Marjorie Ngwenya describes her trip to India to coach ST2 candidates
At the beginning of March, I travelled to Mumbai to coach ST2 (life insurance) students, at the invitation of the Institute of Actuaries India (IAI). The course was set up for students who had previously taken the examination and were close to achieving a passing grade.
Some of them had decided to hedge their bets by taking the UK examinations, as well as the Indian papers. They raised concerns about the differences in marking approach between the two countries, but acknowledged that detailed knowledge of the course notes was the solution. We spent the week at the Institute of Insurance, going over core reading and practising examination questions. While the objective of the course was for me to teach, I also learnt a significant amount about the Indian insurance industry, which is subject to some unique regulatory conditions.
My visit to Mumbai was brief but extremely enjoyable, with excellent hospitality, fantastic cuisine and uplifting sunshine. I look forward to hearing how the students fare in their exams.
My thanks go to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, the IAI, Munich Re (which partly sponsored my costs) and, in particular, to Gururaj Nayak, Sandeep Mahajan, Merin Thomas and Liyaquat Khan.
Marjorie Ngwenya is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK. She is a life insurance actuary and consultant. She is a member of the Council of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and an assistant examiner for ST2 and SA2. She was until recently the editor of The Actuary magazine in the UK.