gave a talk on Risks to the economy arising from constrained global energy supply. The talk described the problems with exponential growth in the economy, the link between the economy and fossil energy, the possible effects of oil scarcity and resource depletion on the global economy and the actuarys role in these hugely important issues.
A full report can be found at http://bit.ly/qTO1cC

Chinas continued insurance growth

Chinese insurance companies premium income topped 805.66 billion yuan (US$123.95bn) in the first half of the year, up 13% year on year, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said. In the first six months, premium income from the property insurance business rose 16.9% from a year earlier to 235.96 billion yuan, while life insurance premium income rose to 569.7 billion yuan. Chinese insurers earned 103.11 billion yuan from their investments in the first half, an average return on investment of 2.1%, according to the CIRC.
For more, visit www.TheActuary.com/875946

EIOPA calls for IORP pensions input

As it prepares to provide advice on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORPs) to the European Commission, the European Insurance and Occupational Pension Authority (EIOPA) has issued a call for market participants and occupational pensions stakeholders to give their input. EIOPA is seeking comments on the scope of the IORP directive, the denition of cross-border activity, the scope of prudential regulation, and aspects of the governance of IORPs. The deadline for this consultation period is 15 August 2011, with the European Commission setting EIOPA its nal deadline for December 2011.
For more on this story, visit www.TheActuary.com/875933

OBR urges long-term view on costs of ageing UK population

The Ofce for Budget Responsibility (OBR)s Fiscal Sustainability Report suggests that the increased longevity of the UKs population will lead to a signicant economic crisis if long-term decisions arent made now. The report foresees that, due to rising costs of healthcare and pensions, the governments debt will hit 107% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2060 even without new austerity measures being implemented in that time compared to the current gure of just below 70%. The OBR stated its belief that the cost of healthcare will increase from 7.4% of GDP to 9.8% in 2060, while the basic state pension is expected to cost 7.9% of GDP compared to 5.5% currently.
For more on this story, visit www.TheActuary.com/875935. See also Austerity cuts and retirement age changes falling short www.TheActuary.com/875917

Pension de-risking to SIAS debates Solvency II Sovereign risk internal models surge after quiet Q1 tops concerns for modest 350 million of SIAS meeting on 17 May discussed European insurance A relativelybusiness was written overpensions Thechallenges faced by GI actuaries in de-risking the the meeting the Solvency II requirements and pensions sectors course of Q1 2011, a 78% reduction in
Sovereign risk is currently the main threat to the nancial stability of the European insurance and occupational pension sectors, according to a report from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). The report covers developments in the insurance, reinsurance and occupational pension fund markets as of April 2011 and is released ahead of discussions on the macro-nancial conditions and overall stability of the EU nancial system.
For more on this story, visit www.TheActuary.com/875919

activity from the previous quarter, according to JLT Pension Capital Strategies. However, the rm said that insurers remain condent about their prospects for 2011 and reported activity of deals to date completed in Q2 2011 amounts to over 1bn.
For more on this story, visit www.TheActuary.com/875943

under the internal model approval process (IMAP). Though many of the regulatory requirements for model approval are now in the public domain, it is not yet clear how these should be implemented by rms in practice in many areas. The debate was chaired by Vishal Desai of the FSA and included a panel of speakers from the Professions GIRO working party.
Highlights can be found at http://bit.ly/qGcckf

BREAKING NEWS
Breaking news is now published online at www.TheActuary.com

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Industry

News

From the world of general insurance

Solvency II
Towards the end of June, the Council of the European Union suddenly proposed a one-year delay in the implementation of Solvency II, to 1 January 2014, after signicant media speculation and adverse industry comment on the practicality of the originally planned date. This delay would require the legal framework to be in place by the end of March 2013, with existing capital and solvency requirements continuing until the end of 2013. The situation remains uncertain pending a recommendation from the European parliament and probable negotiations between the council and the parliament. However, a few days later, Carlos Montalvo Rebuelta, executive director of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), maintained that no delay would take place, although a one-year transition might be introduced, a suggestion that EIOPA had raised with the European parliament. During such a transition year, regulators would collect Solvency II data, but not automatically intervene if companies fail to meet the full Solvency II criteria, although action would be taken against a company having less than the minimum capital requirement. At the beginning of July, EIOPA announced the results of the second European insurance stress tests carried out between March and May. The tests covered 221 insurers representing over 50% of the premium income by country, and overall about 60%. The exercise conrmed that the market is robust, with only 10% of the insurers covered failing to meet the Solvency II minimum capital requirements even under the most adverse stress scenario. Overall, it was found that the adverse stress scenario reduced the solvency surplus by 35% compared with that before applying the stress scenario, and the ination scenario reduced it by 14%. EIOPA disclosed that the main drivers of market risk are equity prices, interest rates and sovereign bonds and that the main insurance risks are claims ination and natural disasters. analysis of the companys business model, especially in areas having a concentration of risk, and will include some forward-looking stress tests, where they would use their own judgment rather than taking the results on a pass or fail basis. They would consider input from third-party professionals, such as auditors and actuaries. With regard to governance, the PRA will focus on the quality and competence of senior management.

Catastrophe bonds
Argo Group has unveiled its rst catastrophe bond, a US$100m deal through Loma Reinsurance Capital, providing protection to the group against multiple occurrences of such perils as hurricanes, US and Japanese earthquakes and European windstorms. Coverage will be triggered by the second loss from covered perils.

Other regulatory and legal developments

Towards the end of June, some information was provided as to the way in which UK regulation would work under the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after the abolition of the Financial Services Authority at the end of 2012. Every UK insurer will have its own named supervisor at the PRA, who will be the primary point of contact. Lloyds and its managing agents will have a dedicated supervisory team. The supervisors stated their intention to intervene at an early stage when they perceive a companys nancial position to be becoming precarious. Their assessment will commence with

Typhoon and hurricane predictions

In mid-June, the Guy Carpenter Asia-Pacic Climate Impact Centre predicted that there would be 31 cyclones in the North-West Pacic during 2011, with China likely to be particularly hard hit with an estimated seven landfalls, and Japan and Korea also having above average frequency of landfalls with six. If this is borne out by the facts, it will be one of the worst years for some time, as only two of the previous 13 years have experienced above average activity in the region.

Large losses
Earthquake, Christchurch, New Zealand 22 February. By mid-June, the number of claims filed with the New Zealand Earthquake Commission had risen to nearly 160,000, which exceeds the number from the previous quake last September. Aftershocks continue to occur, including a severe one (magnitude 6.0) on 13 June these are being treated as separate events. Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, northern Japan 11 March By mid-June, the Japanese non-life insurance industry had already paid out the equivalent of US$12.4bn on nearly 555,000 claims in relation to these events. Over 130,000 further claims remained to be settled and new claims are still being reported at the rate of around 20,000 a week. The Japanese government has

assessed the economic property loss from the events at US$210bn this does not include the costs of disruption caused by the damage to the Fukushima nuclear power station. It is believed that the German market may experience claims under directors and officers liability policies triggered by the earthquake and tsunami on the basis that the interruption in supplies from the Japanese market had caused losses to the company in Germany, but the company should have had alternative sources of supplies identified for such a crisis. Tornadoes in US April The tornadoes during April are estimated to have resulted in insured losses of US$502.5m in Kansas alone, there having been 66,000 claims this is the highest amount ever recorded in a single month in the state.

FOR MORE GENERAL INSURANCE NEWS

More news on the following items can be found on the website: Solvency II Other regulatory and legal developments Deepwater Horizon Marine piracy UK motor insurance More large losses Visit http://bit.ly/o0hmRN

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News

People/Society

For people moves, see page 44

Actuaries take on Caledonian challenge

PwC actuaries complete 54-mile walk in 24 hours, raising over 4,250 for charity
A team of four actuaries from PwCs Edinburgh ofce completed the gruelling Caledonian Challenge on 11-12 June. Branded The Walk of Your Life, the arduous route covers a 54-mile stretch of the West Highland Way, which includes uphill sections equal in height to two ascents of Ben Nevis. Colin Swan, Claire Woolley, Rebecca Coalter and Scott McNeill formed the imaginatively named Will this improve our life expectancy? team to compete in the event and raise money for the Scottish Communities Foundation. After many months of training and countless hours of walking, the team forewent sleep and battled through the pain barrier to complete the 54 miles in 24 hours and 20 minutes. They raised over 4,250 for charity in the process. The nal stages were particularly tough but the teams camaraderie saw them through. The four were assisted by the support team of John Mellor, David Pearson and Cathy Walsh, who did a great job of providing hot meals, applying blister plasters and generally raising spirits. They proved to be the vital element that helped the team over the nish line. Although the team have vowed to hang up their hiking boots in retirement, as time passes and blisters heal, who knows what the future will bring?

Births
n Helen (LCP) and Alex Howell are delighted to announce the birth of their rst baby, Thomas Edward, on 2 June. Thomas weighed 9lb 4oz. n Roger (Prudential) and Alison Houlihan are pleased to announce the birth of their baby girl Sophia Mary (below), who was born on 13 June. Sophia weighed 4lbs 4oz. Sophia Mary Houlihan with proud parents

PwC actuaries on the uphill path

Deaths
n John Richard Bradley died on 23 April, aged 80. He became a Fellow of the Institute in 1957. n Roy Thomas Foster died on 8 June, aged 77. He became a Fellow of the Institute in 1968. n Howard William Johnson died on 16 April, aged 86. He became a Fellow of the Institute in 1953. n Renison Kahakachchi died on 12 June, aged 71. He became an Associate of the Institute in 1974.

First graduates emerge from Queens University actuarial programme

The rst wave of graduates to emerge from the Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree programme at Queens University Management School were celebrated at a special event in Belfast on 27 June. The event included the chance to network with local employers as well as a keynote speech by Trevor Watkins, head of education at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, in which he charted the actuarial career path and reminded the graduates of their responsibility to uphold the high technical, professional and ethical standards of the Actuarial Profession. Other speakers to offer their congratulations to the graduates included the head of Queens Universitys Management School, Professor Richard Harrison, and programme director Colin OHare who talked about the development of the programme and its connections with the wider academic and corporate world. Brian Spence, founder of Spence & Partners which sponsored the event, and a Queens University, Belfast former graduate of Queens, paid tribute to the vision of the university in establishing the degree and noted that the emergence of the rst graduates was a key development in addressing the skills shortages that had hampered the development of the nancial services industry in Northern Ireland.

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Make a date for the Worshipful Companys charity gala banquet

One of the highlight events of the Worshipful Company of Actuaries year will be a black-tie charity gala banquet, to be held at Drapers Hall on the evening of Tuesday 20 September. The evening will begin with a drinks reception at 6.30pm followed at 7.00pm by dramatic entertainment prior to the banquet. There will also be musical entertainment between the courses, ranging from musicals to opera, providing something for all tastes. The entertainment will be by students from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. This provides the opportunity both to have an enjoyable evening in the magnificent surroundings of Drapers Hall, while at the same time contributing to charity. Even if you have not been to Drapers Hall, you may still recognise it as it has appeared on television and in films, most recently in The Kings Speech. The Company of Actuaries Charitable Trust will give all the donations and any profit from the evening to: n The Royal Society to help fund its five-year research project on mathematics education n The Guildhall School of Music and Drama where its support will make a difference, especially in a time of high fees n The Rainbow Trust, which provides respite care and bereavement counselling to terminally ill children and their families. Members of the Worshipful Company and their partners are encouraged to come. The price will be 80 plus a voluntary donation to charity at a suggested level of 30. Larger donations would, of course, be appreciated. Following the banquet there will be an auction and raffle. If you would like further details, please contact John Lockyer at johnalockyer@hotmail.co.uk

The Actuary editor on the run

By Marjorie Ngwenya My charity fundraising for 2011 was off to a late start but is going ahead nonetheless. This year I yet again signed up for a number of events, supporting different charities for each. On 30 May I took part in the BUPA 10km challenge, running on behalf of The Stroke Association. On 12 June I ran my annual 5km for Cancer Research in the Race for Life. Finally, to push the boat out a little further, in lieu of the cancelled London Kilomathon, I will be running a self-planned 26km course for Asthma UK on 23 October. Some of you will know that I am asthmatic and a tentative runner, but inching my way forward to marathon distance in about the next ten years! If you are feeling charitable and would like to sponsor me, please visit www.justgiving.com/MarjCNgwenya/

Anyone for cricket?

Edinburgh student scoops Deloitte maths prize

Daniel Tait, a third-year student in economics and statistics at Edinburgh University, has been awarded the Deloitte prize for outstanding achievement in nancial mathematics. Daniel, 21, from Aberdeen, was awarded his prize by Andrew Smith, actuarial and insurance solutions partner at Deloitte. In awarding the prize, Andrew said: Daniel is a very talented individual and we are pleased to be able to offer him this prize in recognition of his dedication and commitment to his studies. Winner Daniel beat off stiff competition from students across Scotland to win this prestigious prize. The Financial Mathematics prize has been sponsored by Deloitte for the past ve years. This years revised format saw the top nancial mathematics students presenting to a Deloitte panel, increasing the competitive aspect and making this an even more deserving win for Daniel. The prize includes a 400 cheque for Daniel and a trophy for the winning university. Daniel Tait

The inaugural High Finance Group cricket league started in May with nine teams all from within the actuarial sphere. Matches have taken place at venues across the capital in a round robin league played on a Thursday evening. Some erce rivalries have already developed, with teams vying for the top two spots for a place in the grand nal, due to be held on 1 September with an end of season dinner and awards the following week. The league is looking to expand next year, so interested parties are invited to apply.

The Actuary and WCA joint charity campaign

The joint charity campaign run by The Actuary and the Worshipful Company of Actuaries has so far raised 197,250 towards the 1m target since September 2010. Many thanks to all the actuaries who are doing various activities for charity, some of whom have featured here over the last few months. Are you taking part in a charity bike ride?
197,250

1m

PEOPLE/SOCIETY NEWS
If you have any newsworthy items for these pages, email Kelvin Chamunorwa at social@the-actuary.org.uk

Or running 10km for your favourite charity? If so, please let us know. We would like to add the amount of monies raised by members of the Actuarial Profession for any charity to be added to our running total. You can do this by emailing Kelvin Chamunorwa or Charles Cowling at charles_cowling@jltgroup.com

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Tuesday 9 August Global banking crisis what ifs?

Dr Mark West Staple Inn, High Holborn, London 5:30pm for 6pm

Programme event
The global banking crisis is the largest macroeconomic event that many actuaries have experienced and has had devastating consequences for tens of millions of people across the world. Could governments have avoided the crisis? If so, at what cost? Could governments have avoided some of the consequences? What impact could the crisis have on the global insurance industry? Are there any lessons for actuaries? These are just some of the questions that will be considered. The speaker will consider the various avenues that our governments/financial institutions could have taken and how things could have been. Please visit www.sias.org.uk for more details.

Tuesday 1 November SIAS AGM followed by Jubilee Lecture

Staple Inn, High Holborn, London 6:00 pm
The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at Staple Inn Hall on Tuesday 1 November, followed immediately by the Jubilee Lecture. Members of the committee are: n Frank Oldham, chairman, Fellow, Mercer n Will Bennett, honorary secretary, Fellow, Barnett Waddingham LLP n James Williamson, honorary treasurer, Fellow, Barnett Waddingham LLP n Mark Dainty1, student, High Finance Group n Richard Purcell, Fellow, Pension Corporation n Alvin Kissoon, Fellow, PwC n Taha Ahmad1, student, Navigators Management UK Ltd n Iain Ritchie1, Fellow, KPMG n Divyaa Mohan1, student, Aon Hewitt n Sarah Darwin, Fellow, Swiss Re n Watson Teo1, student, Swiss Re n Anna Lynskey1, student, LCP LLP. Will Bennett, Iain Ritchie, Taha Ahmad and Divyaa Mohan are retiring. Iain Ritchie and Taha Ahmad are standing for immediate re-election. Frank Oldham and James Williamson will continue to serve as chairman and honorary treasurer respectively for the 2011/12 session. Richard Purcell has been nominated to take over the position of honorary secretary on Will Bennetts retirement. The main business of the meeting will be to accept the reports and accounts, to confirm the nomination for honorary secretary, and to confirm the appointment of the successful candidates in the

SIAS AGM and Jubilee lecture

election to fill the vacancies for ordinary members of the committee. Members are elected for a three-year term and may serve for up to two terms, though they may fill one of the honorary roles beyond this period. The Rules of the society state that there can be between eight and twelve ordinary committee members, so there are a maximum of seven vacancies to be filled, with two nominations already received from current members who are standing for re-election. The vacancies for ordinary members are open to any member of the Society, other than one who has already served six years as an ordinary member of the committee or who will be older than 35 on 1 October 2011 and has not already served on the committee. One vacancy will be reserved for a younger member, who has not yet completed the examinations of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries or any other body of actuaries or who has not done so since 1 April 2010 and who has not already served on the committee for at least three years. Nominations should be sent in writing to the honorary secretary, giving name, status and employer of the candidate, together with the names of proposer and seconder, who must be SIAS members. Each candidate should supply a personal profile no longer than 50 words, including a brief biographical history. Nominations should be received no later than Wednesday 31 August 2011. Notice is also needed in writing before 31 August 2011 of any resolutions which members may wish to move at the meeting. For further information about the role and responsibilities of committee members, please contact Will Bennett at secretary@sias.org.uk. All committee members are expected to attend committee meetings (up to eight per year at Staple Inn on a weekday evening), attend subcommittee meetings (approximately four per year, venue decided by convenor), SIAS sessional meetings (ten per year, Tuesday evenings), attend the Jubilee Lecture, the annual supper, and some of the social events (approximately one per month, usually Thursday evenings).
1 a younger member as defined in the Societys rules

Roger Bootle, economist We are delighted to confirm that the Jubilee Lecture will be given by Roger Bootle, an honorary Fellow and leading economist. Roger will discuss the changes needed to make the financial system safe against a repeat of the recent financial crisis, including discussion on breaking up the banks, capital requirements and regulation. He will also discuss the implications for how we should regard the financial sector of our economy.

For details of events, visit www.sias.org.uk

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Now, lets talk about the importance of nancial modelling.

The world has changed. Rely on a proven nancial modelling solution.

MG-ALFA
uk.milliman.com/mgalfa

Investment

Regulatory drivers

Driving tests
Umar Ilyas steers a course through the regulatory drivers in areas of institutional investment
move away from a concentration in UK equities and UK government debt to a broader strategic asset allocation, including an increased exposure to alternative assets. As pension schemes continue their move away from equities, this is set to grow further. In addition, the growth of liability-driven investment (LDI) is set to continue. Designed to immunise the scheme funding against changes in interest rate and ination, implementation is usually through derivatives and appropriate bonds. The impact of the revised International Accounting Standards (IAS) 19 regulations is likely to add another nail to the equities cofn. Companies will have to use a discount rate based on AA-rated corporate bond yields rather than the expected return on the schemes assets. This removes one of the incentives to invest in potentially higher-returning asset classes. Investment strategies with a greater sponsor inuence may look to further de-risk, moving more of their assets into protection assets. In addition, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) will, from 2012/13, start to use scheme investment risk to calculate the levy payment. prudent self-sufciency basis, and eventual buy-out/in of the liabilities, the need for a good governance framework is essential. This will also increase the desire to invest in assets that are more tightly correlated to the nature of the liabilities, as well as providing some upside potential for example, infrastructure-type assets. For those schemes with an eye towards eventual buy-in/out, they will need to be mindful of the pricing bases used by insurers. To reduce the basis risk, it is likely regulatory changes taking place in the insurance space may indirectly inuence some schemes asset allocations.

