What have we offered so far?
Here are a few examples of the projects that Actuaries without Borders volunteers have offered over the 17 years of its existence and that Actuaries of the World members wish to continue offering ...
Topic: Pricing and Reserving in life insurance
Kathmandu, Nepal – December 2019
A volunteer led a seminar on the topic of Pricing and reserving in life insurance. The seminar, organized by the Nepalese insurance regulator -Beema Samati - and the Kathmandu University, was addressed to industry representatives and actuarial professionals of life insurers.
This request originated from recently introduced insurance regulations establishing the appointed actuary for the life insurance industry. The new regulations include the duties of the actuary, guidelines for valuation, recommendations on allocation of the profits and the description of the valuation report.
Over two days the participants and he went through multiple topics including from generic ones like the history of insurance, duties of an actuary, types of life insurance products, product development process, data and quality checks to the technical areas of equation of value, experience analysis, assumption-setting, reserving, reinsurance, surrender-value determination, guarantees and options, asset-share, bonus earning capacity, etc. Initially he believed that two days were long enough to cover these topics. However, the participants’ enthusiasm to explore further narratives in related areas left him short of time which he considers was a positive sign. The participants were undoubtedly sincere and contributed to make the sessions interactive and engaging.
Topic: Actuarial Data Analytics
Accra, Ghana – November 2019
A volunteer led a 4-days workshop under the theme Actuarial Data Analytics (with R/Python). The seminar organized by the Actuarial Society of Ghana (ASG) was attended by Actuarial Officers, Analysts, Managers from Life, Pensions, General, Health Insurance & Financial Services and members of the ASG.
The volunteer was excited to help fellow Ghanaian actuarial practitioners through the advance application of R in actuarial space by exposing participants to the different stages in actuarial/predictive analytics project and exploratory data analysis on day 1 - Specifically, how to use summary statistics and visualization tools to identify and spot
issues in a data using real life data examples. Day 2 followed with model building and evaluation in R, where participants were taught how to choose the appropriate model to solve a business problem. Day 3 continued with GLM concept with emphasis on continuous response and count models.
Participants completed in-class hands on projects using R to perform data preparation, exploration and building some GLM models. The workshop then ended with unsupervised learning technique focusing on cluster analysis. Participants then used real data example to conduct customer segmentation analysis
with k-means clustering.
Topic: The actuarial profession in the context of risk-based solvency regimes
Baku, Azerbaijan – November 2019
A volunteer led a 3-days seminar under the theme The actuarial profession in the context of risk-based capital solvency regimes. This event was organized by the Actuarial Association of Azerbaijan.
The workshop treated the following topics:
- Global view of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and its standards
- Corporate governance (Insurance Core Principle No. 7)
- Risk management and internal controls (Insurance Core Principle No. 8)
- Enterprise Risk Management for solvency purposes (Insurance Core Principle No. 16)
- Reporting requirements in Solvency II
- Comparison between the IAIS and Solvency II frameworks
- The actuarial education: qualified actuary and CERA
Alongside, multiple references were made to regulatory paradigms, such as Solvency II, the Swiss Solvency Test, and IFRS 17, as well as modern industry practices in both advanced and emerging insurance markets. The theoretical aspects of the workshop syllabus were complemented by engaging discussions.
Topic: The actuarial profession in the context of risk-based solvency regimes
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina – November 2019
The volunteer conducted a seminar under the topic "The actuarial profession in the context of Risk-Based solvency regimes". The seminar, organized by the Aktuarsko Drustvo u Bosni I Hercegovini focused on insurance core principles and on the role of the actuary and risk management.
The insurance regulatory framework in Bosnia & Herzegovina is still a solvency 1 regime. The regulations include today already formalized actuarial reporting for the regulator. The regulator prepares compliance with the Insurance Core Principles of the IAIS and a risk-based capital solvency regime/solvency2.
For that reason, the actuarial association felt it necessary to prepare its members and the industry for a smooth transition to solvency 2 with a seminar.
