2024 Board Member Candidate
David D. Ingram, FSA 1984, CERA 2007, MAAA 1980
Actuarial Risk Management
Bio
I have had a fulfilling and diverse career as an actuary, spanning several decades and various roles within the insurance industry. From the outset, my work has spanned different domains, from mutual life insurers to actuarial consulting firms, a major rating agency, and a general insurance reinsurance broker. Over my career, I have had the opportunity to work with over 200 insurers, primarily in the U.S., providing me with a comprehensive view of the industry's intricacies and challenges.
In the initial phase of my career, I worked as the planning officer, Corporate Actuary, and head of the annuity business unit inside several insurance companies. These roles helped me to build a strong foundation in risk assessment, product development, and financial analysis. Achieving my FSA designation was a significant milestone, marking the beginning of a career filled with continuous learning and professional growth.
The second act of my career saw a transition from working within a single firm to engaging with many through consulting roles. As an actuarial consultant, I specialized in demutualizations, valuation, mergers and acquisitions, and risk management. My tenure with a major rating agency allowed me to develop and implement ERM assessments for some of the largest insurers globally. Leading the ERM Advisory practice at Willis Re for North America, I assisted nearly 200 insurers in enhancing their ERM programs, focusing on ORSA projects and producing educational webinars and publications.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my career has been my involvement in volunteering. For over 20 years, I have contributed to the Society of Actuaries (SOA), the International Actuarial Association (IAA), and the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB). My volunteer journey began with the SOA Risk Management Task Force, where I founded and chaired multiple working groups that produced foundational white papers used in the CERA syllabus.
During my time with the IAA, I served as the chair of the Enterprise Risk Management committee, leading international efforts to develop and promote ERM standards. I also contributed significantly to the Actuarial Standards Board by chairing the task force that drafted the first ERM professional standards. These experiences have deepened my understanding of the global actuarial landscape and the importance of international collaboration.
In the early days of developing a risk management specialty for actuaries, I strongly advocated that there was no significant difference between risk management for life insurers and general insurers. This perspective led to the formation of the Joint Risk Management Section and my role as a risk management advisor within a reinsurance broker, working primarily with general insurers. This role allowed me to work with over 175 different general insurance management teams and risk managers, providing me with a broad perspective on the sector.
Since retiring from Willis Re at the end of 2020, I did several research projects sponsored by the SOA. These projects include the COVID Mitigation Monitoring Project and an extension of the Plural Rationality work. These efforts have allowed me to continue contributing to the profession by leveraging my experience and skills in new and impactful ways.
Newsletter Plus - I write 8 - 10 articles per year for the Actuarial Risk Management Crossing Thin Ice Newsletter. So far in 2024, I have written 5 articles on risk management topics such as: Cybercrime, The Most Dangerous Risks of 2024, Overconfidence and Scenario Planning. My ERM partner Max Rudolph and I also create two podcasts per month on those topics and more. Recently, I have also been focused on the topics of Risk Culture Beliefs with an article, podcast, a series of blog posts and a chatbot that allows our readers/listeners to get their questions about risk culture answered by a chatbot trained with the materials I have written on the topic.
In addition, I do ERM consulting. Helping a start-up insurer to create a new ERM program, reviewing an insurer’s ERM program to give an outside perspective and helping an insurer to develop their first ORSA report and train them to do it themselves in the future. This consulting is with both Life and General insurers.
Current Volunteer Work
Working only part time allows me the time to contribute to a variety of volunteer efforts. Right now, besides being the SOA Board liaison to the new Societal Purpose Committee, I am an active volunteer for that effort. I am also the SOA representative to the IAA Sustainable Development Goals Task Force and again I am an active volunteer as well. I am also involved in a research project about potential actuarial roles in helping to mitigate some specific climate change related effects in Africa. Finally, I am an active volunteer on a Sustainable Development Goals related project where we are writing a report on the ways that actuaries work in government positions around the world. In most cases, my contribution is my writing. I am no expert on any of those topics. But I can help to prepare reports from others' contributions when they do not have the time to do polished writing.
Volunteering has been a cornerstone of my professional life. It has provided me with opportunities to give back to the profession, learn from diverse perspectives, and stay engaged with the actuarial community.
In summary, my career journey reflects a deep commitment to the actuarial profession through continuous learning, diverse work experiences, and dedicated volunteer service.
Additional Info
My board service for the past 3 years has caused me to learn about many of the activities of the SOA that I had not focused on in my volunteering. Of major concern during my term on the board has been the educational programs of the SOA. The SOA educational staff and volunteers have been challenging every aspect of the education process and have some tremendous improvements and additions. International growth is an important priority and resources are being applied and changes made to SOA programs to line up with the needs and realities of various parts of the world. My personal experience has been with a wide variety of the board committees with a year or two on the International, Audit and Risk, Membership, Finance and Societal Purpose Committees and time on a special task force that looked at Sustainable Development Goals. In a second term, I would seek to continue with the Societal Purpose Committee and to get involved with SOA efforts regarding AI. One of several personal benefits that I have received from board service is that the many board discussions about the potential impact of AI on the SOA and our members has caused me to start working with AI so I could understand the allure and the threat of AI to the profession. That work has been totally enlightening and engaging. I will be presenting some of what I have learned in my podcasts at the Impact meeting and the CAS annual meeting this fall.