Umar Ilyas is a senior investment and risk actuary at Investment Solutions. The views represented in this article are the authors and not necessarily those of his company

Insurance companies
In the insurance world, the impending Solvency II regulations are just around the corner. Insurers are some of the largest investors in domestic nancial markets and any change in their investment behaviour could have a signicant effect on the demand/supply of various asset classes, impacting the pricing and cost of capital. Under Solvency II, capital will need to be held to reect the short-term volatility in the market value of assets and ensure Value at Risk (VaR) over a one-year time horizon is within prescribed condence intervals. As Solvency II places greater emphasis on asset liability modelling, any mismatching will increase the capital requirement for insurers. The current proposed capital charges aim to reect the price volatility of each asset class. The explicit charges vary from 49% for private equity right the way through to applying no capital charges for European Economic Area government debt. Whether the capital charges applied to the various asset classes are fair and appropriate is questionable. As of late, the sovereign debt crisis continues to grip parts of Europe, and assigning no capital charge on debt issued by sovereign countries where there are perhaps longer-term structural issues, appears counterintuitive. On the other hand, some asset classes with attractive risk/ return proles are perhaps being treated too harshly under the proposed regime. Under Solvency II, the liability discount rate used to value the insurers technical provisions will be swaps plus a liquidity

n the UK a number of regulatory changes have affected the investment behaviour of various institutional investors. Regulation shouldnt necessarily be the main driver of investment strategy other factors including governance requirements, solvency, objectives and risk appetite/tolerance of the various stakeholders will need to be considered. However, the impact of regulation continues to be a key inuence on investment decisions, leading to meaningful changes to the asset allocations of institutions. These changes alter the price and amount of funding available to companies, such as the cost of capital. In this article I examine some of the more notable regulatory drivers on the horizon affecting pension schemes and insurance companies.

of the largest investors in domestic financial markets and any change in their investment behaviour could have a significant effect on the demand/supply of various asset classes
Although the implications of this change shouldnt be a key driver in setting the investment strategy, in some cases it will increase the sponsors focus in trying to minimise the levy payment. The majority of DB schemes are now well into their journey towards the end game. However, in order to better secure members pension benets, the de-risking process has to be managed more effectively. Whether this means focusing on a schemes technical provision funding basis or a more

Insurers are some

Pension schemes
In the world of dened benet (DB) pension schemes, the demise of the minimum funding requirement (MFR) in the midnoughties gave way to the statutory funding objective (SFO), which helped facilitate a

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premium (changing the perceived riskfree rate). This will be a key inuence on investment strategy, leading to an increased use of derivatives for efcient portfolio purposes in order to better manage the balance sheet volatility. Another important thing to note is that the liquidity premium is based on a reference index therefore there is no dependency on the underlying assets of the insurer. Investment in other interest rate hedging tools or funds, such as long gilts, will therefore leave a basis risk. However, with no capital charge on gilts, and long gilt yields being greater than swap rates at present, retaining exposure to gilts should be attractive. Insurers may also look to invest in gilts with a view to setting up reverse repurchase agreements they could lend the gilts to banks and capture additional yield for providing this liquidity. Given the capital charge levels, a reduced level of investment in non-EEA debt is likely. In addition, it is expected there will be a greater exposure to short duration credit where the risk-adjusted return, allowing for any capital charge, is higher. However, investment in long-dated credit may be impeded as the capital costs and potential balance sheet volatility (basis risk) make it less attractive. Low-equity allocations are likely to be maintained given the high capital charges of 30% for global equities (members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development or EEA) and 40% for other equities.

A symmetric adjustment will also be applied. This adjustment is designed to avoid procyclicality and will modify the stress test, up or down, by a maximum of 9%, depending on where global equity prices are trading relative to their recent average. Reduced allocation to direct property as a result of higher capital charges (25%) is also expected. However, investment in real estate debt may be more appealing due to capital efciency. As things stand, most alternative asset classes do not appear to have fared well under Solvency II. Deemed as other equity, a 49% charge will be applied not surprisingly a lower allocation to alternative asset classes, including private equity and hedge funds, is likely to result. An increase in the use of nancial engineering is also expected, including total return mandates. The use of swaps for duration matching, as well as changing the risk/return prole of conventional assets, will require investments to beat cash plus the illiquidity premium, so as to minimise the re-investment risk. A further requirement will be to look through to underlying assets. The capital charges may impact decisions about efcient asset allocation. Thought should be given to how insurers using an internal model will properly capture these risks. This is likely to increase the attraction of segregated mandates, as well as more transparent investment holdings. An investment strategy of buy and hold is likely to be less attractive under Solvency II.

A move is expected towards a dynamic asset allocation and risk management framework, with increased recalibration, in order to maximise capital efciency. Otherwise, signicant capital may need to be held against mark-to-market spread risk. Well-capitalised insurers are expected to have greater scope for adding risk-adjusted value though their investments. However, insurers with weak capital levels may require more assistance. Across insurers, this is likely to lead to a diverse range of investment strategies. In any case, investment governance will need to be improved for all insurers to meet the challenges under Solvency II. Investment decisions will need to take account of risk-adjusted return after the capital cost of risk. This should form part of the insurers own risk and solvency assessment and enterprise risk management framework.

Summary
Regulatory drivers will continue to play a key role in the investment strategy of both pension schemes and insurance companies, leading to changes in asset allocation and capital markets behaviour. With the impending Solvency II legislation, governance requirements are enshrined within the three main pillars underpinning the regulations. Investment governance and risk management will play a bigger role so that insurers maximise capital efciency. Driven by a need for market-consistency and better transparency, it remains to be seen if all parties rise to the challenge.

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Investment

Pensions fiduciaries

Aiming for a good outcome

Christine Berry asks where the responsibilities lie for pensions fiduciaries
workplace pension schemes this role will only grow in importance. But what does this weighty responsibility mean for consultants? Traditional trust-based occupational pension saving is built on the legal foundation of duciary obligation. Trustees have a clear duty to act in the best interests of their beneciaries: this includes a duty to avoid conicts of interest, to treat beneciaries impartially and to make prudent decisions based on appropriate advice (which is where the consultant comes in). So far, so simple. But these legal assumptions were developed centuries ago, at a time when trustees were mostly individuals making investments on behalf of family or friends. A very different landscape, then, from the hugely complex web of relationships that characterises todays capital markets. Today, it is generally agreed that trustees can delegate their powers, but not their duciary responsibilities. But does this mean that those they delegate to have no parallel responsibilities? Consultants and asset managers arguably exercise as much discretion as the modern trustee. Asset managers make many of the day-to-day investment decisions that were the preserve of trustees themselves in days gone by. Consultants are not given the same operational discretion. But trustees are legally obliged to seek their advice and, as the Myners Report noted a decade ago, rarely have the expertise to challenge that advice. This puts consultants in a position of enormous power but does that power imply a duciary responsibility? Fiduciary duty is a common law concept, which means there is no dusty old statute book listing all the positions that entail duciary duties. Instead, there is centuries of case law establishing various criteria for when a duciary relationship arises. The Law Commission has summarised these criteria as discretion, power to act, and vulnerability. It also concludes that these criteria are met by the relationship between investment advisors and those they advise. Indeed, in the US, the Supreme Court has explicitly conrmed that investment advisors are duciaries although theres been no similar conrmation in the UK. The reaction to the suggestion that consultants may be duciaries has been intriguing, with responses ranging from Of course were not to Of course we are. One consultant argued that asset managers might be duciaries but consultants werent, because they didnt exercise the same discretion over assets. Another argued that asset managers werent duciaries but consultants were, because the decisions they advise on are much more strategic and fundamental. This in itself is a powerful testament to the confusion and ambiguity surrounding what is, after all, a pretty fundamental question. But does it really matter, or is this all just academic? Do we need to know who is a duciary and who is not, as long as all parties in the investment chain are clear on their contractual responsibilities? To try and answer that, let us look at the two key duciary duties: loyalty and prudence. Fiduciary investors have a duty to invest prudently, exercising due skill and care and taking all relevant considerations

Christine Berry is policy officer at FairPensions and author of the report, Protecting our Best Interests: Rediscovering Fiduciary Obligation

hen it comes to ensuring good investment outcomes, the role played by qualied actuaries as investment consultants is vital. And with the introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 predicted to bring an extra ve to eight million people into saving through

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into account. A strong case can be made that this confers a similar duty on consultants even if they are not duciaries in their own right since they have contractual and professional duties to help trustees full their own duciary responsibilities. This implies a duty not just to react to what trustees ask of them, but to proactively raise issues that could affect outcomes for beneciaries, even perhaps particularly if trustees seem unaware of them. An increasingly relevant example is the exercise of stewardship and responsible ownership. The debate around the new UK Stewardship Code which encourages fund managers to be active owners of their investee companies has focused largely on corporate governance. In the run up to the nancial crisis, investors were accused of being absentee landlords, failing to take the banks they owned back off the edge of the cliff. Yet investors legal responsibility is not to the companies they own, but to the people whose money they manage. Stewardship matters because it contributes to stable long-term returns, and that is very much a duciary issue. Asset owners are being encouraged to apply the Code by including it in their mandates and monitoring. But this suggests that consultants in turn may have a responsibility to proactively raise the issue with asset owners. More specically, there is increasing evidence that shareholder engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can improve long-term returns. In addition to the wealth of theoretical and empirical research, last year brought a stark lesson in the perils to investors of ignoring ESG issues, when an environmental disaster led BP to cancel its dividend for the rst time since World War II. There were plenty of warning signs about BPs lax approach to health and safety if investors had heeded these warnings and demanded improvements, the Deepwater disaster might have been prevented. The consultants role in this context is to help schemes ensure that their policy on ESG issues is robust and that their asset managers are on top of the risks involved.

who is a fiduciary and who is not, as long as all parties in the investment chain are clear on their contractual responsibilities?
But from a wider duciary perspective, it is arguably everyones duty to ensure proper integration of material ESG risk factors. Consultants, far from being extraneous to this chain of accountability, are in a particularly good position to break the impasse proactively raising the issue of stewardship with trustees, and helping them to assess prospective managers approaches. So what about the second core duciary duty the duty of loyalty? It is this that really distinguishes a duciary from someone with a contractual or professional duty to uphold someone elses duciary duties. Fiduciaries must act in the best interests of beneciaries and (crucially) in case of a conict, in the beneciaries sole interest. This means both avoiding personal conicts of interest

Do we need to know

Yet in a recent survey on this issue, around half of consultants viewed their role as secondary or reactive. Another survey concluded that client demand remains the main driver for consultants to offer responsible investment services. This approach seems to be mirrored elsewhere in the investment chain, with the unfortunate result that nobody feels truly responsible for ESG integration. A survey of asset managers in 2009 found that one of the biggest barriers cited to greater integration of climate change was lack of client demand. In other words, it was up to trustees to ask their asset managers to do more. Yet when trustees themselves are surveyed, they often argue the opposite if these issues are material to investment outcomes, then surely managers will factor them in without having to be told? The traditional assumption that trustees alone have duciary duties would place the responsibility squarely at their door.

and not prioritising the interests of third parties. This duty of undivided loyalty lies at the heart of duciary obligation its whole purpose is to protect vulnerable people from self-interested or reckless behaviour by those who act on their behalf. Yet when commercial investment agents use the term duciary to describe themselves, this rarely seems to be what they have in mind instead, they talk about the duty of prudence, which, as we have seen, is perhaps less unique to the duciary position. So if consultants really are duciaries, what does this mean for their duty to avoid conicts of interest? Clearly, potential conicts can never be eliminated completely for instance, while schemes have an interest in controlling costs, commercial providers inevitably benet from recommending more costly and complex services and investment approaches. Indeed, there is some evidence that advisors may unwittingly privilege these commercial interests over the best interests of scheme members. For instance, the average externally managed pension scheme now has nine mandates, compared to just three a decade ago. This trend has cost pension funds up to a third extra in management fees, as well as extra consultants fees due to the higher number of manager selection processes. It is questionable whether the performance advantages of this increased complexity really outweigh the costs. Of course, this is not to suggest that consultants or indeed, asset managers are inattentive to the need to manage conicts of interest. Consultants may be subject to FSA rules or to actuarial professional standards that require conicts to be managed. But these are less stringent than duciary duties, and there is clearly no room for complacency when it comes to making sure that beneciaries best interests are protected. With up to eight million people about to be introduced to the world of private pension saving, it is vital that trust and condence in the system is built and sustained. Making this a reality is everyones responsibility including consultants.

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Pensions

Inflation-linked liabilities

The tipping point

Matthew Furniss finds that high inflation isnt necessarily a bad thing for pension schemes

Matthew Furniss is assistant vice-president at PensionsFirst

ince the start of compulsory indexation, ination has been one of the key risks faced by UK pension schemes. With retail prices index (RPI) ination recently creeping above the 5% mark for the rst time in nearly two decades, trustees and sponsors of some dened benet (DB) pension schemes are fretting about the impact that increases in ination could have on their funding positions, with many looking towards reducing their ination exposure through the purchase of ination-hedging assets (such as index-linked bonds or swaps). On the other hand, some pension schemes may nd that caps on pension increases mean that high levels of ination have less of a negative impact on funding levels than might be expected. Indeed, increases in ination beyond these caps could in fact be benecial for schemes, as asset values continue to rise while liability values are capped. Our research shows that, for a sample pension scheme, the point where further ination could be benecial otherwise known as the tipping point could occur when ination reaches 1.2% above current market levels. Given the Bank of England has signalled that a rise in rates would undermine an already

beginning to wonder at what point inflation increases will start to reduce deficits instead of increase them

Schemes are

weak economy and curtail a much-needed rebalancing towards exports, this is not an unimaginable scenario.

The tipping point will, of course, differ depending upon the specic nature of both the schemes benet structure and its asset portfolio. It is therefore imperative that schemes understand exactly how their balance sheets are impacted by various ination scenarios, particularly given todays volatile economic environment.

Inflation impact may vary

Ination affects pension scheme benets in a number of ways. Firstly, each members benets will typically increase annually with the increase rate usually tied to ination. UK law holds that pensions accrued after 1997 must increase every year after retirement by at least the rate of ination up to 5%; for pensions accrued after April 2005,

the cap on increases is 2.5%. The majority of deferred benets also have RPI-linked increases, however here the total increase over the whole period is compared to using a xed assumption of 5% per annum and the smaller of the two is used. There may also be those still accruing benets or with pensions linked to national average earnings. These benets are often seen as real in nature and therefore valued with reference to expected future ination. While realised ination clearly affects the current level of benets payable, future ination expectations are just as important in determining the overall cost. The impact of a scheme on its sponsors balance sheet and cashow is driven by valuations that allow for the projection of future pension increases, naturally incorporating ination expectations. The higher these expectations, the higher the liabilities, decits and subsequent contribution requirements. On the other side of the balance sheet, schemes asset values may increase due to rising ination expectations, but not always at the same rate as the liabilities. Assets such as index-linked bonds, ination swaps, infrastructure investments and property with ination-linked leases are linked to the RPI and therefore react directly to changes in

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until recently, remained under 5%, for example, below the cap levels associated with most pensions. Changes in ination expectations have therefore fed through directly to liability values. For schemes not fully hedged against ination, increases in asset values as a result of higher ination have generally failed to match the increase in overall liability values, resulting in an overall deterioration in funding positions. However, as ination levels reach the 5% mark and the caps applying to most benets have begun to bite, schemes are beginning to wonder at what point ination increases will start to reduce decits instead of increasing them.

Finding the tipping point

To illustrate the point at which ination can positively impact a schemes portfolio, we can investigate the impact ination increases may have on a real scheme. Consider a pension scheme with assets totalling 363 million and liabilities totalling 402 million leaving it 90% funded. We can chart the impact of ination increases across both sides of the balance sheet. The results from this analysis are highlighted in Table 1. The analysis shows that the example scheme, subjected to a 1% increase in ination expectations, would see its liabilities increase by about 10%. However, an increase from 2% above the current ination curve to 3% would only increase the value of the liabilities by about 2% due to the protection afforded by the liability caps.

Turning to the other side of the balance sheet, we nd that, as ination expectations rise, so does the value of its index-linked assets and, as there are no caps on the ination-linked cashows from these assets, the values continue to increase above and beyond the corresponding increase in the liability values. The result is that the schemes funding level initially falls as ination expectations increase, and then recovers as expectations rise further. The point at which this recovery begins, or its tipping point, occurs when ination rises start to improve the funding level. In this case the tipping point is around 1.2% above current market levels, so an ination curve of approximately 5% per annum. This adds a key metric to the information for the scheme to consider when contemplating the impact of ination.

The importance of understanding risk

As shown above, high ination can reduce pension scheme decits. However, the extent of this reduction depends on the nature of ination changes and the make-up of the schemes assets and liabilities. Clearly, it is important for pension schemes to delve deeper into this issue and to understand their own individual risks from ination in both the short and longer term. In the past, pension schemes have been unable to stress-test the impact of changes in key risk factors such as ination across the whole of their balance sheet. However, this is no longer the case. New technology provides DB schemes with the tools necessary to better understand the risks that they face and the potential impact on funding levels. By modelling both their assets and liabilities on a common platform, scheme sponsors and trustees are now able to stress-test both values under different ination scenarios. This advance allows schemes to analyse the impact ination might have on funding levels and determine the point at which further increases in ination actually become benecial, giving them a crucial advantage in managing and mitigating risk. When schemes are able to pinpoint the moment at which an increase in asset values outpaces their liabilities, they have found their tipping point.

ination rates or expectations. Other assets such as equities and real estate investment trusts are also viewed as real in nature but, without a direct link to ination, may react over a longer time period. Clearly, the impact of an increase in ination on a schemes funding levels stems from the effect on both its assets and liabilities. This varies among schemes depending on the nature and maturity of their liabilities, the amount of real assets held and to what extent they are directly impacted by ination. Thanks to the explicit aim of monetary policy to keep ination low and stable, ination and ination expectations have,

Table 1 Valuation results under increased inflation scenarios

Inflation curve 31/12/2010 RPI RPI +1% Assets 363m 379m (+4%) Liabilities 402m 441m (+10%) Funding level 90% 86%

The tipping point

RPI +2% RPI +3% RPI +4% RPI +5%
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400m (+10%) 425m (+17%) 457m (+26%) 497m (+37%)

462m (+15%) 470m (+17%) 471m (+17%) 472m (+17%)

87% 90% 97% 105%

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Life

Statins

Heart of the matter

Actuaries should avoid jumping to conclusions about the risk factors associated with heart disease, says Garth Lane
A young man, a great spendthrift, had run through all his patrimony and had but one good cloak left. One day he happened to see a Swallow, which had appeared before its season, skimming along a pool and twittering gaily. He supposed that summer had come, and went and sold his cloak. Not many days later, winter set in again with renewed frost and cold. When he found the unfortunate Swallow lifeless on the ground, he said: Unhappy bird! What have you done? By thus appearing before the springtime you have not only killed yourself, but you have wrought my destruction also. Aesop
the accepted nine fundamental principles that should guide the practitioner in distinguishing correlation from causation. The most important of these are the strength of association, the existence of a biological gradient (the dose-response relationship) and temporality the last of which he downplayed at the time. It is, however, vital that the presumed cause precedes the event. The principle of coherence is also important as any presumed causal relationship should not seriously conict with generally known facts. We start by looking at correlation within the context of the original lipid hypothesis in relation to the health of our hearts.