Forum : Moscow Actuarial Forum
Moscow, Russia – October-November 2019
Two volunteers made presentations on the topics of Actuarial profession in InsurTech/FinTech (big data/ML/AI) and Practice of Actuarial reporting respectively. The forum that took place on October 31st and November 1st is the result of the collaborative efforts between the Russian Guild of Actuaries, the Central Bank of Russia and the Association of Professional Actuaries.
Topic: Soft skills – the importance of effective communication
Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia – September 2019
The Macedonian Actuarial Association ("MAA"), successfully held a workshop titled Soft Skills - The Importance of Effective Communication. The volunteer ably facilitated the 2 day workshop beginning with an introduction to soft skills, in particular communication skills.
The volunteer covered themes including how to deliver bad news, presenting financial results, explaining complex information in simple terms, planning for presentations, and how to respond to last minute changes in circumstances. He also provided tips on developing communication skills, with some drawn from well-known speakers/authors on the subject of communication.
Topic : Insurance analytics and survival modeling
Dakar, Senegal – August 2019
The volunteer conducted a 5 days course on insurance analytics and survival modeling at the Institut Interafricain de Formation en Assurance et en Gestion des Entreprises (IFAGE), Dakar, Senegal. This was a continuation of a previous course where students received an introduction on linear models and allowed students to focus on implementation using online tutorials that the instructor developed using "R" and Datacamp packages.
Topic: Data analytics: an insurance perspective
Harare, Zimbabwe – June 2019
A volunteer made a condensed presentation at the 5th Annual Convention of the Actuarial Society of Zimbabwe. The Actuarial Society of Zimbabwe applauded Ms. Das presentation, entitled Data Analytics: An Insurance Perspective.
It was a technical presentation tailored to the interest of the audience and theme of the day. The presentation walked the audience through the plethora of data science resources currently available that can be leveraged by actuaries. Among these resources, there was a focus on Kaggle, a popular online platform, where demonstrations were done in real-time using sample insurance data. Additionally, the session facilitated multiple opportunities for interaction on related topics. Audience members shared their perspectives on where the insurance industry was headed in an age of big data, general challenges faced in their own sectors and the future of the actuarial profession. The discussion was robust, informative and, based on feedback received, one of the highlights of the day.
Topic: Asset-liability management in Solvency 1
Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska – April 2019
A volunteer provided a 2-day workshop for the Actuarial Association of the Republic of Srpska under the theme of "Asset-liability management for insurance companies in a Solvency 1 environment". The workshop provided insights in ALM for life and non-life insurers, ALM models and strategies, as well as balance sheet projections and scenario analysis.
Topic: The role of the actuary
Yerevan, Armenia – March 2019
The Actuarial Society of Armenia (ASA) has recently published its Code of Conduct, and organized a seminar dedicated to the Professionalism and the Role of the Actuary. Participants included actuaries from insurance companies, Central Bank, Consulting companies, teachers as well as students. In the first part, the roles of the actuaries, and the famous “Kind” of actuaries originally described by Hans Bühlmann (life, non-life and ALM actuaries), and further completed by Paul Embrechts (ERM actuaries) and most recently by the Singapore Actuarial Society Big Data Working Party (Big Data actuaries) were addressed.
The insurance supervisory environment has evolved in the last decades, and the Insurance Core Principles (ICP) developed by the International Association of insurance Supervisors (IAIS) have been introduced, in particular the ICP 5 (suitability), ICP 7 (Corporate Governance), ICP 8 (Risk management and internal control) and ICP 17 (Capital Adequacy).
Those ICP’s demonstrate the need of Actuaries at various level of an Insurance operation; the playing field of the actuaries is wide, not only within the company (Operational, Control functions) but also at the external audit and supervision level, and other bodies.
In order to help association’s members and individual actuaries in their profession, the IAA has developed International Standards of Actuarial Practice (ISAPs) which are model standards of actuarial practice. Standards such as ISAP1– General Actuarial Practice – also transposed in other association: ESAP1 (European), BSAP1 (Belgium), and soon…the Armenian version “ASAP” will follow…!
