Growing Global Actuarial Capacity to Support Sustainable Economic Development

By Josh Collins, John Meerschaert and Ong Xie

Expanding Horizons, November 2023

Milliman has embarked on a multiyear aspirational effort with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Insurance and Risk Financing Facility (IRFF) to build actuarial capacity and, as a result, support economic development in the developing world. The Global Actuarial Initiative (GAIN) aims to enhance and strengthen the actuarial profession in multiple target countries. The initiative will include contributions from many in the actuarial community. Milliman employees are already working with the UNDP to lead GAIN, and we hope to include many others outside the company. GAIN will build on prior work and ultimately rely on local leaders to continue work into the future.

GAIN Connection to Sustainable Economic Development

Sustainable economic development is core to the UNDP’s mission. The UNDP works with developing countries across the globe to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality, focusing on sustainable development, democratic governance and peace building, and climate and disaster resilience.

In recent years, the UNDP has recognized the importance of effective risk management in sustainable development and the critical role of insurance in achieving this goal. A key component underlying risk management and insurance is actuarial capacity. However, in most developing countries, actuarial capability is weak or nonexistent. There is also a lack of data, particularly for populations most at risk and for emerging climate risk. This combination of limited actuarial expertise and data can lead to mispriced insurance products that may be unaffordable for the majority of consumers, providing little value for much of the population. GAIN is focused on improving these deficiencies.

Ultimately, GAIN efforts are focused on the goal of sustainable economic development by advancing effective risk management in developing nations. GAIN was launched and announced at the 77th United Nations General Assembly on September 18, 2022. Milliman is committed to providing significant pro bono services to support GAIN through at least 2025. Actuarial societies and/or other local entities in targeted countries are central to advancing GAIN’s work over this period and will continue to lead efforts beyond 2025. The GAIN team has engaged other stakeholders in the process, including insurers, regulators, universities and global actuarial associations. We are in regular meetings with leaders of the International Actuarial Association (IAA), as well as the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and Society of Actuaries (SOA), and we hope to engage many actuaries outside Milliman to support GAIN interventions.

The GAIN Implementation Process

As of September 2023, GAIN has started work in 10 countries around the world: Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The work started by selecting the target countries and the selection process itself is led by the UNDP with support from Milliman. Countries are selected based on both need and the potential for success.

Once a country is selected, GAIN conducts preliminary desk research and outreach to local stakeholders, including leaders of the insurance association, regulators, insurers and others. Discussions are focused on understanding the landscape of actuarial work in the countries, including strengths, gaps and opportunities for improvement.

This is followed by an on-site assessment visit, planned with the UNDP country office, to evaluate the actuarial landscape and develop the road map for specific interventions to advance GAIN targets. These assessments have included two to three Milliman employees working in the country for 7 to 10 days. Visits are focused on in-person meetings with stakeholders, continuing the discussions on the actuarial landscape with an expanded focus on potential actions to address specific needs. As expected, meeting in person brings increased commitment to the effort from all involved and has led to a much deeper understanding and a more open discussion of opportunities.

The improvement interventions are the core of the GAIN effort. These are specific actions identified in the on-site visit to improve the actuarial landscape. Interventions reflect actions focused in different areas and with different points of emphasis in each country. Focus areas include exam support, university initiatives, career mentoring, data resources and commitments from employers or regulators. Various stakeholders are assigned to lead initiatives. Milliman is responsible for leading some, while local stakeholders are assigned to lead others.

Progressing toward the ultimate vision for each country will require work beyond the three- to five-year GAIN time line. It is critical that all stakeholders recognize this at the outset and plan for sustaining the work that will be essential for the ultimate success of the effort. Accordingly, the details of interventions and composition of the in-country working committee will be set up to facilitate leadership from local stakeholders beyond the GAIN time line. While we plan for measurable progress during GAIN involvement, the real key to success will be the continuation of efforts to build the profession after that time.

Education-Focused Interventions

The interventions we embark on through GAIN will vary by country, reflecting its current actuarial needs, what we see as opportunities for improvement, and more importantly what the local stakeholders see as the most useful activities. However, through our engagement in many countries, we have consistently heard from local stakeholders of the importance of actuarial science education through local universities as an important pillar for developing the country’s actuarial profession. The university is foundational for any profession, as it acts as an established institution that generally provides a more cost-effective education for local students. A strong local education supports the retention of in-country actuarial talent and incentivizes graduates to contribute to the growth of their profession at home. To build actuarial capacity, it is important to strengthen the universities with sustainable structures to ensure that high-quality actuarial graduates are produced.

