GAS gets to grips with up-to-date techniques

The Gulf Actuarial Society (GAS) held the most recent of its twice-annual members' events at the Novotel World Trade Centre in Dubai. As in previous events, the support from actuaries in the Gulf Cooperation Council was high, with places fully subscribed.

The varied topics presented were all themed around very up-to-date developments and techniques. Reena Gandesha (below) from AXA Gulf spoke on telematics in motor insurance. There are various initiatives happening on this in the region, and Reena was able to give a view from US and European markets as to possible ways the market could develop more locally. The power and volume of data will be at the heart of any successful application.

Given the changing legislation in the region, with new frameworks in place in UAE and Qatar, it was only right that the increasingly high-profile role for actuaries in the Gulf was discussed. Shoaib Soofi (Metlife), with the help of three expert panel members, gave their personal views on the implications and requirements for actuaries. Several areas of interest were explored as the new legislation beds in and as regulators also get used to the new regime.

Lastly, our keynote speaker was Mark Shapland from Milliman (below) on reserve variability and ODP bootstrapping. As a first for GAS, this was a practical session, with attendees able to programme a simple ODP model for themselves.

Afterwards, members were able to chat and network over coffee and snacks.

The GAS Committee is grateful to the speakers and for the help from the event management teams of the IFoA and Novotel. Our thanks also to the event sponsor, Milliman; these events would not be possible without the financial support of the sponsors, and we are always open to sponsors of future events.

On a final note, this was my last event as a member of GAS, having served on the committee since its inception and attended all the events so far. My own thanks to other committee members, to whom I wish good fortune going forward.