Home / General Insurance / Articles / The Role of an Actuary in Insurance

The Role of an Actuary in Insurance

Team AckoJan 17, 2024

Being an Actuary requires you to have all-round knowledge of the business, finance, and statistics. An Actuary mainly evaluates complex risks related to the business. The nature of this job has helped Actuaries carve a way in to the insurance industry. They analyze data to deduce the potential financial consequences faced by the company, in case of a probable unfortunate event.

Contents

Key Skills For Actuaries
Work-life Balance
Typical Fields Where Actuaries Are Employed
Training Required To Become An Actuary
Is it a viable career option?

Key Skills For Actuaries

Actuaries are people with high levels of self-confidence and knowledge. The process requires them to be patient and consistent. Apart from this, they should have an in-depth understanding of numeracy and problem-solving, computers, research and analytical ability, economics and legislation relating to financial services. Attention to detail would definitely prove to be an added advantage.

With respect to the insurance industry, their knowledge is put to use in helping the insurer underwrite policies by taking into account the worst case scenario. For example, an Actuary will predict the probability of a person being affected by a certain aliment, like diabetes, cancer, or a chronic disease in a group of people sharing common traits. This can aid in determining the premium of the policy.

Work-life Balance

An actuarial job is typically a desk-job that requires them to work for at least 40 hours per week. Similar to any profession, this number is subject to change as per routine company requirements. Actuaries may also have to travel for business, when employed in consultancies, which can add to the work hours.

Typical Fields Where Actuaries Are Employed

An Actuary can expect lucrative prospects in the following industries:

Insurance Industry
Investment Banks
Management Consultancies
Actuarial Consultancies
Accountancy Firms

Training Required To Become An Actuary

Actuaries require a strong mathematical background, thus acquiring a graduation in mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science, or a business-related field such as finance, economics, or business is helpful. Aspiring Actuaries should consider taking courses in economics, applied statistics, and corporate finance.

Institute of Actuaries of India conducts Actuarial examinations that are divided into 4 stages:

Stage 1: Core Technical (CT)

Consisting of 9 subjects

Stage 2: Core Application (CA)

Consisting of 3 subjects

Stage 3: Specialist Technical (ST)

The candidate needs to choose 2 out of 6 subjects

Stage 4: Specialist Application (SA)

This is the final stage in which the candidate chooses to specialize in and of the subject chosen in Stage 4.

Is it a viable career option?

Becoming an Actuary is an intense career option that requires you to contemplate and use brain power throughout the day. Those who prefer to be challenged constantly should definitely consider becoming an Actuary. On the income front, hard work and efforts always yield ample results. The pay cheque solely depends upon the skills, experience and company’s regulations.