GAIN has identified several goals to improve actuarial science education in the countries in which we are engaged:

• Provide support for the development of actuarial science faculty. The actuarial profession is not as straightforward as some other education pathways. Actuarial science sits in the middle between theoretical mathematics and the less “pure” world of business. There are many different pathways to consider in accordance with university goals, private sector expectations and local regulatory requirements. If there is an expectation of taking exams, which exams do you teach, and how do you prepare students for these exams? If not, how do you design your curriculum? Additionally, most faculty tasked with starting a program come from a traditional mathematics or statistics background with limited knowledge of specific actuarial science principles or relevant industry experience. This can lead to programs that produce graduates with strong theoretical foundations but limited practical knowledge, which is what the private sector expects.
• Increase access to affordable educational tools and resources to faculty members and students. The cost of education is not limited to just university tuition fees. Textbook prices continue to increase rapidly, and there are far fewer publicly available free/open resources than for other, more popular disciplines. The high costs are either passed on to students or increase the burden on faculty, who either need to develop their own materials or scour the internet for accessible resources. If a student is also expected to take actuarial exams, it is another costly step in the education process. The cost of exams offered by internationally accredited actuarial professional bodies is often challenging in developing countries for all but either a handful of students who rely on international sponsorship or the rare few who have an exam study program, likely coming from a large multinational employer. Outside of pure cost, there is also a challenge for the faculty to be able to teach not only actuarial topics but also the insurance context in which they apply. This is a crucial hurdle for students taking exams who often understand the core mathematical concepts but are challenged with the insurance applicability of exam questions.
• Increase awareness of the actuarial profession among prospective university students. Even in countries with well-established professions, knowledge of actuarial science is limited, and often times new professionals find out about the actuarial profession through informal connections, such as having a friend or relative with relation to the profession. This is further amplified in a developing country where the odds of encountering an actuary by happenstance is even less likely. There are often multiple efforts across the country for private institutions, actuarial societies, or universities that often do the leg work independently to drive awareness of the profession. In recent years this is further amplified as tech sectors and data science continue to draw candidates that may have historically chosen the actuarial profession. The actuarial profession continues to grow in demand, but how do you effectively communicate the benefits to prospective students to draw in quality candidates?
• Strengthen links between industry and academia through better access to research opportunities and work-study programs. In the countries in which we have worked, we have generally seen limited engagement between academia and the private sector, which is not an issue unique to developing countries. Research is crucial to the academic process and developing actuarial science–specific research can be challenging when starting a program, compounded by the fact that the faculty first running these programs are not educated in actuarial science themselves. Academics are looking for challenging problems to solve, and the private sector usually has pragmatic issues as well as access to data for research; however, all too often these areas operate in isolation. Additionally, there is often a disconnect with what the university is teaching and the knowledge the private sector is expecting from graduates. Universities often develop their curricula in accordance with academic standards and goals, without engaging with employers to understand how best to prepare students. Additionally, employers can have unfair expectations of what a new graduate can accomplish when first joining the workforce and do not provide the level of training and development needed to nurture graduates as they develop into professional actuaries.

We expect some interventions will be unique to specific countries; however, we hope to be able to generate ideas and create resources that can be applied generally as well. Examples of potential interventions include the following:

• Faculty mentorship support, including a practice community to discuss issues
• Promotion activities to attract more candidates to the profession
• Support for university actuarial programs to pursue accreditation or take on other actions to enhance curricula and/or student outcomes
• Tutoring support and resources for actuarial exams
• Development of actuarial science educational material for faculty with non-actuarial backgrounds
• Support of open-access or affordable education materials
• Advocacy for insurers to engage with universities for research collaboration
• Connection between the private sector and academic institutions for internships and work-study programs

Milliman employees will work alongside local stakeholders as we implement some of these interventions, but for many we expect to engage additional outside global resources. Milliman’s primary experience is in the private sector, and we recognize that strategies for engaging in the academic world are different, so we hope others will join us in this massive effort.

A Vision for Sustainable Capacity

While it is early in the GAIN process, we have recognized multiple challenges that must be overcome to meet the long-term goal of sufficient and sustainable actuarial capacity across the globe. Ultimately the interventions are aimed at (1) increasing the supply, expertise and experience of actuaries; (2) increasing the demand for actuaries and key roles for them; and (3) improving resources and support so that actuaries thrive in their roles and provide increasing value to their employers and the broader economy. Through these interventions we are working toward the overarching goal of improving risk management in these countries and supporting sustainable economic development.

An Opportunity to Join the Effort

Milliman and UNDP are honored to work together in this important initiative. We will need the help and support of the global actuarial community as we go forward, particularly to enable ongoing and sustainable changes in the selected countries. Please reach out to our team at gain@milliman.com if you are interested in joining our initiative to grow the actuarial profession.

Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the editors, or the respective authors’ employers.

Josh Collins, FSA, MAAA, is a senior actuarial manager at Milliman. Josh can be reached at Josh.Collins@milliman.com.

John Meerschaert, FSA, MAAA, is a principal and consulting actuary at Milliman. John can be reached at john.meerschaert@milliman.com.

Ong Xie, FIA, FSAS, is a consulting actuary at Milliman. Ong Xie can be reached at ong.xie@milliman.com.