Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Actuarial Practice
Actuarial Practice
PRACTICE
’Funbi Fatore
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Medical Under writing
Introduction/Role of the professional Actuary
Theories on why professions exist
How actuaries work in the real world
Financial Security Systems
SOA Competency Framework
How Insurance Works
Insurable risk
Components of premium
HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUM
Accept Decline
2 methods
Moratorium Underwriting Full Medical Underwriting
Moratorium Underwriting
Allows for applicants to receive cover without
disclosing their entire medical history
Individuals will typically have any preexisting
medical conditions excluded if those have developed
within the past five years
Best suited for standard risks
Premium rates are reduced
Full Medical underwriting
To avoid adverse selection Toxic portfolio
Factors like medical history, age , location,
benefits etc.
Best suited for sub standard risks
Premium rates are higher
INTRODUCTION/ROLE OF THE
PROFESSIONAL ACTUARY
Who is an actuary?
A reputable business professional who deals with
the measurement and management of risk and
uncertainty
Problem solver & strategic thinker.
People will trust your opinion.
Governments may listen to the opinions of professionals
Mutual support between members
TO BE A RECOGNIZED PROFESSION, AN OCCUPATION MUST:
Provide solutions that society deems important
Provide a quality of the service that cannot be easily assessed
Provide services that cannot be delivered by applying a standard set of rules
THERE IS A NEED FOR AN EXPERT THAT SOCIETY TRUSTS
Professions have evolved to answer this problem
Profession shares a joint reputation
HOW THE CONCEPT OF A PROFESSION
IS CHANGING OVER TIME
Society is less trusting of professions than it used
to be
Professions must demonstrate they are not
abusing their monopoly of services
Practitioners have to justify their advice.
ROLE OF THE PROFESSIONAL
BODY
The International Actuarial Association (IAA) serves as a
forum to enable the actuarial profession to deal with issues
at the international level
Umbrella association of professional actuarial bodies
around the world
No power over the national professional bodies but can
influence
To be a member of IAA a professional body must have
acceptable code of conduct
acceptable disciplinary procedure
procedure for drafting and enforcing standards of practice,
if these are issued
Fully qualified members that meet the minimum education
guidelines set out by the IAA
E.g:
The European Actuarial Consultative Group
represents actuarial organizations in the EU
The American Academy of Actuaries
Nigeria Actuarial Society
The professional actuarial body must have
a code of conduct
Actuaries should only take on tasks which
they are competent to perform
The body may also issue standards of practice
Advantages of having a standard:
Provides a useful checklist of what should be done
Protects clients since it ensures the work is complete and thorough
using appropriate methods
Protects the actuary who might otherwise be pressured into
omitting an essential part of a task or using unacceptable methods
Provides the professional body with a solid case if it needs to
discipline a member
Protects an actuary from allegations of unsatisfactory performance
Satisfies regulators that actuaries will perform a task to a given
standard
An individual has to ensure they are complying with the
standards
However, as a professional they must also take steps if they
see other actuaries failing to meet the standards
HOW ACTUARIES WORK IN THE
REAL WORLD
What do they do?
Evaluating the likelihood of future events
Disclosure
In providing information about the soundness of
financial institutions.
WHAT AN ACTUARY DOES
Uses math, probability, statistics, finance, and
economics to measure and manage risk
Business professional who analyzes the financial
consequences of risk
is a researcher, a planner, and a decision maker
be familiar with all areas of a financial security
system
PROFESSIONAL ISSUES TO CONSIDER WHILE
YOU WORK ON ANY TASK
Ethical behavior & High standard
Conflicts of interest
Duty to put clients first vs the entire public
awareness that advice may be relied upon by third
parties
Materiality
Refers to how much difference it will make to the final
outcome
The materiality of the work is always an issue the
actuary should keep
Involves professional judgment as to which parts of
the task will require the most attention in the context
of the particular job
Reliance on other experts
To start with work done by others
When using models designed by other people:
Your effort to understand and evaluate the model
should be consistent with the materiality
A view of the experts who designed the model
An idea of how the model work and if it has been
tested, validated, and calibrated
Whether the model is appropriate for your purpose
Reasonableness of model results
Do a professional job, how?
Be professionalism conscious, think of the
penalties
Consider to only take on actuarial work you are
competent to perform
Define the task
Understand what the client needs & the requirements
Collect the required & review data/information
Check results for reasonableness / accuracy
How do you communicate the results
Communicate the variability around any answer
Disclose information used to develop the results
share results in an appropriate format
YOU MUST KNOW THAT
One’s results are often not the only possible
solution
The acceptable solution is rarely found in the
back of a book
Information or data you wish you had is rarely
available
Time and resources required to build a best
model are often limited
Results will affect decision makers
The future will be unlike the past
EARLY ACTUARIAL CYCLE
John Graunt (15th century)
first to publish result of mortality rates prepared by
parish clerks( births & death)
bring actuarial treatment to probability and statistics
Huygens developed life expectancy at specific ages
(Nig Male52.8yrs female 55yrs)
Annuities (Lorenzo Tonti)
Different coverages and providers
Individual Insurance
Provider is the Insurance company
Insurance company bears risk
The contract is between the insurance company and the individual
policyholder
Group Insurance
Employer sponsors coverage
A number of providers exist in the market place
Insurance companies
Insurance company bears risk
Healthcare service corporations
Write medical and dental coverages
Notforprofit identity
Retains risk
HMOs: Offer service benefits
Have direct contact with health care providers
Some directly employ physicians and own
hospitals
Managed care
Most offer outofplan option
Have copayments vs. coinsurance and
deductibles
HMOs bear risk
Distributors of financial security systems
Marketers, agents, banks etc
TRADITIONAL AREAS OF ACTUARIAL
PRACTICE
Areas Risk to be managed Financial Actuary’s
security contributions
programs
Investments Returns on investments Lot of programs involve Understand
Defaults the investment of various investment
Assetliability management premiums or needs
contributions in order to how the financial
accumulate benefits to be market operate
paid later Solving problems
related to, credit risk,
liquidity risk,
Life insurance and Uncertainty of the age of death of an Life insurance & annuity Mortality studies
annuities individual products reinsurance
Dying prematurely & outliving their Life& annuity
assets in retirement(annuity products) products dev.