Garth Lane is a valuation actuary and Solvency II expert at RGA in the UK

s one swallow does not make a summer, so correlation does not imply causation. When actuaries concern themselves with risk factors they try to avoid the confounding of correlation with causation. We need principles to guide us when we suspect a causal relationship exists or when we decide to use a rating factor when underwriting risks. We generally agree that a reasonably strong correlation is a prerequisite for a risk factor in its association with a particular disease, and acknowledge that this does not make the risk factor a cause. In 1965 Sir Austin Bradford Hill laid out

Heart health: The lipid hypothesis (the consumption of saturated fat causes heart disease)
This infamous hypothesis was proposed by Ancel Keys in 1953 based on statistics of consumption of saturated fat in six countries (Figure 1). Keys neglected to disclose that he had selected six countries out of a total of 22 whose data were available to him. His misuse of the data was exposed by Yerushalmy and Hilleboe in 1957 when they

Figure 1 Ancel Keys: Saturated fat as a cause of coronary heart disease (CHD)
Adapted from Ancel Keys (1953) 800
USA

Figure 2 The full 22-country data set

22 countries data 800 700 CHD deaths per 100,000 600 500 400 300
Italy Israel Finland Australia USA

Adapted from Yerushalmy and Hillebowe (1957)

700
Australia

CHD deaths per 100,000

600 500 400 300

Italy

Canada

Canada New Zealand

Ireland Great Britain Switzerland Sweden Austria Denmark West Germany Norway Netherlands Portugal France Mexico

England and Wales

Six countries data Curve fitted to data

200 100 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 Fat calories as % of total calories

Japan

200
Japan Chile Ceylon

100 0 0 10

20

30

40

50

Fat calories as % of total calories

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published the graph of the full data set (Figure 2). When the full data is used, the biological gradient disappears as does the strength of the association. The lipid hypothesis was consequently modied so that dietary cholesterol became the villain instead of saturated fat. Many years of research followed but Ancel Keys nally admitted in 1997 that Theres no connection whatsoever between cholesterol in food and cholesterol in blood. And weve known that all along. Cholesterol in the diet doesnt matter unless you happen to be a chicken or a rabbit. So, if saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet do not matter, what does? Clearly, the implication is that it is cholesterol in the blood and the hypothesis has been modied again.

swallows heralding a summer free of heart disease for everyone

Statins are not the

2009 edition of American Heart Journal it was reported that, of the 136,905 people admitted to 541 hospitals in the United States with heart attack whose lipid levels were recorded, nearly 75% had normal LDL cholesterol levels, which is below 130mg/dl (or 3.4 mmol/l).

from their effect on cholesterol. Statins have pleiotropic effects; that is to say they have other effects such as anti-inammatory, plaque-stabilising or anti-coagulant effects. These effects are available at much lower doses than those that are required to aggressively manage down the level of cholesterol and may be the ones preventing further heart attacks in the secondary prevention trials.

Heart health: The lipid hypothesis continued (high total serum cholesterol with a high LDL/HDL ratio causes heart disease)
It should be noted at this point that this is still a hypothesis. Unfortunately, it is medical orthodoxy and even perhaps dogma that serum cholesterol levels should be managed down. If it were not for the class of drugs called statins this would not be possible, as the human body manufactures virtually all of the cholesterol needed (mainly in the liver) and has mechanisms to regulate the levels of cholesterol. To our knowledge, it appears that no one has yet demonstrated the satisfaction of Sir Austin Bradley Hills criteria in relation to this modied lipid hypothesis. In fact, many people with heart disease have low levels of cholesterol. In the January

There are many statin drug studies that purport to prove that lives will be saved by reducing cholesterol. However, there appears to be no primary prevention study that shows conclusively, in terms of a strong absolute response, that the total mortality end point will be affected by the use of statins. This means that, in most of the study groups, as many people died as in the control groups. What is the use of being saved from heart disease only to die from some other cause? Even worse, higher cholesterol levels appear to be protective against cancer in the longer term and statins have signicant and probably under-reported side effects. Table 1, extracted from a recent study by Hippisley-Cox and Coupland, illustrates the effect of medicating a large proportion of the whole population. The number of conditions is probably under-reported because some symptoms would have been mild and therefore not reported and cases of memory loss may have been ascribed to age-related conditions. It is important to note that statins have shown signicant benets in the case of secondary prevention, albeit not necessarily

Final thoughts
As actuaries we should consider updating our risk calculators to take account of current research and especially look at the age ranges for which cholesterol may still be an appropriate risk factor, especially for women where there appears to be little or no dose response. We have an obesity epidemic in spite of the accepted wisdom on diet that emerged from awed science originated by Ancel Keys. We suspect that overconsumption of carbohydrates may have something to do with this, but we also suspect that giving obese people a statin potentially acts to perpetuate the continued epidemic of obesity as it allows them to avoid lifestyle and behavioural changes in the belief that the statin will prevent future heart attacks. I will continue to enjoy a full English breakfast, shorn of the guilt that this may affect the health of my heart. At my age (50+), and free of heart disease with a cholesterol level higher than the recommended level, I am quite happy not to increase the ve-year probability of avoiding a heart attack from 98.2% to 98.8% by taking a statin for ve years. The probability that I will avoid nasty side effects is 100%. Statins are not the swallows heralding a summer free of heart disease for everyone. Arguably, if we do not insist on a proper answer to the question of what really causes heart disease then we may unduly medicate millions of people for little benet at the danger of making a signicant number of them seriously ill.

Table 1 Number of extra cases per 10,000 treated

Women Condition Acute renal failure (kidney failure) Cataract Liver disfunction Myopathy (muscle weakness worst case, muscle death)
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Men 95%, CI (9, 26) (213, 292) (50, 80) (22, 44) Number 22 151 64 95 95%, CI (14, 32) (125, 178) (51, 79) (77, 116)

Number 17 252 65 32

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Q&A

Paul Sweeting

Spinning plates
Marjorie Ngwenya talks to Paul Sweeting about balancing volunteer work, authorship, academic obligations and time with his family
Why did you choose to become an actuary?
Initially, it was the challenge that attracted me, but I then found that I actually enjoyed the job. I wanted to work in an area that required maths, but I soon found that being able to do the numbers was only a small part of being an actuary interpreting and communicating the results was just as important. This is what got me hooked; the potential scope of the role and the range of opportunities are what have kept me interested over the years. inuence the strategy of the profession, while sitting on the management board means that I can help to support the implementation of the strategy. and I had thought that I could just while away the days carrying out research and teaching students. However, I started to feel that removing myself from industry was making it harder to keep a practical edge to my research, something I have always thought of as important. This together with the fact that I really enjoy working in the City meant that when the right role came up with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, I was happy to take it. The fact that I can combine this with some work at the University of Kent is an unexpected bonus.

What has been your greatest professional challenge to date?

Probably working on the successful merger of the Institute and Faculty. While the vast majority of fellows from both the bodies believed that it was right to merge, many also had a range of concerns about the implementation of the merger. Finding a way to take these into account was hard work, but it produced a better result this was borne out by the proportion of

You are a member of the Institute and Faculty Council and sit on the management board. What motivates you to volunteer your time to these causes?
I believe that the actuarial qualications offer a great foundation for a career in nancial services, and Im keen to make sure it stays that way. In areas such as enterprise risk management (ERM), the opportunities for the actuarial profession are enormous, but so are the threats from other organisations. I feel its important that we position our profession such that we can best address these challenges, and that we equip our members with the skills theyll need. Being a member of Council offers a great opportunity to

The things that keep

me busy are hugely diverse, so as long as there are interesting things to do, Ill keep doing them

You are now a managing director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. What is your remit and what does this new challenge mean in practice?
Were focusing on helping institutional investors understand the risks they face, and developing investment solutions to address these risks. Im responsible for leading this effort in Europe. As well as developing bespoke solutions for clients, were also producing a range of research papers aimed at highlighting the issues facing investors and proposing solutions to these issues.

both bodies that voted for the merger. Of course, the next challenge is to ensure that the merger delivers improved services to all members of the profession, and equips them for the changing nancial environment something that Council is working on from a strategic point of view, and the management board is helping to implement.

Your career developed extensively in the investment arena and then you took an alternative route into academia. Talk us through that chain of events.
Ive been involved in research with the profession for many years, with presentations to the Staple Inn Actuarial Society and at the Professions conferences, sessional papers and, more recently, publications in the Annals of Actuarial Science. Id also taken up a role as a visiting lecturer. After a while I thought that, rather than keep trying to t all of this around my day job, Id make it my day job instead. Fortunately, the University of Kent was looking to expand, and my skills tted their needs. This was a lot of fun,

You have participated in numerous conferences to present your ERM research and thought leadership. What are your top tips for public speaking?
Find a technique that works for you. Some people can make wonderful off-the-cuff speeches, while others need to have something written down and the written techniques range from holding a handful of cue cards to having the full text of the speech in front of you. None of these solutions is more right than others although different approaches might work better for different situations but the important thing is to see whats best for you. Experience also helps theres no substitute for getting up there and talking, while no amount of preparation is a substitute for time on your feet in front of people. Finally, remember that most of the time people are interested to hear what you

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have got to say, so you are unlikely to be facing a hostile audience.

Your book on ERM is soon to become part of the Professions ST9 exam syllabus. How long did it take you to write the book? What are its highlights and will there be another?
The book probably took about a year to write. It started as a high-level overview I wrote as a sessional meeting paper, so I thought it would be straightforward to expand it into a book but it took a little longer to come up with the nished product than I imagined. I hope that the highlight will be the overall accessibility of the text that and the beautifully rendered graphics. However, its not really for me to say what the best bits are. Apart from the fact that I am too close to it to be even remotely objective, other people will have to say what they like, and what can be improved in future editions. Apart from a second edition of Financial Enterprise Risk Management which I cant bring myself to think about at the moment I have also agreed to write a book on mortality and longevity. This will look at not just the mathematical aspect of this subject, but also insights from other disciplines and real-life considerations. Watch this space

should change once Solvency II is in force, but also how any changes in strategy at an industry level will affect the returns on various asset classes in the intervening period. The way in which insurance companies reach their customers given the Retail Distribution Review is also something that should be high on the agenda for many rms. Larger companies will also need to think about how, and if, they access the rapidly growing developing markets.

How do you measure your success?

If Im stretching myself but still doing a good job, then I would count that as one measure of success. If I give all of my commitments the time they deserve including spending time with my family then I feel like Im getting it right.

What are your views on the CERA qualification for actuaries?

I think its a great qualication. First, its accessible. In terms of examinations, associates need take only a single additional subject to obtain the CERA qualication, meaning that it can be gained more quickly than fellowship. It also covers a great range of skills, from the maths that you need to understand complex risk interactions to the crucial qualitative considerations that are needed when looking at a broad spectrum of risks. Finally, the global nature of the qualication means that its ideal for actuaries wanting to use their qualication abroad. Fourteen actuarial associations signed up to CERA last year, giving it truly worldwide recognition.

Paul Sweeting is a managing director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he is European head of the firms Strategic Investment Advisory Group. Before this, he was a professor of actuarial science at the University of Kent, a post he still holds on a part-time basis. Paul has also worked in pensions and investment consultancy, and as a longevity strategist. Paul is a member of the Council of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and also a member of the Professions management board. He has written a number of papers on pensions, investment, risk and longevity issues, and is a regular contributor to the print, broadcast and online media. His book Financial Enterprise Risk Management is due to be published in September 2011. As well as being a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, Paul is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Whats the greatest piece of advice youve ever been given?

Im not really very good at taking advice and I think so far thats paid off. Just do it is probably as good a piece of advice as any.

What do you do to relax?

Im a bit of a petrolhead, so cars and bikes feature quite highly driving and riding rather than watching. In complete contrast, I also enjoy listening to all sorts of music, from Bach to Bombay Bicycle Club, and I play the piano, though too infrequently to be any good. In terms of sport, I always try and pack a pair of trainers when Im travelling so I can go for a run, although I dont have the time to run as far as I used to, having completed the London Marathon in 2002 and 2004. And while its not always relaxing, spending time with my two-year-old daughter is always good for taking my mind off work.

What top three issues should insurance company boards have in mind for 2011 and beyond?
It might sound a bit obvious given my current role, but investment strategies in the face of Solvency II must be near the top of their lists. This doesnt just mean considering how investment strategies

When do you find time to relax with all your various competing commitments?
I do rmly believe in the adage that a change is as good as a rest. Although Im busy, the things that keep me busy are hugely diverse, so as long as there are interesting things to do, Ill keep doing them.

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Life

India

A new dawn
Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy reflects on the strategic shifts in Indias life insurance industry, which have seen it grow to the worlds eleventh largest in just ten years

Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy is managing director of products, distribution and markets at Towers Watson, India

ndia, as a global sweet spot, attracts the attention of every major insurer. The country started in 20th place in the global insurance league table when the market opened to private players in 2000, moving up to 11th place by 2010. Since 2000, a total of 22 life insurance companies have set up operations in India. Most major multinational insurers are represented through joint ventures (the only option for foreigners), and all but two

new players are licensed as joint ventures. Total foreign direct investment in insurance companies stands at close to IRs51 billion (about US$1.1 billion). While the stateowned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) still holds a signicant majority of market share, other companies have established footholds (Figure 1).

Favourable economic profile

India is recognised globally for its trilliondollar economy, consistent high growth of more than 8% per annum, its vibrant democracy and institutions, and cheap labour with good English skills. A recent study predicts that Indias economy will grow vefold in the next 20 years. The countrys favourable demographic prole is of special interest to insurers 56% of Indians were under the age of 15 or over the age of 64 in 2010. Research shows that Indias working-age population will increase by 136 million by 2020. In comparison, Chinas working age population will grow by 23 million. Indian households save more than those in other emerging markets such as China and Brazil. Household savings were 25% of Indias gross domestic savings in 2008, compared with 5% in Brazil and 15% in China. The gures for Britain and the US are 2% and 1% respectively. The large young population, combined

Figure 1 Market share of leading life insurers in India

with the current low rate of life insurance penetration and high rate of personal savings, points to the upside potential for the Indian insurance market. The propensity to save has led to a surge in investment-linked life insurance policies. The strong performance of Indian stock indices has aided this growth. The Indian stock market gave returns of 22% in 2010, a signicant drop from the dizzying 90% gain in 2009, but still impressive nonetheless. India has attracted a large number of multinational insurers in a short span of time. What have major players learned in the rst decade of operations? There are ve important lessons: 1. The importance of a strong local partner and brand Private insurers have learned that the strength of their domestic partners and their market franchises are vital to sustainable growth. Insurance buyers rely more on the market standing and distribution network of local sponsors than the global image of their foreign counterparts. At the same time, a few joint ventures have experienced growth constraints because local partners have not been ready to pump in capital as needed to support business volumes and solvency needs. As a result, well-capitalised banks are emerging as preferred partners in insurance

LIC 72.1% ICICI Prudential Life 5.3% SBI Life 5.1% HDFC Standard Life 2.8%

Bajaz Allianz Life 2.6% Reliance Life 2.3% Others 9.8%

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ventures. Only sound and protable banks get the necessary approval from the central bank to take a stake in Indian insurance businesses. In fact, entrants such as HSBC and Dai-ichi Life have offered high premiums to banks in order to forge partnerships. 2. Flexible product strategies Life companies in India have learned that product strategies need to be under constant review to respond to changing risk appetites and customer preferences. As a result, product teams are under pressure to assess the market and come up with new plans, often on short notice, to satisfy distribution partners and as a response to the market environment. Unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) are a prime example of the need to absolutely understand the marketplace. A few companies underestimated customer interest in ULIPs when they were introduced in 2003 and kept to their more traditional plans, thereby missing a slice of the pie. On the other hand, companies that relied solely on ULIPs suffered in the global nancial crisis when customers took ight to safety, and again more recently in the wake of regulatory measures that sought to curb the excessive growth of ULIPs at the cost of traditional insurance plans. 3. Distribution efciency A key lesson for insurers in India is in distribution, which is witnessing the emergence of new channels such as

bancassurance. While agencies remain the backbone of distribution, mass recruitment led to quality and sales skill issues, and widespread complaints of misrepresentation of insurance plans ensued. Most agents consider insurance sales a secondary pursuit for additional income, and they often rely on their immediate contacts to make sales. This has led to high agent turnover and a high percentage of policy lapses, which has affected insurers long-term protability. According to the regulator, the lapse rate on ULIP policies was 26% in 2006 and, according to Towers Watsons estimates, that has climbed higher in recent years. The regulator has also voiced concerns about the status of orphan policies at many companies.

1% of them have been cross-sold insurance. The potential is huge, and insurers are now waking up to the need for well-orchestrated implementation plans. 4. Large volumes and small tickets When the market opened, most private insurers underestimated the Indian markets potential volume and policy sizes. The volume of new business boomed (Figure 2). In 2010, private insurers issued a total of 14.5 million policies, and the state-owned LIC issued close to 40 million. This translates to an average rst-year premium of about IRs20,000 (about US$440) per policy. But because policyholders can pay their premium semi-annually or quarterly, transaction sizes are much lower than the annual premium. Managing the resulting huge transaction numbers and service levels has presented a challenge to insurers. Insurers active in the rural and micro-insurance businesses have also learned to cater to customers who want small policies with annual premiums of IRs500 (about US$11) or even lower, and they have developed mechanisms to collect and account for small amounts. 5. Focus on cost management Despite robust growth, good cost management is a key issue for private players. Indian regulations prescribe caps on costs, including management expenses. Most private players have breached this limit, citing the additional costs of start-up. While the operating costs ratio for private insurers came down to about 21% last year a decline of 5% from the previous year a recent set of new regulatory measures drastically lowering policy surrender charges and capping fund management fees has required insurers to relentlessly pursue costreduction initiatives.

industry is poised for a big leap in performance and opportunities

The Indian insurance

The low quality of sales and high incidence of policy discontinuance are also evident in bank distribution. A 2008 study that benchmarked bancassurance distribution in India (which was followed by a second study in 2010), showed that distribution practices at bank branches are inefcient and are centred on sales push. Customer service is often mediocre. Indian banks have more than 400 million retail customers, and only about

Figure 2 New business premium of insurers

Weighted new premium income 18000 16000 14000 US$ million 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 1 US$ = RS45 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 LIC Private players

Summary
These developments clearly show that the Indian insurance industry is poised for a big leap in performance and opportunities, notwithstanding the challenges and the strategic issues that the private players and their foreign partners face as part of this momentous growth.