The second part of the seminar was dedicated to practical examples, and case studies with multiple choice answers have been presented. Participants have then been working into several groups to answer the case studies. The various answers have been discussed the interaction between the participants during this part has shown the great interest of participants on the topic, and how to solve conflicts that could arise in practical situations.
Topic: Data science for life and health insurance
Algiers, Algeria – December 2018
On December 23 - 25 2018, an actuarial volunteer collaborated with the Actuarial Demography Team from the Centre for Research in Applied Economics for Development (CREAD) on a 3 days training on Data Science for Health and Life Insurance. The seminar that was attended by actuaries and statisticians covered different topics related to life and health insurance pricing and general overviews on big Data, Data science and Machine Learning in the Insurance Industry.
The training covered different topics related to life and health insurance pricing and general overviews on big data, data science and machine learning in the insurance industry. In addition to recalling the actuarial bases of pricing insurance products, mini workshops were included in the training which allowed participants to directly work with models and data sets.
Topic: Professionalism and the role of actuary with case studies
Skopje, Macedonia – December 2018
The Macedonian Actuarial Association (MAA) organized a 2-day workshop entitled “Professionalism and the role of the actuary with case studies”. The workshop covered some basic principles of the regulatory framework defined in the Insurance Core Principles (ICP) 7 and 8, as well as the principles of the profession defined in the association’s Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedure. Two case studies from the Macedonian practice and case studies from more mature markets were also presented.
Topic: Moscow Actuarial Forum
Moscow, Russia - September 2018
The Russian Guild of Actuaries together with the Central Bank of Russia and the Association of Professional Actuaries, invited volunteers to participate on the Moscow Actuarial Forum to make a presentation on actuarial profession and Risk Based Supervision, and on Pensions and Social Security.
Topic: Professionalism and role of actuary in RBS regime
Sofia, Bulgaria – May 2018
The Bulgarian Actuarial Society on the organization of a 2 days workshop for the members of the Bulgarian association and senior executives from insurance regulatory body and companies. The seminar focused on the theme of Professionalism providing an introduction to ICPs and emphasizing on ICP8.
Topic: ERM, ALM, general topics in actuarial science
St. Petersburg, Russia – March 2018
On March 1-3, three actuarial volunteers held lectures at the European University of St. Petersburg to approximately 100 actuaries and students. The format of the event is three one-day courses. The first day covered mostly the quantitative aspects of risk management, the second day covered insurance and general topics of actuarial science, whereas the last day covered financial modelling including ALM/DFA. The topics were a mixture between advanced science/complex modelling and practical aspects supervisory requirements.
Topic: the role of the actuary in risk based capital regimes
Skopje, Macedonia – December 2017
On December 27-28, the Macedonian Actuarial Association (MAA) organized a 2-day workshop that was attended by more than 50 participants from various industry areas. The volunteer through its presentations created awareness of the foundations of the risk based regulatory framework that will soon be introduced in Macedonia and demonstrated that the actuarial association is a stakeholder in this process.
Topic: Entreprise risk management
Sofia, Bulgaria – November 2017
On 14-16 November 2017, Bulgarian Actuarial Society (BAS) organized a seminar on «Enterprise Risk Management». The volunteer emphasized the practical aspects of regulatory and advisory ERM paradigms. The volunteer also presented a few R scripts to interest the attendees on actuarial applications and insights. The Extreme Value Theory and the modeling of dependencies received excellent and intellectually rewarding reviews.
Topic: Tutorial C exam
Yerevan, Armenia – January 2017
On January 23-27, a 5 days workshop provided extensive tutorial of exam C was successfully delivered to the members of the local association.
Topic: Entreprise risk management
Lagos, Nigeria – September 2016
The College of Insurance and Financial Management (CFIM) successfully delivered a two days workshop providing extensive training on Enterprise Risk Management thanks to an actuarial volunteer. The workshop assisted in building up successful risk management and culture within an enterprise using effective risk management methods and techniques.