insufficient funds at retirement Include private & public expertise in
Retirement longevity pensions designing pension
healthcare needs products
interest rates, plan changes, ability to help clients
attract employees understand the
tradeoff btw cost
saving &benefit
reduction etc
Areas Risk to be managed Financial actuary’s
security contributions
programs
Health Inadequate Healthcare due to Govt plans, determine health
Insurance it’s cost Contract with packages
Inadequate income due to providers measuring claims cost
health problems Private health trend & forecasting
the health actuary considers Insurance policies future trends
average healthcare cost, pool of contributing to
risk, selection by participants, pricing, valuation , cost
payment method to providers, benefit analysis
health industry cost performs healthcare
management practices, legal calculations e.g post
restrictions etc retirement plans
Property & financial loss due to accident Property, vehicle, Pricing
Casualty & injury liabilty and workmen Risk classification
damage to property as a result compensation reserving IBNR
of causing damage to someone Claims expenses are
else’s property higher esp. where
lawyers and experts
are needed
KEY COMPETENCES OF AN
ACTUARY
Actuaries apply technical and enabling competencies
Technical skills:
Competency in Actuarial science analysis
General business skillsaccounting, law, economics etc.
Quantitative skillsmathematical, analytical & financial modelling
i.e Calculus, linear algebra, and probability
Mathematical and applied statistics
Financial statistics
Contingency, frequency, severity, aggregate loss, and credibility models
Parametric and nonparametric models
Computer applications, languages, and programming
Specialized skills from education, exams, and experience
Enabling Skills
General knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to all
professions
Change initiatives & overcome barriers to change
Oral & written communication skills
Knowledge management & Self developmentpursue
opportunities acquire & share knowledge. Stay current
Leadership
Project management
Relationship management leads to respect & trust
Team work
includes a selfassessment to identify strengths and opportunities for
additional skill development
8 competencies that make up the framework
Communication
Professional values: Keeping to standards of practice and the Code of
Conduct
External forces and industry knowledge :Identifying and incorporating
economic, social, and business changes into the design of actuarial solutions
Leadership
Relationship management and interpersonal collaboration
Strategic insight and integration: Anticipating trends and aligning
actuarial practice with broader organizational goals
Technical skills and analytical problem solving
Providing effective problem solving
INTRODUCTION TO RATEMAKING
The evolution of Insurance
Insurance facilitated economic growth; Marine
insurers, traders etc
Economic security is the opposite of economic
risk
The pooling concept was then formalized
HOW INSURANCE WORKS
The law of large numbers;
As the number of observations increases, the difference
between the observed relative frequency of an event and the
true underlying probability tends to zero
The difference between observed average severity of an
event and the expected severity tends to zero as the number
of observations increases
The larger the population, the smaller the variance of the
average claim and the risk
The insurance mechanism is used to transfer risk
from the individual policyholder to the pooled group
of policyholders. Not for profit making of policy
holder.
No speculation allowed stocks etc
Other terminologies
Risk is a measure of possible variation of economic
outcomes
Peril is used as an identifier of a cause of risk (e.g.,
fire, collision, theft, etc.)
Hazards are various contributing factors to the peril
OTHER REASONS FOR THE
PURCHASE OF INSURANCE
Legal requirements –Third party Insurance
Lender requirements
Commercial requirements
Taxation to enjoy incentives
Special expertiseinsurer may provide service on
a more costeffective basis than the insured can
do on his or her own.
WHAT MAKES A RISK INSURABLE?
It should be economically feasibleaffordable
The economic value of the insurance should be
calculable
The loss must be definite
The loss must be random in nature
The exposures in any rate class must be
homogeneous
Exposure units should be spatially and
temporally independent
Direct Cost & Admin Expenses
CAPITATION
FFS
DIRECT
COSTS
COMMISSION
PREMIUM
ADMIN CIBNR
EXPENSES
WHAT DETERMINES THE COST OF A HEALTH PLAN
Group underwriting
Exemption of pre existing medical conditions
Benefits
No of lives
Industry
Gender distribution
Location
Choice of hospital
Individual underwriting
Where pre existing medical conditions exist:
Benefits
Medical records/conditions
Age
Location
Choice of hospital
ASSESSMENT
What are the 8 competencies of an actuary
State and explain 3 areas of actuarial practice
specifying the financial systems that apply.
What rating factors do you consider as an
actuary.