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Life insurance

Predictive underwriting

Life in the fast lane

Paul Hately looks at life insurances aim to balance customer needs for convenience and low prices through predictive underwriting
standard terms, had they gone through the long and expensive underwriting process. n A means of targeting customers with an offer. By leveraging information already known about customers, organisations with strong data can make an asset of this and offer consumers additional convenience. n The use of statistical models. These can predict likely underwriting or claims outcomes. n A controlled buying experience. Similar to simplied issue, consumers can access cover at a price considered to be good value for those in good health. Developments in the UK have so far focused on reducing the amount of traditional underwriting needed for those consumers offered a product through predictive modelling. In the US, life industry talk is more of using predictive techniques to triage the underwriting process and avoid expensive medical tests for healthy people. In general insurance, similar techniques are being used to predict which applicants will have the lowest claims frequency, the lowest rates of fraud and display the most loyalty. model is to predict an individuals likelihood to claim, underwriting decisions can be used to build the model rather than claim data because this is harder to come by. Several projects have been undertaken in the eld of bancassurance, using banking data as the predictor. One or two projects have also been explored using supermarket, general insurance or publicly available commercial data as the predictor. Over the past eight years or so, our work in this eld has focused on building models based on depersonalised data held by high-street banks. This is then linked to traditionally determined underwriting decisions for sales made face to face, in branch or in a customers home. There is therefore a selective effect at work in the data used to build the model, in that the very ill tend not to apply for life insurance through these methods. As a consequence, to mirror this effect, even the very best predictive models tend to require a degree of ltering through the inclusion of a much-reduced number of traditional underwriting questions. Whether looking at bank-specic or publicly available data, the strongest predictors of underwriting outcome are age, socio-economic for example, community or neighbourhood, afuence, occupation and credit as well as account activity or transactional elds. If data points exist that are very close to health status then they too are highlighted as predictive of underwriting decision.

Paul Hately is head of accelerated underwriting and data insights at Swiss Re Life and Health he life insurance industry is often accused, and rightly so in many instances, of a lack of consumer focus. The nger is pointed at products that are not innovative and fail to meet the needs of the modern consumer. At the same time, compared to other industries ranging from retail to general insurance, we are woefully underdeveloped in our use of consumer data to improve the proposition and target customers effectively. In recent years, predictive underwriting has emerged as a technique that, while still only being whispered about, is increasingly seen in the UK and the US as a potential solution that helps counter both these charges. In countries like these, where there are sizeable and distinct protection markets, predictive underwriting can connect with parts of the population that have not, so far, engaged with protection insurance and thereby make in-roads into closing the protection gap. While still in its infancy as far as life risks are concerned, the technique is being developed to support a brands desire to improve its insurance offering. This is against a backdrop of increasing acquisition and medical evidence costs, along with long elapsed times between order and fullment. A denition of predictive underwriting sometimes referred to as lifestyle underwriting would include: n Making life insurance quick and easy to buy. The process allows for most of the traditional underwriting to be bypassed for those people most likely to end up with

Interesting insights
The best models are derived from the widest-ranging depersonalised data sets. From the broad range of possible factors, statistical techniques are used to nd combinations of predictors that are most correlated with mortality or an underwriters view of relative mortality. In other words, while the purpose of a

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As an example of account activity, we have found, on more than one occasion, that frequency of ATM visits proves to be one of the predictors of UK underwriters decisions. This surprising discovery highlights the need not to prejudge which variables will be predictive. Before it was discovered nobody thought of it, yet it is likely to have links to basic social and occupational activity that other studies show are linked to well-being and mortality.

error and any additional anti-selection encouraged by the easy-to-buy proposition. Underwriting or pricing can be used to allow for moderately impaired lives that form part of this model error. The statistic used to measure the effectiveness of the model is the coefcient of concordance and anything over 50% is better than random, with the best models seen in this eld achieving up to 70%.

Model effectiveness
Assume we take a large sample of recent underwriting decisions for life insurance policies. Say 80% of these were offered standard rates, or a small loading, and the remaining 20% were signicantly loaded or declined. If we then took a random sample of 50% of these decisions, one would still expect an 80:20 split. If a model is derived that aims to predict underwriting outcome and we then take the best 50% of lives according to our model, then the model is predictive if signicantly more than 80% the non-predictive average of the lives selected are deemed to be good risks. The higher this gure, the better. If it is 95%, this still leaves a 5% type II model error1, of all customers in the best 50% of the model if they all buy the product that is, the model predicts that they are a good risk but we know they are not (Figure 1). Traditional underwriting has to be used to remove the worst cases of type II

Product characteristics
Clearly these techniques have the potential to be used across a range of products and distribution channels. Wherever possible, the product, brand and channel combination for any proposition should be derived from a model built on data from the same mix. For example, it would not be appropriate to target independent nancial advisers with a proposition derived from a model built on tied sales.

insurance contracts marketed at consumers selected using predictive techniques, is take-up rate by health status. Understanding consumer behaviour is therefore an essential part of the product development process. Indeed, it is to be expected that some of the type II error lives will not have been able to buy insurance through any other method. Therefore, these would be expected to have a higher take-up rate than the healthiest lives. Furthermore, this effect is exaggerated for those not even represented in the model due to their very poor health. A way to counteract this anti-selective effect would be to have the insurance linked to the sale of another product or packaged in such a way that all potential customers buy the product, for example, linked to employment or included in a premium banking package.

are derived from the widest-ranging depersonalised data sets

The best models

Users of predictive techniques

These methods are most appropriate for those who hold a lot of data on their customers. Ideally, they will have access to both predictor data and actual mortality or underwriting experience on some of those same customers. Bancassurers clearly meet these criteria but so too do consumer-centric data-rich companies with links to a life insurer. Examples of these are supermarkets especially those who already sell nancial products non-life insurers and asset managers. Predictive techniques are common in other industries and are used in life ofces and banks in terms of propensity to buy. Of course, since premiums for life insurance are derived from a very low underlying claim rate, it does not take many more claims than expected to turn a mildly protable line into one making big losses. We should therefore avoid increasing the attractiveness of the product to the few with a high propensity to claim, and hence increasing the price unfairly for the wider pool. Indeed, when carefully developed, these techniques have huge potential, as they can remove sales barriers that dissuade many healthy people from buying insurance.
1 A type II error: failing to reject the null hypothesis when it is false

In all cases the product presented to the customer should be very similar to standard products sold using traditional underwriting. It must be kept as simple as possible, in terms of added features and benets, with limits on maximum sum assured, age at inception and term. A key assumption, when pricing

Figure 1 Cumulative gains

100% Percentage of bads found 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Percentage of the model targeted 90 100 Random Model

The blue line shows the cumulative percentage of "bad" customers captured as you widen the targeted population. The base line in red shows the percent you would expect

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Conference preview

Life

We can work it out

Tracey Pritchard talks to chair Jason Hurley about preparations for this years Life conference, taking place on 20-22 November at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool

he theme of this years Life conference, We can work it out, sums up conference chair Jason Hurleys mood nicely. The managers of insurance companies have a whole raft of challenges changes to regulatory frameworks (not just Solvency II), changes to nancial reporting, the need to better manage their business, the fragile state of the economy and the ever-changing legal environment. Mr Hurley wants actuaries to be honest and realistic about the challenges for the industry and the profession. He believes that to x these problems, actuaries need to understand their role, and need to work together in the bigger, wider community. He is very keen to foster a community spirit, he encourages people to participate, to speak their mind, to think and to have fun. Mr Hurley suggests that often people focus on todays problem and maybe lose sight of the fact that the industrys fundamental job is to serve our customers, provide good quality value for money products, that meet customer needs. He questions whether we have embraced technological changes to anywhere near the extent that we should. Putting this together into a coherent programme means that the conference will cover a number of areas in the main plenary sessions, the key messages being: Where are we, where are we going and what are we doing about it?

must not forget the primary, if not sole, purpose to deliver products and services that meet customers needs. Sue Harrison will present customer research. By listening to the public and giving them what they want, there are many opportunities. But how often does the industry ask: What do the public think of us? What do they value? What are they prepared to pay for? Simon Clayden, AXA Insurance, will share his experience from general insurance, building and delivering iPhone apps to speed up the application process, improve application and claim services, manage operational risk and reduce costs.

Workshops
As well as these plenary sessions, there will be over 80 workshops sessions, including a number of hot topics, many with an international avour. Mr Hurley believes that much can be learnt from abroad, provided solutions are tailored to the local market. In this respect he is very pleased to welcome the involvement of the International Actuarial Association at this years conference.

Keynote speaker
So that gives us a lot of background information, the environmental challenges and where the industry is aiming for. So how does that come together as a plan? In that respect, the keynote speaker on Sunday night will give personal valuable insight. Among many things, Rt Hon Sir Richard Needham is a non-executive director of Dyson, and a former Trade and Northern Ireland minister. Drawing upon his experience in both Government and the Commerce, he will share his views under the banner of Winning Through. Sir Richard will deliver a number of clear messages, including innovation, dealing with suppliers, managing your margin, managing people, testing your strategy and working out what customers actually want. An entertaining and thought-provoking speaker, he has plenty of messages that we can all learn from. Mr Hurleys nal request is for actuaries to make the trip to Liverpool, to make your contribution to helping the profession but, more importantly, to helping your customers.

Plenary sessions
David Nish, CEO of Standard Life, will share his views of the industry, its challenges and prospects. David is relatively new to the industry, having spent many years working in the electricity industry. It will be interesting to hear the views of a relative newcomer Colin Simpson of Goldman Sachs will give an honest and realistic view of how analysts and investors see the life insurance industry Ross Walker and Andrew Roberts of RBS will offer an economists insight into UK and global markets. Jason Hurley, chair of the Life conference and exhibition committee

MORE INFORMATION ONLINE

For further information on the Life conference and to book your place, visit http://tinyurl.com/5rql5j2. Book before 20 September to receive the early booking fee.

Customer focus
Mr Hurley rmly believes that actuaries

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Sponsored by

Business phones

Technology

BlackBerry crumble?
Anthony Dhanendran compares the latest developments within the business phone market and asks which one is best for you?
real hassle compared to the iPhone, and the interface is starting to look dated. There are still a couple of things that the BlackBerry does better: for one, BlackBerry Messenger BBM provides a truly secure instant messaging service between employees, something no other phone system does. Apple is nipping at RIMs heels here too, though: the next version of the iPhone, due in September 2011, is expected to include just this feature. The iPhone does very well when it comes to integrating with Microsofts Exchange, the email server used by most companies. But if your rm is already set up to use BlackBerry Push email, moving to using Exchange on its own will be quite a change. More and more companies are allowing employees to connect their own devices to corporate networks, and the iPhone can easily be networked up to your rms Exchange server. Its email support is pretty good these days, although there is one thing to bear in mind: connecting a personal iPhone to the corporate network will usually give your companys IT department a degree of control over your phone. That includes the ability to remotely wipe the handset of absolutely everything. It makes sense if your phone is lost or stolen its important for the company to safeguard its data but be aware of that before you connect. Android handsets are good for business users, though their Exchange support is much more limited than Apples. Also, Apple does considerably more vetting on iPhone apps than Google does on Android apps, so companies will be much more reticent about allowing them to connect to the network. So whats the best choice? Well, assuming you have a choice assuming your company allows connection of your own device to the network the iPhone has to be the leader at the moment. Android devices just arent secure enough, and although security is one of BlackBerrys strengths, the iPhone has caught up in that area. The addition of secure instant messaging later this year will remove the last real thing that BlackBerry does better. Then it comes down to user experience the iPhone wins hands-down. Unless youre wedded to the look and feel of your BlackBerry, it might be time now to make the switch.

Anthony Dhanendran is the reviews editor of Computeractive he BlackBerry is a remarkable line of products. Its maker RIM managed to completely corner the market in business phones, but now it faces a huge challenge from other, smarter smartphones. Before the days of the iPhone and Android, the reason why people bought BlackBerries was that they worked with corporate emails and did it seamlessly. Before that, connecting your users phones to the corporate network was a nightmare, but RIM made it easy. As with most cases of market dominance, though, it led to complacency and an unwillingness to innovate. When the iPhone came out in 2007 it wasnt a business phone. It looked great, and was even easier to use than BlackBerries, but didnt have the chops to be used seriously for work. Apple steadily worked to make it better, and now the iPhone makes real sense as a business handset. The impressive and still improving iOS operating system is much easier to use than that on recent BlackBerry models. Email support on iOS is much better, theres support for networked printers and the growing number of business-friendly, useful apps is a marker of how seriously the phone is being taken. BlackBerry, on the other hand, is lagging behind. Making apps for the BlackBerry is a

arent secure enough, and although security is one of BlackBerrys strengths, the iPhone has caught it up in that area

Android devices just

ReMetrica for Solvency II

www.aonbeneld.com/remetrica_demo
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arts@the-actuary.org.uk

Richard Elliott

Arts

Festival fever
Richard Elliott cuts through the hyperbole to find the best of this years Edinburgh Festival
icking shows to see at the Edinburgh Festival can be a struggle. As if the unpredictable Scottish weather was not enough for visitors to contend with, relentless hyperbole buffets them from every direction the moment they step off the bus. A compelling comic monster! Perfectly mastered yet volcanic energy. Sickeningly accomplished. A cursory look at the contents of this years programme and the multiple-ponied Stuart Baggs from The Apprentice suddenly appears a master of restraint. If even half the shows therein turn out to be the coruscating works of genius the performers so boldly proclaim, one might expect the unprecedented levels of foot-stomping laughter and riotous applause to cause Scotlands capital to break off the coast and drift down the North Sea (thus rendering a long-concealed Glaswegian plot redundant). Of course, the show selection task is usually further complicated by having to cater for tastes beyond your own. Anyone who has had the dubious honour of picking a show for a group of friends or even worse a group of work colleagues, soon makes the unhappy discovery that not everyone is fortunate enough to possess their own ne powers of discrimination. As the saying goes, one persons idea of comedy is another persons Russell Howard. Thus, it is with a degree of reticence that I offer the following recommendations.

and Shakespeares The Tempest transplanted to fth century Korea.

Books
Unlike most of the other August festivals in Edinburgh, the Book Festival enjoys a single location the attractive and intimate setting of Charlotte Square Gardens thus avoiding a mad taxi dash across town between events. This years line-up features a parade of Booker winners, AS Byatt, Alan Hollinghurst, Ben Okri and Michael Ondaatje, along with an impressive array of non-ction authors, including Niall Ferguson, Simon Blackburn and the ubiquitous AC Grayling. I am particularly looking forward to hearing Will Selfs views on WG Sebald (28 August). This year marks the tenth anniversary of the death of the German writer whose melding of memoir and ction continues to exert a powerful inuence on many authors, including Self. Other talks to watch out for are those by Jennifer Egan (15 August), author of Pulitzer prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad, and poet Paul Muldoon (20 August), who last year proved an affable and engaging speaker. Finally, if you would like to support a fellow actuary, then George Lewkowicz, a capital modelling contractor for Tea Fuelled Ltd, will be performing as Superbard, a storyteller from the future, mixing self-composed music and video projections to tell darkly comic, whimsical tales. George rst appeared in The Actuary back in 2008 when he made his Edinburgh Festival debut, and we wish him well with this years show. www.edfringe.com

Comedy
Over the past six festivals, two comedians have enticed more laughs from me than the rest combined. One of them is Daniel Kitson, conspicuously absent from this years line-up. The other is Stewart Lee. The second series of Stewart Lees Comedy Vehicle drew heavily from his 2010 Edinburgh show, and this years show is likely to preview material for the third series. Lees shows normally sell out fast, so book early. Fans of Peep Show and Flight of the Conchords may wish to check out Isy Suttie (Dobby) and Kristen Schall (Mel), while admirers of Andy Kaufmans brand of anti-humour should look up Neil Hamburger and Edward Aczel.

Music
While the International Festival covers the classical side of things, The National (23 August) are the clear standout from what looks like a rather insipid rock line-up (unless you happen to take a keen interest in the trajectory of Charlie Simpsons post-Busted career). If melodic punk cabaret is high on your list of favourite musical genres, then Amanda Palmer (25 August) returns after popular shows at previous festivals. If you would prefer to wallow in mid-90s Britpop nostalgia, then Cast will be rolling back the years on 26 August.

Theatre
Its difcult to ignore the big names this year: John Malkovich directing Julian Sands in A Celebration of Harold Pinter, and Steven Berkoffs take on Sophocles Oedipus. There is also, however, emerging young talent on offer. The Analogue theatre company a Fringe First Winner in 2007 with Mile End returns with its latest play 2401 Objects, inspired by an important neuroscientic case study, and promising to tell a remarkable story of a man who could no longer remember, but who has proven impossible to forget. The Edinburgh International Festival also celebrates Asian cultures this year, with the line-up including One Thousand and One Nights, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (based on Haruki Murakamis novel),

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Puzzles

Coffee break

August prize puzzle

E pluribus unum

For a chance to win a 50 Amazon voucher, please email your solutions to the fourth column clues to puzzles@the-actuary.org.uk by 14 August 2011. This can be repeated for each clue in the fourth column using each clue from the first three columns exactly once. Note that the four columns are not necessarily in any useful order.

There are four columns of clues (to a word) below. You will need to take a clue from each of the first three columns which, when combined, give the solution to one of the clues in the fourth column.

Example clue: [Turn in circular motions] [act dishonestly] [expression of hesitation] [a warm jacket] Answer: Wind/cheat/er. A pet A preposition Animal enclosure Chew vigorously Heal Human Mail Promotional material Shallow container Snooker shot An item of clothing Body part Charged particle Expected standard Graffiti signature Grow old Involutary spasm Part of the psyche Pronoun Vehicle After deductions Building material Get up Hypocritical expressions In use Large vessel Metallic rock Part of the psyche Stomach X A beggar A shape Arrange into classes Censure Destroy enthusiasm Following childbirth Legendary monster Promotion in rank Royal house Series of contests

Terms and conditions

The prize will be awarded for the most complete entry received before the closing date. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker question will apply. The winners name will be announced in the next edition. Please note that the puzzles editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. We reserve the right to feature the winners name and a photo (if supplied) in The Actuary, and to use any tie-breaker entries in future puzzles. Your details will not be passed to any third party in connection with this draw.

Puzzle 479

Food for thought (reprise) Puzzle 480

The Caultaria Cryptography and Actuarial Services Society (motto: never knowingly understood) are off at their annual dinner. The following are listed on the dinner menu as accompaniments to the main course: 123345 647274 823347 What, in plain English, is on the menu?

