Chairperson's Corner

By Michelle Lerch

Reinsurance News, February 2023

It is hard to believe how quickly 2022 has passed. Yet, it provided many reminders of why we have much to be grateful for, and generates excitement for what 2023 will bring. Thank you to all of the Reinsurance Section Council members who shared their three-year term with us. It was a pleasure getting to work with you and develop friendships. We are also grateful for the three new members who are joining to continue the tradition. Another example is how wonderful it was to get to see so many of you in Orlando at the SOA ImpACT meeting; in person, in three dimensions. I am looking forward to seeing you in 2023 at any of the many SOA conferences and meetings.

As we move into 2023, the Reinsurance Section’s focus will continue to be on emerging issues and trends within the reinsurance community and delivering them through education, research, professional development, and networking. These are some of the avenues that will allow us to be able to bring these to life. We are grateful for the great content that has been created that includes, but not limited to, topics such as mortality improvement trends, innovation and underwriting, emerging risks, obesity, and cause of death. Our LinkedIn profile and our microsite on soa.org are a couple of great ways to learn more about what we have going on.

Life Education and Reinsurance Navigation (LEARN), a program created in 2009, provides educational seminars on reinsurance topics to regulators. Over the years, we have had these discussions with more than 40 departments of insurance in the United States and also Brazil. Because the focus is on teaching others about reinsurance, in 2022, we wondered if this could be expanded to university programs with the purpose of generating interest in the profession and reinsurance. With the positive feedback received, we will continue to expand our discussions to more universities in the United States and Canada and look forward to seeing the next generation become part of the profession.

We have heard you and much appreciate the feedback that you have shared. Research, webcasts, and the newsletter are your preferred methods to receive content on topics that have an impact on reinsurance. These channels for communication will continue to be a priority in 2023, and we will be stepping up our game.

Historically, we have had a council member focused on research and presenting these opportunities to the council. This will continue, plus we will be part of the Project Oversite Groups (POGs) for research that we elect to support. POGs are the groups that are made up of SOA staff and members whose goal is to deliver research material of the highest quality and standards expected.

We are guided by you as to the content of the research supported and the webcasts developed. Each year, we reach out to you to learn more about the topics of interest. Look for our survey that will be emailed to you in the next month providing you with a chance to let us know what is top of mind. Your feedback is important to us.

The Reinsurance Education and Learning Symposium (REAL) will be replaced by the 2023 Spring Bootcamp. The goal continues to be creating an opportunity to learn more about reinsurance and network with other professionals. This will now be expanded to include additional sections, greater educational opportunities, and networking. We look forward to seeing you there and getting your feedback on the new format.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) is strongly supported by both the SOA and the Reinsurance Section, and we are actively taking steps to support this within the actuarial community. We have supported both the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) and the Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA) financially and by exploring how we can ensure our LEARN program reaches all education communities. By including all perspectives, our profession will only become stronger.

My experience being on the Reinsurance Section Council has been an amazing experience that has allowed me to learn more about the SOA, make new friends, and be part of giving back to the actuarial profession. If you would like to learn more or get more involved, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or others. You can also add your name to the SOA Volunteer Database by completing this expression of interest form.

Here's to 2023. Cheers.

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

Michelle Lerch, FSA, MAAA, is Vice President, Senior Marketing Actuary at SCOR. She can be reached at mlerch@scor.com.