Description: Expanding Horizons recently had the opportunity to interview Wenjun Zhu, the winner of the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA’s) third Actuarial Science Early Career Award.

Description: Description of the mathematics involved when looking at low probability events within a company from the perspective of the C-Suite. The accumulation of small probability events leads to a much higher probability of at least one of them happening in a given period.

Description: Dovel Technologies started as a two-person company, and by the time we sold to Private Equity in late 2019, Dovel had more than 1,200 people on its payroll. In this article, the authors (and cofounders of Dovel) describe two concepts that helped Dovel grow that actuaries can apply to help grow their firms.

Description: The goal of this publication is to give insights on some market trends in the insurance industry from an African perspective. Some of such trends include digital innovation, accounting standards (IFRS 9 and IFRS 17), African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Political Violence and Terrorism (PVT) incidents and Covid-19 pandemic exposures as well as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations. It also highlights the success story of the leading pan-African reinsurer, African Reinsurance Corporation, with a message to young professionals that can help increase their odds of success.

Description: This article is a summary of the SOA Research Institute report published in April 2023 on Megatrends Impacting the Future of Retirement Plans.

Description: A article summarizing the SOA 2024 Regional Symposium in Riyadh

Description: As actuaries, we’re trained to see patterns in numbers and to design solutions that mitigate risk. But I can tell you from experience that while quantitative analysis and modeling are critical actuarial tools, looking at the numbers alone can lead to insurance products that don’t succeed in the real world the way the math says they “should.” With new digital technologies, we have more data at our fingertips than ever before, but I believe it’s equally as important to bring qualitative research methodologies into your product development process if you want to design solutions that meet real needs in the market. In this article, Amanda Turcotte shares what happens when qualitative research is neglected or ignored, what happens when you incorporate it into the product design process, and how to implement qualitative research practices in your organization.

Description: Actuaries have the business acumen, problem-solving capabilities, and technical skills to develop innovative and data-driven solutions in the social insurance space. It is time we expand our scope and embrace an increased role in making a positive impact within the health care ecosystem. The primary focus of this paper is on social insurance programs dedicated to the most vulnerable population: low-income families accessing care through Medicaid. While there are numerous challenges that require other subject matter experts to take the lead, this article highlights topics where actuaries can be key players in developing and implementing tangible solutions to improve the care for the most vulnerable. Issues and solutions in this paper focus on the following three areas: 1. Access to appropriate care, 2. continuity of care, and 3. social determinants of health.

Description: Views on how to manage a block of long-term care insurance which has been placed in runoff, from a strategic, operational and financial perspective

Description: An actuary learns a lot about marketing when he took it on himself to rebrand a consulting service.