Hat trick

Twenty four logicians are sat in a circle, twelve are wearing white hats and ten black hats (as they are wont to do). Looking down from above, thats all you can see of them. Allowing for rotational symmetry, how many such possible distinct arrangements are there? (For example, there is only one arrangement where all ten white hats are located in one block.)

Puzzle 481

Guesstimation

Estimation is a vital actuarial skill. For each of the pairs given below, which is larger or are they roughly the same? 1. Number of grains of rice in a 1 kilo bag vs Number of runners in the 2011 London Marathon? 2. Number of words in the Bible vs Number of cars built in the UK in 2010? 3. Diameter in inches of a golf hole vs Maximum breadth in inches of a cricket bat? 4. Number of pints in an Olympic standard swimming pool vs Number of people in Tanzania? 5. Number of hairs on the editors head vs Number of employees of the Indian state railway?
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To access the puzzles archive, visit www.TheActuary.com/ puzzles. The puzzles editor is pleased to receive ideas for

new puzzles from readers at puzzles@the-actuary.org.uk

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August 2011

Bridge challenge 17

Cover story

A useful beginners guide to playing bridge can be found at www.ebu.co.uk/education/learning/default.htm. Please send any comments you have to Tom Bratcher at puzzles@the-actuary.org.uk

You are sitting East. South opens the bidding with 1NT (12-14 points) and North raises direct to 3NT. West leads K 864 AK75 QJ9 A42 N W S E 53 103 K543 J10983

Declarer ducks the first spade and wins A with the second. He ducks a heart to your 10. With no more spades, you switch to J. Declarer wins with his Q and plays two more hearts. You discard on the third round. He now leads Q. Do you cover with your King? Why (or why not)?

Solutions for July 2011

July prize puzzle
The Oscars

Puzzle 476 solution

1. Move three matchsticks to leave six squares.

Strike a light!

The missing characters are shown in brackets. 1. Se(7)en 2. T(r)on 3. The Sti(n)g 4. Chariots of Fir(e) 5. For Your (E)yes Only 6. Scr(e)am 7. Dumb and (D)umber 8. A Clockwork Orang(e) 9. Where Eagles (D)are 10. The (O)men 11. The (C)able Guy 12. Brie(f) Encounter 13. A Series of Unfortunate Even(t)s 14. Talk to H(e)r 15. Once Upon a Time in the We(s)t 16. Toy (S)tory 17. No Country for Old Me(n) 18. Bor(n) on the Fourth of July 19. Pu(l)p Fiction 20. 2(8) Days Later Credit was given for some alternative answers.

2. Move three matchsticks to leave six triangles. The matches moved then form a three-dimensional pyramid with one of the remaining triangles as its base.

Puzzle 477 solution

Mental arithmetic

Removing three letters from Seventy, or two letters from Eleven, leaves Even!

Puzzle 478 solution

Board?

July prize winner

Congratulations to Julys winner, Mike Hooton of Admin Re

You can place 32 Knights on a chessboard so that they do not attack one another (eg. one on each dark square). You can place 14 Bishops on a chessboard so that they do not attack one another (eg. on the first through seventh ranks on opposite edges of the board).
August 2011

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41

Student page

Matthew Welsh

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Matthew Welsh says it is time to optimise your high-quality free time

Balancing act
ost people face choices that are either/or: eat in or out, to buy or not to buy, X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing, daddy or chips? Of course, actuarial students while they love their binary prefer life to be a little more complicated. In the quest for a work-life balance they like to throw in a third, unspeakable variable. We say that we suffer in the name of qualifying. Perhaps we do it because it offers us a supply of rants about how we never have time to enjoy ourselves we are either working or studying. We follow the student ABC: Always Be Cramming. But is it true? Are we selessly missing out on our 20s and 30s in the pursuit of excellence or are we, in fact, just a bunch of moaners? I hate ambiguity so lets nd out. Compare two people: a student and a person with a job but no study.

weekend, holiday and study day (exam days will be considered as work days) n Both take 14 days holiday/bank holiday n There are no external factors, like sick days. So, over six months, what do our two subjects spend their time doing? The major difference is the presence of study days for the student more on that later. It is worth pausing to consider the nature of free time. Lets say there are two kinds: Grade A free time comes when there is a substantial block in which to do a meaningful activity. Grade B free time occurs when the subject may be tired or have chores to do. It is clear grade A free time is more valuable than grade B. Holidays, weekends and work days are broken up as shown in Table 1. Holidays and weekends will always have grade A free time and work days will have grade B.

as the exams approach. Also, if they study a lot in a day then free time downgrades from grade A to grade B. This means that the student might typically enjoy 31 hours of grade A free time and 44 days of grade B free time from study days. However, this assumption means they need to nd another 67 hours of study time to prepare for the exam. This will come from weekends.

Results
Whichever way you slice it, the student will end up with about 36 hours less free time than the worker. Thats the deal. Also, with no exam commitments, the worker can choose when to take holidays more freely. But the student can gain exibility from study days. They can end up with more days with grade A free time than a worker. Some would argue that having more days of free time is better than having more free time condensed into fewer days. Also, the overwhelming amount of free time that a student has is exible. They can choose to have high- or low-quality time depending on how they approach studying little and often or blitzed all at once. So, when you think about your work/life/study balance, consider the ways you can get the mix that is right for you. This could go a long way to making students feel more content in dealing with the perceived sacrice of having to study. Matthew Welsh works as a GI reserving actuary for Zurich Financial Services

The investigation
Any actuary knows to state their key assumptions, so: n This takes place over six months the time between actuarial exams n The student is studying for two CT exams with 14 study days n Each exam takes 80 hours preparation n There are four types of day: work day,

Study days
We can assume that study days offer 12 hours of free time similar to weekends. The student can do one of a few things: n They can do a full day of study (about eight hours) n They can take the day off (at their own peril) n They can do something in-between. I will assume the student will study more

Figure 1 A time comparison between a student and a worker

35 30 25

Table 1
Holiday and weekends (per day) Activity Hours Work day
Activity Sleep Commute Eating Work Wasted time Grade B free time Hours 8 1.5 2 7 2 3.5

Type of day
Work Study Wee Holid

Sleep Commute Eating Work Wasted time

8 0 2 0 2 12

Sum of days

20 15 10 5 0

Student 1

Worker

Student 2

Worker

Student 3

Worker

Student 4

Worker

Student 5

Worker

Student 6

Worker

Grade A free time

Month/Person

42

August 2011

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AOTF/Book review

People/Comment

Actuary of the future

Rachel Gow
Employer and area of work
Aviva Ireland GI Pricing.

Book review
Peter Tompkins gets to grips with The Case for Working with your Hands: or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good by Matthew Crawford
The title of this book held out the promise of an interesting argument, which sadly was not fullled by its content. The author went to college with the usual expectation of being prepared for a life behind a desk, did a PhD and somewhat by accident found himself working for a think tank. But having grown up with a love of repairing motorbikes, he soon gave the ofce up and opted for a career in oily workshops. Drawing heavily on his background as a philosopher and quoting Aristotle and Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) among others he admires, Crawfords best writing is his analysis of the demeaning nature of many ofce jobs. Glamorous-sounding careers often resolve into differentiated tasks, with any task that can be clericalised reduced to just that. Crawford has a hostility to a world of rules and regulations that take the individuality out of the professional. White-collar professions are subject to routinization and degradation, proceeding by the same logic that hit manual fabrication a hundred years ago: the cognitive elements are appropriate from professionals, instantiated in a system or process, and then handed back to clerks who replace the professionals. On public policy, likewise: Standardized tests remove a teachers discretion in the curriculum; strict sentencing guidelines prevent a judge from judging. Our liberal political instincts push us in this direction of centralizing authority; we distrust authority in the hands of individuals. Crawford lampoons the corporate focus on teamwork and the creation of corporate rather than individual culture. If anything, his view is that university education is designed not to develop specic skills but to mould the future players in these corporate teams. Although he makes a convincing case for where ofce work is bad, he is less good in making the case for working with your hands. He describes the Herculean efforts he makes in order to get a motorbike working again and the ensuing pleasure this gave him. But there is little assessment of the intrinsic satisfaction of a manual job well scoped and delivered with the sense of completion this brings. If there is one area for future focus or development, he could address the challenge of choosing a manually skilled vocation. College probably provides a few years interlude when young people can develop their maturity and drift towards an ofce job. The school-leaver choosing a manual career by contrast needs to make an earlier decision and choice on how to develop their skill. The world, after all, does not solely consist of pen-pushers and repairmen. Crawford needs to pay more attention to the people whose hands actually make things in the rst place.

How would your best friend describe you?

That I have a good memory for pointless information.

What motivates you?

I love working things out and solving problems.

What would be your personal motto?

I quite like ad astra (to the stars). It was my universitys motto.

Who do you admire most and why?

My father. He is a mathematician and the cleverest person I know.

What is your most actuarial habit?

Probably correcting peoples grammar and spelling.

How do you relax away from the office?

I love travelling, especially to anywhere with ancient ruins.

Alternative career choice?

Previously, I worked on Basel II and credit risk in banking, but if I had to pick something totally different it would be teaching.

Tell us something unusual about yourself

I studied Ancient Greek in school up to Leaving Cert (Irish version of A levels). I managed to win an international prize and got to meet the Greek president.

If you ruled the world, what would you change first?

Outlaw anti-red-hair prejudice!

The Case for Working with your Hands or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good is published by Viking. RRP 16.99

CRITICALLY CHALLENGED
We welcome readers suggestions of relevant books for our contributors to review or if you would like to submit your own reviews, please email sharon.maguire@incisivemedia.com

WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE FEATURED HERE?

If you would like to nominate someone for Actuary of the Future, please email AOTF@the-actuary.org.uk

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August 2011

43

Appointments

People moves

Sponsored by

KPMG in the UK has appointed David OHara as a principal investment consultant to lead its newly established Scottish Investment Advisory team. He will be based in Glasgow and will report to Patrick McCoy, head of investment advisory for KPMG in the UK. The team will advise clients on their investment arrangements and will work alongside the Scottish Pensions team led by KPMG partner, Donald Fleming. Mr OHara joins KPMG from Hymans Robertson where he provided investment advice to a range of major private and public UK pension schemes. KPMG has also welcomed Gary Martin as a principal advisor in its Manchester Life insurance actuarial team. Mr Martin joins the team from Co-operative Insurance, where his focus was on product and business development. He qualied in 2002 and has 15 years experience in the life industry.

David OHara Kendra Felisky has been appointed by Travelers to the newly created position of chief risk ofcer for Europe. Ms Felisky will be responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of risk management strategies and policies for the European operations. Additionally, she will assume the reporting line of the risk function and the capital modelling group, and will play a role in the organisations Solvency II efforts. Ms Felisky joins from Deloitte where she was a director in the Actuarial and Insurance Solutions consulting practice. Prior to Deloitte, Ms Felisky held leadership roles at CNA Re and CX Re and was previously a consultant in the UK and the US.

Peter Redhead Barnett Waddingham has promoted seven of its senior client advisers to the position of partner and added 14 associates. The promotions take the total number of partners across its seven UK practices to 50, the rm said. The seven new partners are actuaries Paul Hubbold, Ben Pullen, Ben Roach, Vanessa Smart and Ruth Thomas, who are joined by Mark Futcher and Julian Mainwood. Angela Gay FIA joins the rms Bromsgrove ofce as an associate with the other 13 new associates coming from within the rm. They are actuaries Jon Daykin, Martin Hooper, Oli McCulloch, Tracey McManus, Dan Robinson and Sam Underhill. Aon Hewitt has announced that Peter Redhead has joined the company

as business leader for the North West, based in the Manchester ofce. Mr Redhead joins the company after spending 16 years with Jardine Lloyd Thompson where latterly he was deputy chairman of its employee benets division. Munich Re has announced that Andrew Buchanan will join the rm as chief risk ofcer for the UK, Australian and South African Life markets. He will start the role from the beginning of September. Mr Buchanan joins from Prudential plc where he is the head of risk oversight. Prior to Prudential, he spent seven years at Oliver Wyman Financial Services. Andy Batley has also recently started at Munich Re as commercial director for the life business in the UK & Ireland. He was previously at XL Re for eight years as global head of business development where he was responsible for a team based in the UK, US and Continental Europe covering protection and longevity business. Peter Latimer has joined Chesnara plc as the corporate

Have you moved?

Please send news of moves, promotions, retirements and appointments to peoplemoves@ the-actuary.org.uk

Change of address
Please remember to update your details on the Professions website at www.actuaries.org.uk/members/ transactions

actuary responsible for nancial reporting. Mr Latimer joins the Presto-based listed life insurer after 15 years working for AEGON in Lytham St Annes, primarily involved in nancial reporting but latterly assisting with the groups Solvency II programme. Hannover Life Re (UK) has recently announced the appointment of Peter Turvey as an independent non-executive director. Mr Turvey has worked for Swiss Re in the UK and held positions within a range of actuarial professional bodies. Chris Lewis joins Milliman as a senior consultant in the London life practice. He joins from Aviva where he was most recently general manager of Aviva Re Europe in Dublin. Mr Lewis will initially focus on

capital management and the provision of solutions for reinsurers. Towers Watson has appointed Paul Morris as regional leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Mr Morris joined the company in 1988 as an international consultant in the New York ofce before relocating to London soon afterwards. Since then he has been an account director and consulted with a number of Towers Watsons largest multinational clients, both in Europe and the US, advising them on a range of international benets and reward issues. In addition, for the past six years Mr Morris has been the ofce leader for the Reigate ofce, one of Towers Watsons largest ofces globally.

MORE MOVES ONLINE

For more people moves, please visit www.TheActuary.com

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Appointments
www.theactuaryjobs.com
To advertise your vacancies in the magazine and online please contact: Melanie Jacob, Tel: +44 (0)20 7316 9618, E-mail: melanie.jacob@incisivemedia.com
High Finance Group
Specialist Recruiters

www.highfinancegroup.co.uk
Life Head of Product Risk Systems
Up to 130k + Bonus + Benefits London
Unique opportunity to lead the Product Development of a new Risk based software designed for the UK Life Insurance market. This niche firm has an excellent reputation and they are looking for a Life Actuary to lead product development as they enter the Life Insurance market. This is geared to an entrepreneurial, commercially minded Actuary with excellent product knowledge and good comprehension of Risk and IT. Considered on Contract & Permanent basis. CB6781

Investment Bank - ALM

Up to 130k + Bonus + Benefits London

Life

1st class opportunity to transition into the Insurance Solutions team of this European Investment Bank. As one of only 2 Actuaries you will be delivering ALM solutions to your UK & European client base. This role requires a dynamic, intelligent Commercial Actuary with strong Life insurance knowledge and an excellent grasp of the industry. Client consulting experience and an understanding of Fixed Income and Equity Derivatives would be highly advantageous. CB8521

Economic Capital New Team

Up to 95k + Bonus + Benefits London

Life

Management Consultancy - Student

55k - 65k + Benefits + Bonus Surrey

Life

You will be integral to developing the Economic Capital expertise at this well known insurer as they embed S2 into the business. The role is geared to a dynamic, progressive Actuary, looking for global exposure in a technically challenging role delivering new economic capital initiatives. You will have relevant experience, strong communication skills and a desire to be ahead of the game with S2. CB1565

Leading global management consultancy is seeking a nearly qualified student to join their specialist Actuarial consulting division. Offering actuarial solutions across the life industry, this team cover M&A, product pricing, S2 support, AFH work and property securitisation as part of their practice. Training is supported by strategic, commercial projects. Consulting or reinsurance experience is preferred. JE8768

Commercial Reporting Analyst

30k 55k + Bonus + Benefits UK Wide

Life

Move in to Life Insurance

3ok - 60k + Bonus + Benefits UK Wide

Life

Market leading Life Insurance firm is seeking a part qualified student to join their financial reporting team. Working as part of the wider Actuarial support, you will be responsible for S2 implementation, MCEV work, Actuarial modelling, ad hoc projects, and liaising with other teams within the Group. The role is complimented by 1st class training. JE2287

Fantastic opportunities exist for student and qualified Pensions Actuaries to move in to a variety of opportunities across the life insurance market. Currently working with smaller niche firms, international insurers and well-known consultancies, there are a variety of opportunties across the sector from financial reporting to ALM. MW8208

Life Risk Analysis Actuary (part-qualified) Life

Starting at 50k + Bonus + Benefits Zurich
Our client offers unique opportunities for PQ actuaries to join their international team in Zurich. You will be expected to assist the S2 and Swiss Solvency Test project, supporting the enhancement and review of Life liability and Risk Based Capital Calculations. You should be open minded, dynamic, and ambitious, with the capacity to integrate youself within a multinational team. DB9772

Solvency 2 Life Actuary

Around 85K + Bonus + Benefits Madrid, Spain

Life

We are looking for a senior English speaking S2 Actuary to join an international team. Following CEIOPS and Group guidelines, you will lead the QIS process going forward involving key stakeholders (local CFOs, senior management) reporting directly to Group Risk Management and supporting local entities. A unique opportunity to join a major insurer in Europe. DB1213

Life
Clare Bethell: 020 7337 8829 Graeme Braidwood: 020 7337 8820 Jack Eccles: 020 7337 1208 clare@highfinancegroup.co.uk graeme@highfinancegroup.co.uk jack@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Europe
Damien Bernard: 020 7337 1206 damien@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Executive Search
Mark Dainty: 020 7337 8816 mark@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Actuarial | Finance | Governance | IT | Insurance | Solvency II

020 7337 8800

www.jobs.the-actuary.org.uk

actuarial@highfinancegroup.co.uk

www.highfinancegroup.co.uk
August 2011

45

Darwin Rhodes well established UK Actuarial recruitment team is based in the heart of the City on Cornhill, and has been helping actuaries find new roles throughout the UK and Europe since 1996. We work across Non-life, Life, Pensions and Investments at all levels from student actuaries to Partner and Chief Actuary. We offer our clients a range of services including retained search, advertised search and selection, and contingent solutions - on a permanent and contract basis. Our candidates benefit from our experienced and long serving consultants who offer a consultative, discreet, and 100% transparent service.

