Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • December 2014
12

Branching Out

Open-access content Wednesday 26th November 2014 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

In this final edition of the year, Kelvin Chamunorwa provides food for thought on the future of the actuary

2

A recent highlight at The Actuary has been hosting webinars on emerging themes in the actuarial world. This is exciting as it introduces a different mode of interaction with the magazine's readers. Our webinar in September was about big data and analytics and the three speakers revealed practical insights into their work in this area (bit.ly/1BQ4nQf).

—

The panellists dispelled the analogy coined by Dan Ariely, a professor at Duke University, that big data is like teenage romance - "everyone talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are doing it".

Enterprise risk management is another area where the actuarial profession is expanding the reach of its skill set. However, some in the profession feel that our focus should be just on pension schemes and insurance companies - actuaries' widely renowned forte - and preserve the levels of our remuneration. I view actuaries' strengths to be analytical rigour, the ability to communicate uncertainty with a commercial outlook, and high professionalism. This applies to valuing the liabilities of a defined benefit pension scheme as much as it does to assessing emerging risks within the enterprise risk management framework of an online retailer.

Michael Tripp shares his opinions on the future of the actuary in this month's soapbox and considers key questions about exams and regulation, topics which have been debated this year in The Actuary.

I am optimistic about the success of the profession's diversity agenda. Some actuaries have been successful in developing novel business models to help the public manage its risks. A case in point is our interviewee this month, Steven Mendel. He is chief executive and co-founder of Bought By Many, an intermediary which connects individuals with similar insurance needs to negotiate better terms as a group. 

There is power in numbers, and when coupled with diversity of background, skills and experience the possibilities for success are boundless.

This article appeared in our December 2014 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
Filed in
12

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Catastrophe Modelling Analyst - London Market Broker

London, England
£40000 - £50000 per annum
Reference
145925

Senior Catastrophe Analyst

England, London
£65000 - £75000 per annum
Reference
145924

Life Actuary - Financial Reporting - Day Rate contract

Negotiable
Reference
145923
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