Life Pricing Actuary Vacancies - English speaking Zurich CHF very competitive salary + bonus + comprehensive benefits package Our client is a leading, global reinsurer. They are growing their Pricing team and, as such, are looking for English-speaking pricing actuaries, from 2-3 years experience up to Team Leader level. These are genuinely excellent opportunities, with full relocation assistance, and a great benefits package including gym, subsidised restaurant, and share purchase plan. Ref: EML15079 Qualified Non-Life Actuary London Circa six figures A specialist in the management of mutual, captive and other specialist insurance companies is seeking a qualified actuary to act as number two within the actuarial team. The role will include reserving, business planning, SII, capital and pricing as well as the day to day management of part qualified actuaries. You will have strong presentation skills and will be expected to present to the board. The opportunity to play a key strategic role within the business truly exists. Excellent communication skills are essential. Ref: ACS1146 Nearly/Newly Qualified (non-life) City Up to 100k plus bonus & bens Nearly/Newly qualified actuary sought for a small, but dynamic, Actuarial team. This syndicate write a variety of business both direct and RI, and have ambitious plans to double stamp capacity and diversify business lines. Reporting into the Global Chief Actuary, the successful candidate will be involved in pricing, data analysis, model design and parameterisation as well as reserving and will work closely with overseas actuarial teams, underwriters and claims. Outstanding communication skills and strong technical ability are crucial. An excellent opportunity to assist in shaping the future of a growing syndicate. Ref: APW 5353 Risk Software Actuary London Excellent A global provider of actuarial services to the insurance market is seeking a Nearly/Newly Qualified Actuary upwards to join their Risk Software Team. The role will involve managing client relationships as well as putting forward viable risk software solutions whilst working closely with software programmers and actuarial consultants. There will be some programming involved in the position as well as developing models for an array of clients. Candidates should have an interest in software and ideally have worked with DFA packages in the past. This is an opportunity to work in a multi-faceted role for one of the market leaders. Ref: AAH4964

Longevity Actuary UK competitive + benefits Inquisitive and innovative individual needed to lead the development and refinement of pricing factors and assumptions for pricing longevity at leading BPA and DB de-risking solutions provider. You will be tasked with analysing the drivers of annuitant mortality experience, building models and identifying factors which can be used in pricing to differentiate the client from their competitors, and exacting sound pricing practices. You will identify niche profitable opportunities for the client, and be commercially aware of research, longevity model development, medical advances and lifestyle research affecting longevity, to guarantee the highest level of expertise for the client in the longevity market place. Competitive salary and benefits package on offer. Ref: ACC5460 Daily Rate Contractors UK Life & Non Life, 600 - 1500 per day We have a number of contracting opportunities throughout the UK, both in the Life and Non life sectors. Experience required includes: SII Internal Model Capital Modelling Reserving Reporting Prophet/MoSes Igloo/ReMetrica Ref: ABW1975 Interesting Career Move for PQ Pensions/ Investments Actuary London Pensions, Competitive This new role sits within the Solutions team of this major insurance company, specialising in the large end of the pensions de-risking transaction market. The team has had significant success in recent years, and is growing further. A variety of duties will be on offer covering a range of solutions from buy-outs to buy-ins and investment advice. The job is suitable for a part qualified actuary with pensions or investment experience and making good progress with the exams, wanting to gain wider experience in an exciting area. Ref: ABW5444

For more information regarding contract or permanent recruitment in the UK and Europe please contact; General enquiries
actuarial@darwinrhodes.com

Ben Whalley: b.whalley@darwinrhodes.com

UK

Michael Lixenberg: m.lixenberg@darwinrhodes.com

Europe

Life UK
c.chowne@darwinrhodes.com j.walker@darwinrhodes.com a.byrnes@darwinrhodes.com

Non Life UK
a.hill@darwinrhodes.com p.wernham@darwinrhodes.com c.carroll@darwinrhodes.com

Pensions & Investments UK

b.whalley@darwinrhodes.com d.symonds@darwinrhodes.com

Germany
z.ali@darwinrhodes.com

France & Spain

m.vinard@darwinrhodes.com

Switzerland
m.lixenberg@darwinrhodes.com

www.ipsgroup.co.uk/actuarial
ACTUARIAL

Life Reporting Actuary

100,000 + Bonus & Benefits Munich
This leading global life insurer currently requires an experienced, qualified actuary to join the life actuarial team based in Munich. With responsibility for group level financial reporting from the business units across the globe, the successful candidate will have substantial knowledge of IFRS/USGAAP, good communication, personal planning and organisation skills and be able to show initiative in applying good problem solving and analytical skills. Overall the successful candidate will be enthusiastic, inquisitive and adaptable with between four and eight years experience. Contact: Ivan.Clarke@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref:IJC473553

Chief Actuary Middle East & Africa

130,000 + Bonus & Benefits South Africa
Leading general insurer currently seeks a Chief Actuary with responsibility for the MEA region. Reporting to the CFO, the Chief Actuary will be responsible for the management and development of the actuarial team and provide expert actuarial insight and advice to both local and regional management. The successful candidate will be a fully qualified actuary with at least eight years experience in a non-life actuarial environment. You will have experience of working as part of a global network and be comfortable working in a multi-cultural environment. Contact: Ivan.Clarke@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: IJC473760

Solvency II Contract
To 1000 per day London
Six month contract for a leading London based insurance provider; supporting the current actuarial team and the Group Actuary on key deliverables for the Solvency II project. This will include; technical provisioning, documentation and sensitivity testing of the internal models.You will be required to engage with other members of the Solvency II Policy & Methodology team (including consultants or contractors) to refine areas of each others designs, to improve the overall quality of the design and documentation of the Solvency II solution and to agree implementation plans. Contact: Ivan.Clarke@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: IJC473577

FTSE 250 Corporate Advisory Leader - Pensions

Top quartile Salary + Bonus & Benefits Package London
Outstanding opportunity for an ambitious individual who will currently be advising the senior management of firms in the FTSE 250/350 on corporate pensions strategy and the options open to deal with defined benefit legacy issues and alternative retirement solutions. Candidates will be qualified pensions actuaries from a corporate consulting advisory firm and will have led and developed client relationships of both listed and unlisted firms for at least 5 years. Strong professional consulting skills and an enlightened commercial approach are both essential for this role. Contact: Anthony.Chitnis@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: Z473465

Global Specialty
90,000 + Benefits London
Global Specialty strategic business unit of this leading global Insurer. Support underwriters and financial controllers maintaining strong relationships with claims, reinsurance and IT departments. Lines of business include large specialty accounts. The candidate will build actuarial valuations, support the budget process and assist in global insurance projects. You will deal with US GAAP, SEC financial requirements, UK GAAP regulatory framework and the Lloyds platform. The candidate will be responsible for Solvency II technical provisions. Contact: Ivan.Clarke@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: IJC474186

Pensions Actuary (Ideally Three to Five Years PQE)

Top Quartile Leeds or Manchester
A new opportunity in the Northern market for an Actuary to join this established and growing team. An existing corporate and trustee client portfolio is in place, however any new business experience will be welcome. A Scheme Actuary certificate would be desirable but by no means essential. This would suit someone working in a large team who is perhaps slightly frustrated at a lack of visible career path. This Practice is performing extremely well at present, hence the need to expand. Contact: Simon.Arthur@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: SA474600

Part Qualified Pensions Student

Competitive Salary North of London
I'm now recruiting for an employee benefit consultancy that has an excellent reputation in the market. This role will be based within commutable distance from London, and represents a wise career move from a career development perspective as the training is second to none. You will work on a range of trustee and corporate clients and will be checking the work of more junior colleagues. Given the location this is a tempting move to make if you are looking for more of a work/life balance. Contact: Simon.Arthur@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: SA472744

Nearly/Newly Qualified Actuary

45,000 - 65,000 + Benefits London
If you are approaching qualification or have already completed your studies, this opportunity could provide you with fresh impetus. The work will involve providing advice to trustee and corporate clients covering a wide range of projects within a commercial and dynamic environment. If you are currently working for a UK pensions consultancy or within a big four corporate pensions team but feel your opportunities for career progression are limited, then please call me to discuss this role. Contact: Simon.Arthur@ipsgroup.co.uk London Office Ref: SA474173

London Office: IPS Group, Lloyds Avenue House, 6 Lloyds Avenue, London, EC3N 3ES Tel: 020 7481 8686 Fax: 020 7481 8660 Email: actuarial@ipsgroup.co.uk Leeds Office: IPS Group, 8 St Pauls Street, Leeds, LS1 2LE Tel: 0113 202 1577 Fax: 0113 202 1598 Email: actuarial@ipsgroup.co.uk

More jobs online at www.theactuaryjobs.com

LDI Solutions Specialist Asset Management Company, London circa 55k + bonus + benefits
This is a truly unique opportunity for a candidate with some investment consultancy experience to move into a structured solutions role within a leading asset management company. This role is 50% client facing and 50% technically focused, and you will be: Providing support for senior solutions specialists/advisers offering risk management solutions to DB pension schemes. Liaising internally with various specialist teams to provide high quality investment solutions services: ie with client directors, service associates, fund managers, quant analysts and dealers. Communicating directly with clients and their advisers, primarily their investment consultants; communicating often fairly technical and sophisticated solutions and techniques into plain English. Focusing on management of liability interest rate and inflation risks within the LDI framework for more effective funding. Solutions regularly also extend to managing equity, credit, currency, longevity and other risks, typically implemented using a combination of physical and synthetic instruments. Initially tasks are likely to include drafting strategy proposals, providing ad-hoc and regular tailored reporting, assisting in new business pitch preparation.

Welcome aboard the Spirit of Independence

Actuarial Systems model development opportunity Highly Competitive

Hymans Robertson LLP is one of the leading independent providers of actuarial and consultancy services to the occupational pensions market, across both the private and public sectors. People lie at the heart of our business; our unique culture has helped us create a pool of highly talented, experienced and enthusiastic individuals. The result has been strong continued growth with significant investment in both people and technology. As a result, exciting opportunities are available for talented individuals to join our Actuarial Systems team. Actuarial Modeller Glasgow or London With responsibility for the development of pension liability models and the integration of these with our risk models, the successful candidate will focus on analysis, design and programming models in collaboration with key stakeholders. Previous actuarial modelling experience required.

Ronnie Bowie Senior Partner

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

Contact

If you would like to find out more please go to www.hymans.co.uk/careers

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August 2011

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www.ojassociates.com

Actuarial Contract - Life Insurance

Solvency II Actuary Midlands - 6 Months Rob Bentham 1300/day Capital Actuary London - 12 Months Gary Rushton 1200/day

Actuary required to lead the Solvency II Programme from a technical regulatory perspective and act as in-house expert on emerging SII regulation.

Part/fully qualified actuaries required to focus on project work to optimise the groups capital efficiency. Will have exposure to various business areas.

Actuarial (ICA) Contractor South West - 6 Months

Ik Onyiah 1100/day

Peak 2 Actuary South East - 6 Months

Rob Bentham 1100/day

Our client, a leading insurance provider, is seeking an actuarial generalist to provide wider Solvency II support and backfill BAU support.

You will help to design, develop and document the actuarial valuation process for life business executed by the group.

Capital Actuary London - 6 Months

Ik Onyiah 1000/day

Reporting Actuary South East - 6 Months

Rob Bentham 1000/day

You will support the Chief Actuary in developing and managing actuarial aspects of the risk reporting framework & ongoing SII system developments.

To assist in the delivery of a financial reporting process for the Solvency II programme of this market leading client.

Moses Development London - 6 Months

Gary Rushton 900/day

Interim Actuary Midlands - 6 Months

Ik Onyiah 900/day

Experienced Moses modeller required to develop the existing model across a number of high profile projects.

Our client has just been accepted into the IMAP pre-application process. You will ensure satisfaction of the criteria for Internal Model approval.

Actuarial Modeller Midlands - 6 Months

Rob Bentham 800/day

Actuarial Contractor (ALS) South West - 6 Months

Ik Onyiah 800/day

To provide market leading modelling expertise with a strong stakeholder focus to the design and implementation of the new actuarial systems.

The main purpose of the role is to support the work of the methodology workstream of the Solvency II project within the Life & Pensions business.

Prophet Developers South East - 6 Months

Gary Rushton 800/day

Senior Student Reporting Actuary London - 12 Months

Gary Rushton 650/day

My client is currently looking for a number of experienced Prophet developers with either stochastic or deterministic modelling experience.

Outstanding contract opportunity for a student with good exam progression. Must have a can-do attitude & previous financial reporting experience.

Actuarial Contract - General Insurance

Capital Modeling Actuary London - 9 Months Stewart Cherry 1000/day Catastrophe Risk Actuary London - 6 Months Stewart Cherry 900/day

A Lloyds syndicate is looking for a Capital Modeling Actuary, ideally with Igloo, to undertake a 9 month contract.

A Lloyds syndicate insurer is currently looking for an experienced qualified Catastrophe Risk Actuary for a 6 month contract.

Solvency II Actuary London - 9 Months

Stewart Cherry 900/day

Remetrica Actuary London - 9 Months

Stewart Cherry 800/day

A global London Market insurer seeks a Solvency II actuary (nearly or recently qualified). The candidate must have up to date SII experience.

Experienced Remetrica capital modelling actuary required for a 9 month contract focusing on the internal model development for SII.

Senior Pricing Actuary London - 6 - 12 Months

Stewart Cherry 800/day

Reserving Actuary London - 6 Months

Stewart Cherry 750/day

A senior pricing actuary with Personal & Commercial lines experience is required for a 6-12 month contract working within the London Market.

My client, a leading London Market insurer, is currently looking for an experienced reserving actuary (part or fully qualified) for a 6 month contract.

Contact Gary Rushton gary.rushton@ojassociates.com Ik Onyiah ik.onyiah@ojassociates.com

0207 310 8793 0207 310 8785

Contact Stewart Cherry stewart.cherry@ojassociates.com Rob Bentham rob.bentham@ojassociates.com

0207 310 8651 0207 649 9351

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A name you can trust

Pensions Consulting Senior Actuarial Consultant London/Leeds, Negotiable Ref: 4709373 A leading global consultancy is looking to expand its pensions practices in London and Leeds. The practice is three years old and specialises in corporate-based work. The companys strategy will see the right people move into international and investment work.Over the next few years this opportunity will facilitate professional growth in an environment where actuaries are recognised for their successes. 020 7220 4774 mark.keizner@reedglobal.com Over 300 actuarial jobs advertised. 10 years in actuarial recruitment. Offices in 13 countries. reed.co.uk/actuarial Life Company Pension to Life Switchers Bristol, to 70,000 Ref: 4682505 Are you a part/nearly/qualied Pensions Actuary seeking a move into Life? If you are progressing well with the exams and have experience of consultancy, we have the perfect opportunity for you within a major UK Life company. Roles are available in reporting and capital management. 020 7220 4774 clare.roberts@reedglobal.com FSA Relationship Builder Qualified Life or GI Actuary London, to 110,000 + benefits Ref: 4122248 Our client needs a strong communicator to manage its relationship with the FSA. This is a senior appointment and comes with a six-gure package. Youll work alongside the Solvency II Actuary and wider nancial reporting team to manage the run up to Solvency II and beyond. 020 7220 4774 mark.keizner@reedglobal.com Life Provider Actuarial Consultant Surrey, Negotiable Ref: 4772671 Are you a nearly or fully qualied Actuary or exam stopper with some Prophet experience? Our client will consider actuarial professionals from a variety of backgrounds and levels if they have a passion for systems and some Prophet experience. You must be willing to become a Prophet coding expert. 020 7220 4774 nichola.connal@reedglobal.com

Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd is an employment agency and employment business.

Equity Analyst Life Insurance, London

75,000 - 85,000 plus Benets Ref: MJB48906 A world renowned sell-side research rm is looking for an analyst to join its life insurance team. You will be involved in conducting in-depth analysis of the industry and publicly-traded companies in the sector, building and maintaining detailed nancial models, drafting and writing research reports, helping formulate investment opinions and interacting with company management, sales and trading, and institutional clients. Ideal candidates will be newly / recently qualied life actuaries with broad commercial understanding. E: Matt.Bullock@goodmanmasson.com T: +44 (0)20 7324 0505

Life Actuarial Opportunities, South West

40,000 - 80,000 plus Benets Ref: MP12733 As a result of recent expansion in the South-West market, I am currently resourcing for a variety of projects across a broad range of disciplines including Financial Reporting, Solvency II and Modelling. Opportunities exist for nearly / newly and qualied actuaries within each of these areas, whilst bespoke roles can also be tailored to suit the skill set of strong candidates with other specialisms. Ideal candidates will have a technical knowledge of life metrics, although applications will be considered from any background. E: Mike.Painter@goodmanmasson.com T: +44 (0)20 7019 8842

Strategy Risk Management Consultant, London

45,000 - 85,000 plus Benets Ref: ME22317 My client is looking to hire part and qualied actuaries into a specialist area of its growing London team, set up to act as a strategic overall risk management offering to its large clients. You will be involved in a wide variety of projects focused around ALM modelling, Liability-Driven Investment, Buy-in / Out, Enhanced Transfer Values and other investment strategy techniques. Ideal candidates will come from a pensions or investment background. E: Mark.Eadsforth@goodmanmasson.com T: +44 (0)20 7019 8828

EEV Reporting Actuaries x2, Edinburgh

30,000 - 50,000 plus Benets Ref: GMcG43957 Do you want more responsibility and career growth but dont know how to get it from your role? Join the growing EEV reporting team at one of the leading life insurers and contribute to the production of EEV and RBS results. You will gain an understanding of how EEV is used to manage a business and communicate results to other departments (pricing, valuation) and management. We are looking for one student and one qualied actuary. E: Georgie.McGuinness@goodmanmasson.com T: +44 (0)20 7019 8863

Please contact us on 020 7336 7711 or visit www.goodmanmasson.com

Goodman Masson is an equal opportunities employer. Goodman Masson offers the services of an agency for permanent work and an employment business for temporary work.

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Latest jobs from The Actuary are now on Twitter http://twitter.com/TheActuaryJobs

Chief Actuary
MSV Life plc is the leading provider of life insurance protection, long term savings, investments and retirement planning in Malta. Reporting to the CEO and the Board of Directors, you will set the Companys actuarial policy and direction while also being an active participant in, and driver of, the organisations overall strategy. You will plan, organise, direct and control all operations of the Actuarial Unit and to assist the Chief Executive Ofcer to achieve the Companys objectives efciently. As a member of the senior leadership team of the Company, you will work closely with the CEO and the Board of Directors as well as with the relative governance committees of the board. You will oversee the Actuarial Unit to ensure proper maintenance of all systems and functions and supervise the staff in the Actuarial Unit.

Required: At least 5 years PQE FIA or equivalent Salary 130,000 to 145,000 + competitive ex-pat package. Contact Details: Zoe Campbell, Senior Consultant, Eames Consulting T: +44 20 7902 3280 E: zoe.campbell@eamesconsulting.com

Kent School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science (SMSAS)

the UKs European University

The University of Kent is one of the UKs most dynamic universities with a strong European and international presence. Our excellent RAE results reflect our world-leading research and, while we are currently increasing our postgraduate activities, our undergraduates continue to rate us one of the top universities in the country according to the National Student Survey.

Senior Lecturer in Actuarial Science

Ref: STM0234

Applications are invited for the position of Senior Lecturer in Actuarial Science. This post will be based at our Canterbury Campus on a full-time basis and is available from 1st December 2011 or as soon as possible thereafter. 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 enjoys an excellent working relationship with the professional bodies. Currently, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Actuarial Science and Finance are offered by the Centre. All our Actuarial Science programmes are accredited by the UK Actuarial Profession. The person appointed will be expected to contribute to innovative research programmes in Actuarial Science & other related areas of finance and contribute to the Schools teaching activities in Actuarial Science and Finance (particularly in the area of Risk Management). Applications from outstanding candidates with different backgrounds will also be considered. There may be opportunities for some consultancy work. An excellent package including relocation costs is offered. Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Malcolm Brown, Head of SMSAS, on + 44 (0)1227 823508 (direct line) or e-mail: M.S.Brown@kent.ac.uk Informal visits to the School are welcomed. Further information is available from our website http://www.kent.ac.uk/jobs. Minicom users please telephone 01227 824145. Closing date for completed applications: 9th September 2011. Interviews are expected to be held in October 2011. For posts of this nature you will be required to fill in the main details section as well as upload your CV which should include a personal statement and any supporting documents.

We actively promote equal opportunity in education and employment and welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

www.jobs.the-actuary.org.uk

August 2011

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Actuarial roles Edinburgh and Dublin

Were growing our team and we want you to be a part of it. This is an outstanding opportunity for you to join a leading-edge team. Here at AEGON, we offer something unique: were a global, people-focused organisation that values your work-life balance. Were interested in speaking with candidates who have drive and ambition at all levels: part-qualied, nearly/newly qualied and experienced actuaries that have a background in life insurance. In return, were offering the chance to develop your career and reach your potential with us, working in one of our teams which cover:
n

Shape the future

Help us grow our Actuarial team

Modelling Pricing Capital Management Financial Reporting

n n n

To apply now or to nd out more about our company and our future strategy, go to aegon.co.uk/careers

AEGON UK plc, registered ofce: 6 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YE. Registered in England (No. 3679296). An AEGON company. www.aegon.co.uk

June 2011

I'm personally very grateful for your efforts and even more grateful for your success in bringing to us such a talented group of people.

More than 160 years experience. More than 7m UK customers. More than just a career. Join us
A career at Prudential means you will be working at the forefront of one of the UKs leading life & pensions companies.
Prudential has over seven million customers and a leading range of products and services. With over 160 years experience, its our people that ensure we continue to perform. Thats why weve put in place a people development programme designed to reward high performance and why we constantly seek out new and exciting talent. We are currently recruiting the following vacancies;

> Senior Actuarial Trainees > Senior Qualified Actuary

(Retirement Income)

> Nearly Qualified/Qualified

Actuary (Pricing) > Business Development Analyst

To find out more about the roles above and a career with Prudential visit www.pru.co.uk/careers and add your name to our growing list of achievers.

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High Finance Group

Specialist Recruiters

High Finance Group is a specialist consultancy, providing Finance, Actuarial, Audit, Risk Management, Compliance and IT Recruitment solutions to major Insurers and Asset Managers, professional services firms and SMEs. We aim to provide a market leading recruitment service, bridging the gap between large agencies and executive search.

Chief Actuary
130k - 170k + Bonus + Benefits London

General

Treaty Pricing Actuary

80k - 110k + Bonus + Benefits London

General

This rapidly expanding Lloyds syndicate is looking to secure a qualified Actuary to lead their Actuarial function. The role will have oversight across capital, reserving and pricing whilst managing a medium sized team. The successful candidate should have a strong man management background and relish a challenge. WG9578

This specialist Lloyds insurer is looking for an experienced pricing Actuary with a strong treaty background. The role will sit with the Underwriters and support them on a day to day basis. You will be confident and outgoing with the ability to liaise with senior stakeholders. WG8439

Newly Qualified Actuary

70k - 100k + Bonus + Benefits London

General

Casualty Pricing Analyst

Up to 55k Basic + Bonus + Benefits London

General

This role is supporting the Deputy Chief Actuary and will suit someone who is newly qualified and looking for a step up in their career. The work will include capital modelling, pricing and reserving with significant exposure to the senior board. As this supports the Deputy Chief Actuary, there is the opportunity for managerial exposure too. WG6781

This role requires a bright Actuarial student to take ownership of the pricing for the Casualty business of this highly regarded London market insurer. The ideal candidate will have previous pricing experience, be very articulate and conscientious. The role would suit a candidate looking to break in to the London market for the first time or someone looking to specialise their pricing experience. JK1946

(Re)Insurance Reserving Analyst

Up to 55k Basic + Bonus + Benefits London

General

Consultancy up to Partnership
Over 150k + Bonus + Benefits All Europe

Europe

This established reinsurer is looking to grow their Reserving function with the appointment of an Actuarial student. The candidate will enjoy great development support and be given immediate responsibility to take on integral aspects of the reserving process. JK8541

One of the most recognised and dynamic consultancies is looking to expand strongly in European markets, specifically Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain. We offer partnership opportunities for the right candidates, who are able to demonstrate a successful track record and strong local market knowledge. If you are looking for a challenge and have strong technical and negotitaion skills, please contact our Europe desk. DB8546

Contract Roles
400 - 2,000 per day UK Wide

General

Contract Roles
500 - 1,500 per day UK Wide

Life

In a rapidly changing market, our clients are looking for contractors with a strong Pricing or Capital Modelling background to assist with their Solvency 2 requirements. Modelling experience especially with Igloo or ReMetrica is in demand as well as commercial and/or personal lines experience. Opportunities for part qualified to qualified Actuaries are available. RP234

Part qualified / qualified applicants required with S2, Capital or Financial Reporting experience. You will be involved directly in the interpretation and implementation of S2 for European companies. You will work the internal model, develop the economic capital methodology, manage the ORSA and work with the global offices. Project management skills required. RP8001

De-risking Solutions
35k - 80k + Bonus + Benefits London

Pensions

Pensions Consultant
35k - 65k + Bonus + Benefits UK Wide

Pensions

Excellent opportunity to broaden your experience across the financial services market. This leading global organisation is currently seeking proactive and innovative part-qualified and experienced Pension Actuaries to work on bespoke projects addressing funding policies and liability management. With exposure to asset allocation investment strategy you will be highly commercial and able to demonstrate insight to cutting edge solutions. MW8530

Are you looking for a varied role with increased responsibility and client exposure? Our client is seeking part-qualified and qualified pensions actuaries to work on an exceptional range of Trustee and Corporate clients. Providing support to senior consultants, you will assist on a variety of projects including bespoke de-risking and investment related assignments whilst and benefitting from accelerated career progression. MW7746

General
William Gallimore: 020 7337 8826 James Kitt: 020 7337 1202 william@highfinancegroup.co.uk james@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Pensions
Miranda Wilkinson: 020 7337 8815 miranda@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Contract
Rupa Pithiya: 020 7337 1200 rupa@highfinancegroup.co.uk

Actuarial | Finance | Governance | IT | Insurance | Solvency II

020 7337 8800

actuarial@highfinancegroup.co.uk

www.highfinancegroup.co.uk

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Actuarial Analyst Pensions (Ref: HLEB-9) 30k - 40k p.a. + study package Reading

A fresh approach to pension scheme financing and risk management

Previously Heath Lambert, we joined the Arthur J Gallagher family in May 2011 to become one of the worlds largest and fastest growing insurance broking, underwriting and employee benefits organisations, operating in more than 100 countries. An exciting opportunity has arisen to become part of the Gallagher Employee Benefits actuarial team to assist in the provision of actuarial and risk management services to pension scheme clients. At Gallagher Employee Benefits we believe in looking at tasks from first principles to gain a proper understanding. This requires research, thinking and implementation - all team members are expected to be competent, to communicate with clients and make a contribution. Key Skills and Experience You will be a highly skilled actuarial student with a minimum of four years experience within a similar role; a minimum of six Institute and Faculty of Actuaries CT series exam passes or equivalent; excellent communication skills; and experience of using SuperVal. This position will put your skills into practice and you will be given the opportunities and responsibilities you deserve. To apply online please visit our website www.gallagherheath.com/careers or via post to: Joanna Marlowe, Gallagher Heath, Focal Point, 27-35 Fleet Street, Swindon SN1 1RG. For further information email us at careers@heathlambert.com
Gallagher Employee Benefits are an equal opportunities employer. Closing date: 25th August 2011

Creatively different
Gallagher Employee Benefits is a trading name of Heath Lambert Consulting Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. A member of the Society of Pension Consultants. Registered office: 9 Alie Street, London E1 8DE. Registered No. 0772217 England & Wales. www.gallagherheath.com

UK I Europe I Asia Pacic

Global Speciality Unit Financial Reporting Actuary, London circa 150k package
This role supports the Global Specialty strategic business unit. You will work with underwriters and financial controllers while maintaining strong relationships with claims, reinsurance and IT departments. The lines of business will include large specialty accounts on a worldwide basis. The candidate will build actuarial valuations, support the budget process and assist in global insurance wide projects. You will deal with US GAAP, SEC financial requirements, UK GAAP regulatory framework and the Lloyds platform. The candidate will be responsible for Solvency II technical provisions and ancillary reporting including reserve volatility measurement. In addition you will work directly with external consultants and with internal and external auditors. Youll become responsible for: Completing the quarterly reserving process including performance of reserve reviews and claims liabilities recommendations; Present and discuss the results of your work to pricing actuaries, underwriting business unit managers, auditors and consultants; Preparing Reports of the Actuary and Actuarial Memorandums on Business Units results; Support accounting and finance teams on a worldwide basis.

...one of the best recruitment and search rms I have worked with...

HR Manager, Amlin
Rob Bulpitt, Manager Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3237 rob.bulpitt@eamesconsulting.com

Dennis Ball, Senior Consultant Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3286 dennis.ball@eamesconsulting.com Mansi Koshy, Senior Consultant Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3283 mansi.koshy@eamesconsulting.com Alistair Allan, Senior Consultant Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3262 alistair.allan@eamesconsulting.com

Rupert Rickard, Managing Consultant Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3219 rupert.rickard@eamesconsulting.com Zoe Campbell, Senior Consultant Tel +44 (0)20 7092 3208 zoe.campbell@eamesconsulting.com

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

Contact

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Start a more targeted search.

Executive Search is our core business. Thats why an increasing number of companies are looking to us to nd the exceptional people they need.
At Pure Search we dont subscribe to a high-volume recruitment strategy and we dont believe in gimmicks to attract the best talent. Instead we offer a tailored search methodology which, in a short space of time, has allowed us to establish a reputation as a company which never fails to deliver. Our Actuarial & Risk mandates are exclusive to Pure Search with an outstanding completion record of our retained searches at the 100-500k level. Our track record includes EMEA & UK leadership roles through to cross-border and cross-functional team builds. We are constantly researching, analysing and benchmarking professionals across the market we know the answer to What am I worth? Make a more informed decision and call the best connected Actuarial & Risk search professionals in the market. Pensions & Investments Ian Addison-Smith Insurance James Everett 02074294446 02074294434 ianaddisonsmith@puresearch.com jameseverett@puresearch.com

London 160 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4BF

Hong Kong Level 5, Two Exchange Square, 8 Connaught Place Central, HK

www.puresearch.com

More jobs online at www.theactuaryjobs.com

Consultant, Actuarial Melbourne, Australia

This position will support the growth of the Russell Investments Australian Actuarial practice and execute plans that will result in strengthening our position as a thought leader and premier specialist actuarial advice provider in the superannuation (pensions) industry in Australia. This role will be responsible for day to day delivery of actuarial and consulting services for a range of clients. We are currently considering applications from experienced consultants with a background in Pensions/ Superannuation who would be keen to relocate to Melbourne, Australia. This is an opportunity for you to expand your expertise and gain international experience in an innovative market. We will consider part-supporting relocation and visa requirements to successful UK based applicants and offer a competitive market rate compensation package. Russell Investments has been present within the Australian market for 25 years and globally for 75. Our Sydney and Melbourne based Actuarial team is a major provider of actuarial services to complex defined benefit superannuation schemes, including major public sector schemes and is actuary to 8 of the 10 largest corporate schemes in Australia.

To apply for this position or for further details please contact Nathan John, Talent Acquisition Manager for EMEA & Asia Pac at njohn@russell.com

OPEN
DOORS
...visit Jobs in Risk and well unlock career expansion or business growth if youre looking for that ideal candidate. For career openings, visit the UKs largest risk industry job portal at:

www.jobsinrisk.com 0870 0427641

Now part of Incisive Media

the job-site for the UK risk and compliance sectors

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High Finance Group

Specialist Recruiters

What We Offer
High Finance Group is an established leader in the recruitment of Actuarial Professionals with a worldwide reach. Our consultants, led by ex-industry professionals, work closely with trusted clients across the industry. Each consultant focuses specifically on a single respective area of Life and General Insurance, Pensions and Investment Management. Our consultants stay close to the profession through maintaining personal and professional relationships, providing a network of clients and candidates to offer quick solutions to assignments. The consultants attend and organise industry events to ensure they are leading the way in the appreciation of the challenges impacting the industry.

Non-Life Roles
The work of non-life actuaries has never been more important to the processes of the industry and with this has come an increased need for Actuaries and their expertise. Whilst there has been an upsurge in the demand for Actuaries with Capital Modelling experience in particular, those with Pricing and Reserving backgrounds have seen the demand for their services increase exponentially too. Opinions differ as to when or if this demand will slow but for the moment Actuaries can expect to be presented with a variety of roles that fit their experience allowing them to be selective over their choice of job application and extremely well remunerated when negotiating packages. High Finance Group can offer professional and discreet advice across a number of areas including salary benchmarking, CV formatting and future career options. Current assignments in the Non-Life sector are:

Life Roles
The demand on Actuaries to become forward thinking and adaptive to new challenges has resulted in a surge in non - traditional and very interesting opportunities for Life Actuaries. Amongst growth in Economic Capital Management, Modeling Specialism and the continuing success of boutique specialist consultancies the spectrum of work is growing beyond the traditional remit. In particular we are actively working with Investment Banks, Management Consultancies and CRO functions utilizing Actuaries to provide the second line of defense in Risk Management. Current assignments in the Life sector are: ALM Actuary Life Actuary to deliver bespoke insurance solutions to UK Insurers as part of European Investment Banking team. Financial Risk Manager Actuary to manage strategic Investment focused risk initiatives across the business units and develop new trade concepts. Equity Research Qualified Actuary to cover a portfolio of UK stocks for Global Investment Bank.

Actuarial Lead Director - Experienced Qualified Actuary to subject specific areas of a emerging Actuarial Consultancy. Chief Risk Officer Qualified Actuary to head up the Risk and Actuarial function at an established Lloyds syndicate. Syndicate Chief Actuary - Qualified Actuary to build a team underneath them at the inception point of this new Lloyds syndicate.

Contact Us
For more information about our current roles, or to speak to one of our specialist consultants about your career contact us at:

E. actuarial@highfinancegroup.co.uk T. +44 (0) 20 7337 8800 W. www.highfinancegroup.co.uk

STAR ACTUARIAL FUTURES

JUST QUALIFIED? WHAT IS YOUR NEXT CAREER GOAL? NATIONWIDE salary benchmarking SOLVENCY II BY THE SEA SOUTH COAST NON-LIFE excellent + bonus + benefits

Contact us for insight and advice to help you set and achieve your next career goal. We have a wide range of potential opportunities for qualified actuaries across all areas of actuarial specialism. We are also very happy to perform salary benchmarking.

Our client is seeking a part-qualified non-life actuary to play a key role in the Solvency II project. You will develop your technical skills and your softer skills through interaction with the wider business. This is a great opportunity for a work-life balance that will enable you to make speedy exam progress and enjoy the sun, sand and surf. Ride the wave.
Ref: Star537

Ref: Star538

LONGEVITY ACTUARY LONDON, YORK OR NORWICH

LIFE up to 90k + bonus + benefits

MOVE TO ERM LONDON

SOLVENCY II excellent + bonus + benefits

Insurance group seeks qualified actuary or equivalent to lead the development of a refined, evolving set of pricing factors and assumptions for pricing longevity. You will have excellent statistical and analytical skills, experience in analysing longevity and a strong understanding of the challenges facing an annuity provider. This is a great opportunity to build your profile with a market leader.
Ref: Star536

Our client seeks candidates with strong operational risk knowledge within an insurance background to support Solvency II internal model development. You will be an excellent communicator who can translate technical concepts into practical solutions and you will also possess well developed stakeholder management skills. This role offers an unparalleled opportunity to be at the cutting-edge of Solvency II development. Ref: Star535

S TA R C A N DI D ATE B ONUS
REGISTER WITH US IF WE PL ACE Y OU IN A NEW ROLE IN 2011 W E WIL L GIV E Y OU A TABLET PC OF YOUR CHOICE
VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS A N D A L L O U R L AT E S T VA C A N C I E S

Louis Manson
M +44 (0)7595 023 983 E louis.manson@staractuarial.com

Antony Buxton FIA

M +44 (0)7766 414 560 E antony.buxton@staractuarial.com

Irene Paterson FFA

M +44 (0)7545 424 206 E irene.paterson@staractuarial.com

Martine Scott-Gordon AFA

M +44 (0)7900 696 825 E martine.scott-gordon@staractuarial.com

Lance Randles MBA

M +44 (0)7889 007 861 E lance.randles@staractuarial.com

Paul Cook
M +44 (0)7740 285 139 E paul.cook@staractuarial.com

Carolina Emmanuel
M +44 (0)7841 872 575 E carolina.emmanuel@staractuarial.com

Please contact us at any time (including evenings and weekends) to discuss vacancies of interest or for an informal discussion regarding your career goals.

...energy, integrity and a long term perspective.

STAR CL I E N TS STA R VA C A N C I E S
STRATEGIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT EDINBURGH

Our client is looking to recruit several strong candidates to join a newly formed in-house Strategic Capital Management team. The work is varied and challenging and focuses on capital transactions, capital efficiency and capital risk mitigation. This is a great opportunity to develop and deploy first class technical and stakeholder management skills within a high calibre and high profile team. Candidates with either Life or GI experience will be considered. Excellent packages are available to the right candidates.

HEAD OF CAPITAL ASSESSMENT

to attract and retain exceptional talent

CAPITAL ASSESSMENT ACTUARY

to attract and retain exceptional talent

Reporting to the Director of Capital Management, you will provide thought leadership on capital management and oversee the integrity of the capital aggregation across the Insurance Division. You will be a senior qualified actuary with strong capital reporting and Solvency II knowledge, the ability to lead and implement change and to influence at senior levels internally and externally.
Ref: Star480

Reporting to the Head of Capital Assessment, you will play a key role in the management of the Insurance Division's capital base using tools such as RiskAgilityTM. You will provide support in the production and reporting of the Insurance Divisions capital requirement, the production of capital projections and the oversight of the underlying capital bases and assumptions.
Ref: Star484

CAPITAL REPORTING ANALYST

to attract the best

RISK AGILITY ANALYST

excellent package

Reporting to the Head of Capital Assessment, you will play a key role in the management of the Insurance Division's capital base including the production of periodic reports covering regulatory capital, risk capital and solvency measures. You will be a qualified actuary with strong capital management knowledge. You will have good planning, organisation and prioritisation skills together with the ability to facilitate, negotiate and influence.
Ref: Star483

Reporting to the Capital Assessment Actuary, you will assess and analyse the capital requirement for the Insurance Division and develop capital projection capability. You will have a strong statistical background and a good grounding in Solvency II. Quant analysts, PhDs or nearly qualified actuaries will be considered.
Ref: Star485

The above vacancies represent a snapshot at the time of writing. What matters most is your career development. Irene Paterson is a Partner at Star Actuarial Futures. She is a qualified actuary based in Edinburgh and would be delighted to meet with you to discuss the next steps in your career. Irene is well connected within the Profession and is an expert in working with candidates at all levels to find the right roles for their Star Actuarial Futures.

Please contact Irene Paterson on 07545 424 206 or irene.paterson@staractuarial.com to discuss these opportunities.

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Head Pricing Actuary Financial Lines London, 150-170,000 + benets
This global insurer is seeking a nancial lines senior actuary to join its team. This is a unique opportunity to shape the development of the international product offering. With operations in more than 50 countries you will be working with the overseas general product heads. You will work with the international portfolios and will have signicant exposure to the groups senior management team. Reporting directly to the European group chief actuary, a sound background of technical and product knowledge coupled with the desire to enhance your career is essential. Ref: 1422195 steven.sangha@hays.com or 020 7481 9984

Pensions Actuarial Consultant Bristol, to 120,000 + bonus + benets

Working for this major nancial services provider, you will advise trustees and employers on the funding and risks associated with dened benet pension schemes, including scheme funding/restructuring, M&A, ALM and risk management. Should you hold a Scheme Actuary certicate, youll be appointed to a pension scheme, where youll provide actuarial advice as required by the pension schemes documentation and any statutory requirements. You will be a qualied actuary and have knowledge of benets legislation, market awareness and the ability to assist with business development. Ref: 1464892 kevin.smith@hays.com or 020 7481 9984

Solvency II Manager, London 90-120,000 + car + bonus + benets

Working within the group function of this global insurer, you will be required to support the development of the groups Solvency II modelling capabilities. This includes developing the methodology for the business units Solvency II and economic capital modelling and supporting future development in accordance with Group standards, providing the necessary technical/actuarial advice. To be successful, youll be a qualied life actuary, ideally with solid PQE, with risk modelling research, Solvency II and/or risk and capital modelling experience. Team management experience is advantageous. Ref: 1432787 kevin.smith@hays.com or 020 7481 9984

Group Actuary London, 80-110,000 + benets

Working for this global insurer you will play a key role and report directly to the chief actuary. You will develop suitable acquisitions, divestitures and strategies, with a view to support the European reinsurance department. Successfully executing M&A activity, you will dene, challenge and articulate the business model. You will be at the centre of this team and have the ability to manage the full process. As a qualied actuary or nalist you will ensure best practice and liaise with non-actuaries. Ref: 1442445 steven.sangha@hays.com or 020 7481 9984

For further information or to apply for any of these vacancies, visit hays.co.uk and enter the relevant job reference number.

hays.co.uk

62

August 2011

www.jobs.the-actuary.org.uk

T:

020 8420 1818 jobs@actualsearch.co.uk

Actual Search
SEEKING THE

E:

EXCEPTIONAL

W: www.actualsearch.co.uk

Life Consultancy + work/life balance

South East/ Home Counties c45-65K + bens
Boutique consultancy with clients in the UK & overseas seek senior part or nearly qual life actuary. Provide a range of services from AFH work through to Solvency 2, M&As & product pricing. Gain wide ranging exp. & early responsibility with friendly, open team. A great work life balance. Ref:1801

Pensions & Investment

London 40-60K
Broaden your pensions exp. by joining the investment team at this global consultancy. Duties include ALM, investment advice & business development. Youll attend client meetings & mentor juniors. Pensions & strong Excel needed for this small friendly team. Suit p/q or newly qual. Ref: 1807

Nearly / newly qualified life actuary

N East / N West to 60K
International role for a life actuary ideally with with-profits or financial reporting exp. to join a small team providing corporate governance & group actuarial support. Suit a senior student or nearly/newly qual. able to communicate well plus keep a hands on approach to detailed work. Ref:1802

Pricing & Making Your Mark

London 40-95K
Leading global P&C insurer needs pricing analysts & actuaries for their European division. Youll assess profitability, analyse products & liaise with reserving & capital teams. Terrific chance to play key role in the development of this new team. Excellent rewards & worldwide career options. Ref:1808

Move to Investment Consultancy

City 40-95K + bonus
Superb opportunity for part & qual actuaries with pensions or investment experience to join successful investment consultancy. New challenge, terrific variety & chance to excel in small, dynamic, proactive team. Help manage a portfolio of clients, deliver investment solutions & ALM/Quant work. Ref:1803

Solvency, Valuation & more

Surrey 40-90K + exc bonus
Expansion at this small, highly respected, consultancy has created roles for a p/q & qual life actuary. Extensive client contact & varied projects inc solvency & valuation work in a profit scheme environment. Prestigious clients, profit share & excellent career prospects. Exams progress not essential. Ref:1809

Prophet - ALM Stochastic Modelling

Surrey/Berks + Travel 50-95K + exc bens
Need a new challenge? This is it - totally client facing, exciting, leading edge & everything thats different from routine within life & financial services. PQ or qual actuaries with Prophet, Moses or similar skills for key business projects in ALM, stochastic modelling, financial economics & derivatives. Ref:1804

No more commuting
South Coast 35-85K + RELOC
Change your lifestyle & enjoy more free time by joining this award winning GI personal & commercial lines insurer. Expansion has led to key roles for pricing analysts & actuaries to spearhead new projects. Outstanding working environment inc flexitime. Strong Excel & analysis skills essential. Ref:1810

Capital Modelling/Reserving GI
London 60-100K
My client, a leading personal lines Lloyd's syndicate is looking for an actuary to join its expanding team. Scope to develop the role, build client relationships, undertake reserving & create capital models as well as R&D. Attractive package on offer for nearly/newly qual. non-life actuary. Ref:1805

Fantastic Career Prospects

M4 Corridor 40-60K
Are you good enough to go to the top? Independent, growing & dynamic consulting practice seeks pensions analysts with ambition to progress to board level. If your skills include pensions valuations, strong Excel and good communications skills this is a fantastic chance to prove yourself. Ref:1811

Senior Product Actuary

London to 80K
Leading life insurer with new & innovative protection products seek individual with exp. in a life office, reinsurer or consultancy & exposure to product development or financial modelling. Work closely with Actuarial Director & assist the team in new product development, pricing/profit testing, financial projections, capital management, reinsurance & marketing. Ref:1806

Life ALM
Surrey / Hants 50-75K
Fast track your career by joining this global life & protection provider. Key role overseeing investment practices & integrating with solvency II. Use your ALM exp to advise on derivatives, hedging & liquidity ratios. Suit nearly/newly qual actuary. Contractors & flexi-working also considered. Ref:1812

To apply for any of these vacancies please phone 020 8420 1818, and speak to Peter or Norma or apply online at www.actualsearch.co.uk or email jobs@actualsearch.co.uk.

w w w. a c t u a l s e a r c h . c o . u k

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es . s rol es cie all e se . fc he as sm acan e T o le ly ur e v e tim u, p on fo n o re f th o o a y le o any to ne mp to c at a ci sa us pe ave e h ole s tact w r n co ra Fo

Globalopportunities

Industryinsight

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Global opportunities Unrivalled contacts Industry insight CV preparation Interview coaching Salary negotiation

Chief Actuary
Mediterranean
Our client is seeking to recruit a Chief Actuary. Reporting to the CEO the successful candidate will set the companys Actuarial policy and direction while also being active in, and the driver of the organisations overall strategy. As a member of the senior leadership team you will work closely with the CEO and Board of Directors as well as with the relative governance committees of the board. You will be a qualied Actuary with a minimum of 5 years post-qualication experience. Job ref: J4009

Life Pricing Actuaries and Analysts

Europe
Exciting opportunity for students and qualied actuaries to join an expanding reinsurance operation where your contribution to their business will be visible and rewarded. Responsibilities will include: development and maintenance of pricing methodologies and tools; research and product development; and experience analyses. Also part of the job will be to enhance the companys industry prole through publications, conference participation and working with professional bodies. Job ref: J4003

Capital Actuary
South East
My client, an Essex-based insurer is looking for a Capital Actuary to work on the capital model build, parameterisation, documentation, model renement and output development. The role involves working closely with the Chief Actuary and the rest of the actuarial function. Experience of Igloo software modelling would denitely be a bonus. The ideal candidate will be either a nearly/newly qualied actuary or a part-qualied actuary with knowledge of insurance regulation. Job ref: J3961

Business Development Actuaries

UK/Europe
We are working with several clients who are keen to recruit life insurance actuaries with an interest in sales and marketing. At the heart of the role is the requirement to generate protable new business opportunities and build sustainable client relationships. You will have a track record of business development plus the ability to convert difcult concepts into neat solutions and to implement practical initiatives. A high degree of organisation and enthusiasm with a focus on prot is essential. Job refs: J4004, J4006

Non-Life Pricing Manager

London
You will support the enhancement of the pricing processes performed by the actuarial products teams and the delivery of the annual plan for pricing reviews. The scope of the role includes all lines of business for all countries across the European region. You will have proven people management and leadership skills and a proven ability to educate non-technical managers on technical areas that enhance their decision-making ability. Job ref: J3971

European Product Development

London
A new and exciting role with an international market leader. Based in London, the role will have a European focus and you will be working with local branches to develop innovative product variations. You will have oversight of pricing processes and models and you will liaise with many other departments in bringing products to market. Post-qualication experience, ideally in a pricing or product development environment, is required. European language skills will be an advantage but are not essential. Job ref: J3988

Senior Investment Consultant

Scotland
You will have responsibility to help drive the consulting agenda with clients and successfully promoting the proposition to new and existing clients in Scotland and, more generally, in the market. You will also have a responsibility to help develop the business and team in Scotland. You will act as a mentor and role model to junior staff, by motivating and inspiring a high standard of excellence, and creating a culture of proactively, collaboration and personal development. You will also contribute to the ongoing development of the intellectual capital. Job ref: J3982

Chief Actuary
Dublin
Experienced Non-Life Actuary required to lead the Actuarial Department and be responsible for all activities, including planning, strategy and operational workow. Responsibilities of the role will include developing and overseeing actuarial strategy in line with company objectives, assisting with Solvency II to ensure compliance and development of the risk management function. Job ref: J3951

CV Booster - Life or GI
London
Unmissable opportunity to join a high-prole organisation that will inuence and shape the development, implementation and monitoring of insurance regulation. A spell in this organisation will bring you into regular contact with some of the most experienced actuaries in the country. Applications are invited from qualied actuaries of all levels. Job refs: J4008, J4010

Dublin
ireland@acumen-resources.com Tel +353 1 6099 400

London
uk@acumen-resources.com Tel +44 20 3189 2900

Sydney
australia@acumen-resources.com Tel +61 2 9262 1612

Hong Kong
asiapacic@acumen-resources.com Tel +852 3051 9920

www.ojassociates.com

General Insurance - UK
Chief Actuary London Jamie Howard 250,000 + Bonus + Bens Partner - Consulting London Paul Francis 200,000 + Bonus + Bens

EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY. Senior Chief Actuary role for London based insurance company. Call for details.

An established global business with strong non-European footing is seeking to formally develop an actuarial service offering. They will target front-office insurance services through effective software development. Unique opportunity to contribute to the growth of an astonishing entity!

Group Chief Actuary London

Paul Francis 150,000 + Bonus + Bens

GI Risk Actuary London

Jamie Howard 150,000 + Bonus + Bens

My client is an entrepreneurial London Market business seeking a managing actuary. You will work closely with the board, manage the actuarial team and also engage in extensive portfolio analysis to advise the board on acquisition opportunities. Very visible, influential role.

A unique opportunity to join a non-life group risk team. A multinational insurer is looking for an experienced commercial actuary with around 2-5 years PQE. Previous experience in GI reserving or pricing an advantage, you must have good business acumen and communication skills.

Reinsurance Pricing Actuary London

Rick Davis 110,000 + Bonus + Bens

Capital Manager London

Rick Davis 110,000 + Bonus + Bens

A strong Lloyds Syndicate requires a Reinsurance Pricing Actuary to operate as part of a successful underwriting team. The successful candidate will be a qualified actuary with pricing experience gained within a non-life insurer/reinsurer. Requires excellent communication skills.

Exciting London Market insurer requires an experienced actuary to lead a capital team. An excellent role for anyone looking to build team leadership and business-facing experience. Requires previous capital experience (igloo preferred) and a high level of commercial acumen.

Technical Provisioning London

Ben Pitt 75,000 + Bonus + Bens

London Market Pricing London

Ben Pitt 55,000 + Bonus + Bens

The London market division of a global insurer seeks an ambitious part qualified actuary for their newly appointed Technical Provisioning team. You will work directly with the Chief Actuary on a variety of Reserving and Solvency II based projects. Excellent support and training is guaranteed.

A vacancy has arisen within the Pricing team of a London Market organisation. You will work closely with the underwriters on a variety of lines of business. Previous pricing experience is not necessarily required as excellent on the job training will be provided.

Ireland, Continental Europe & Asia

Head of Non-Life Risk International Julien Fabius Competitive + Bonus + Bens Senior Run-Off Actuary Zrich, Switzerland Emma Gilbert CHF180,000 + Bonus + Bens

General Insurance Group seeks a Head of Risk to set up and lead the risk and audit function, prepare the organisation for the implementation of Solvency II and coordinate the firm's enterprise risk management processes. Managerial experience and Solvency II knowledge are required.

I am working with a world-renowned Reinsurer exclusively on two Senior positions within their Run-Off buy-out team. A rare opportunity to get involved in unique Reserving transactions, leading global project teams and negotiating with external clients internationally. German not needed.

Senior Actuaries Phu Le-Ngoc Germany or Switzerland Competitive + Bonus + Bens

Exciting career opportunities for high potentials. My client is looking for qualified or part-qualified actuaries with a strong academic and professional track record. You will deal with MCEV, SST or Solvency II, ALM. Travelling into local entities requires international experience.

Senior Actuary GI Germany

Phu Le-Ngoc 90,000 + Bonus + Bens

My client is looking for senior actuaries with 7-10 yrs experience. You will be responsible for either Reserving, Pricing or Capital Modelling. You will also provide technical and thought leadership for junior actuaries. Relocation package includes language courses.

General Insurance - UK Rick Davis rick.davis@ojassociates.com Paul Francis paul.francis@ojassociates.com Jamie Howard jamie.howard@ojassociates.com Ben Pitt ben.pitt@ojassociates.com

0207 649 9353 0207 649 9469 0207 310 8725 0207 310 8719

Life Insurance - UK Clare Nash clare.nash@ojassociates.com Patrick Flanagan patrick.flanagan@ojassociates.com Harriet Hall harriet.hall@ojassociates.com Patrick McMahon patrick.mcmahon@ojassociates.com

0207 649 9350 0207 649 9355 0207 310 8783 0131 278 0133

Life Insurance - UK
Senior ALM Actuary London Clare Nash 130,000 + Bonus + Bens Unique Actuarial Consultant UK Wide Patrick Flanagan 110,000 + Bonus + Bens

An outstanding opportunity has arisen within a prestigious investment bank; my client seeks an experienced actuary (quali ed or QBE) to take ownership of market leading projects. You will enjoy playing a pivotal role in technical and more commercial projects. Outstanding career potential.

A unique consultant role working in a small actuarial team for a Fortune 500 company. You will be the key link between the clients and internal employees explaining actuarial concepts. You will have the exibility to manage your own workload and can work from home on Fridays.

Reinsurance Actuary London

Clare Nash 100,000 + Bonus + Bens

Commercial Pricing Actuary South East

Clare Nash 90,000 + Bonus + Bens

Have you ever considered moving into Reinsurance? My client seeks two quali ed actuaries to play major roles within their Capital and Marketing teams. A multitude of backgrounds will be considered as long as you have the aptitude to acquire new skills. High pro le positions.

Are you looking for a highly commercial role within a market leading insurer? You will play a lead role in the management and development of the Pricing team and help in uence key strategic decisions. Working alongside senior management, this is a career enhancing opportunity.

Newly Quali ed Actuary London

Patrick Flanagan 80,000 + Bonus + Bens

Actuarial Systems Consultant South East

Harriet Hall 80,000 + Bonus + Bens

A niche and specialist insurer is looking for a nearly/newly quali ed actuary to join their small entrepreneurial team. A broad all-encompassing position that will allow you close interaction with the Chief Actuary, CRO and Investments/ALM team. A truly outstanding career enhancing opportunity.

Do you have a strong technical background but now looking to be more strategic and less hands-on? This tier one nancial services rm is looking for actuaries with extensive systems and modelling skills to join its market leading consulting team. All levels of quali cation considered.

Financial Reporting Actuary Scotland

Patrick McMahon 70,000 + Bonus + Bens

Actuarial Analyst - Buyout London

Harriet Hall 45,000 + Bonus + Bens

A highly motivated and quali ed actuary is required to take the lead on various new reporting projects and team developments. You will have outstanding communication, organisational and in uencing skills as you present results to senior management and non-technical stakeholders.

Are you a pensions or investments actuary wanting to get involved in more sales focused activities in addition to cutting edge buy-out projects? Highly commercial role within a leading insurer responsible for developing de-risking solutions for their clients. Excellent career development role.

Ireland, Continental Europe & Asia

Team Leader Pricing Zrich, Switzerland Emma Gilbert CHF170,000 + Bonus + Bens Corporate Actuary Dublin Patrick McMahon 115,000 + Bonus + Bens

An extremely prestigious global Reinsurer is looking for an exceptional actuary to lead and build a brand-new pricing team of 4. The role will be technically focused on pricing methodology and Experience Analysis for global market units. Please call for a more detailed overview.

A global market leader is looking for a quali ed actuary to take on a new role within the organisaton. You will be exposed to cutting edge projects such as Solvency II and Capital Management. A wealth of career progression is on o er working with such a prestigious name.

Valuation Actuary Brussels

Julien Fabius Competitive + Bonus + Bens

Unique Annuities Position Dublin

Patrick McMahon 80,000 + Bonus + Bens

Top 20 European Insurance Group seeks a Valuation Actuary to join the Valuation team at Group level responsible for Europe and Asia. You will work within a strong valuation team where you will be responsible for the groups calculations and analysis on the groups results (MCEV, SCR, MCBS, LAT...)

Are you looking to bolster your actuarial skills in a challenging and varied role? My client seeks a nearly/newly quali ed actuary to provide actuarial support on all aspects of Variable Annuities with exposure to Pricing, Reporting and Product Development. Excellent career progression.

International Patrick McMahon +353 (0)1 685 2413 patrick.mcmahon@ojassociates.com Julien Fabius +32 2-88 860 51 julien.fabius@ojassociates.com 0207 649 9466 Emma Gilbert +41 (0)43 508 0509 emma.gilbert@ojassociates.com 0207 310 8782 Phu Le-Ngoc +49 (0)89 2206 1068 phu.le-ngoc@ojassociates.com 0207 310 8643

Asian Opportunities - Life / GI / Investments Jonny Plews jp@ojassociates.com +44 (0)207 649 9467

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General Insurance Life, pensions and investment All other enquiries Andy Clark BSc FIA Chris Cannon BA Roger Massey BSc MBA FIA 0781 333 7891 0771 122 8449 0781 398 9016

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