Topic: non-life insurance pricing and reserving
Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska - May 2016
Two days seminar was held by an actuarial volunteer on the topics of non-life insurance ratemaking and reserving. The purpose of the seminar was to present methodologies for premium calculation and setting of balance sheet reserves in a non-life insurance. The seminar that was attended by over 25 participants from the region was held thanks to the financial support of the Actuarial Association of the Republic of Srpska, the Insurance agency of the Republic of Srpska.
Topic: Non-life pricing and reserving
Bogota, Colombia – November 2015
At the request of the Colombian Association of Actuaries (ACA), two actuarial volunteers gave a three-day seminar on non-life pricing and reserving.
Topic: non-life pricing and reserving
Nairobi, Kenya – August 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a seminar to cover general insurance reserving and pricing techniques. Furthermore, cluster analysis and factor analysis was introduced, and possible applications within non-life insurance were suggested.
Topic: tutorial P-exam
Yerevan, Armenia – June-July 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a four day's tutorial on topics for the P-exam under the syllabus of the Society of Actuaries providing advice on skills to write the exam and case studies with practical applications. The case studies gave students an opportunity to become familiar with the applied statistics module. Students also received important information about the SOA exam system allowing them to better organize their qualification path.
Topic: tutorial MLC
Accra, Ghana – April 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a five day’s tutorial on Models for Life Contingencies (MLC) under the syllabus of the Society of Actuaries (SoA).
Topic: tutorial CT4 and CT5
Colombo, Sri Lanka – March 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a 5 days 5 days seminar to prepare 10 students on the topics of Models (CT4) and Life Contingencies (CT5) under the UK Actuarial Profession’s examinations.
Topic: Tutorial CT1
Lusaka, Zambia – March 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a tutorial on Financial Mathematics (CT1) and Models (CT4).
Topic: non-life insurance MTPL
Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska – March 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a two days seminar on the topic of ratemaking. The purpose of the seminar was to present methodologies for premium calculation in a non-life insurance with the objective of preparing local actuaries for the announced liberalization of MTPL pricing that will be introduced in the next years.
Topic: non-life pricing and reserving
Kampala, Uganda – March 2015
An actuarial volunteer provided a three days seminar on the General Insurance aspects of ratemaking and reserving.
Topic: tutorial CT1
Yerevan, Armenia – September 2014
An actuarial volunteer provided a training which was aimed at preparing actuarial students for CT1 examinations. 20 students from the insurance industry, the regulator, the supervisor and students at Yerevan State University attended the tuition.
Topic: Tutorial CT6 and CT8
Colombo, Sri Lanka – June 2014
An actuarial volunteer from the United Kingdom, examined and assessed 5 students at a five-day teaching course for subjects CT6 and CT8 of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ examinations.
Topic: Solvency and risk related capacity building
Katmandu, Nepal – May 2014
At the request of the Nepalese Insurance Board (Beema Samiti), an actuarial volunteer conducted a seminar on solvency and risk related capacity building in life insurance.
Topic: Pensions & social security
Kampala, Uganda – January 2014
A volunteer held a Pensions & Social Security seminar which was aimed at strengthening the skills of its members who are working, and intending to work, in the pensions sector in Uganda.
Topic: Tutorial MLC
Bogotá, Colombia – October 2013
At the request of the Asociación Colombiana de Actuarios (ACA) an actuarial volunteer taught a four-day exam preparation seminar for local students writing the Fall 2013 Society of Actuaries' Models for Life Contingencies Exam.
Topic: e-Learning SoA
Lusaka, Zambia – Summer 2013
An actuarial volunteer assisted Mubanga Lombe, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Zambia, to complete the free trial module on the Fundamentals of Actuarial Science (FAP) under the e-Learning program of the Society of Actuaries. The volunteer mentored Mubanga via e-mail and Skype.
Topic: introduction to financial mathematics
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam – May 2013
Actuarial volunteers conducted introductory actuarial seminars, over a period of four days, for students currently employed by the local insurance industry in Vietnam. Students were introduced to actuarial concepts, financial mathematics, financial economics and life contingencies. The seminar was attended by 32 students, and the instructors were Sachi Purcal and David Pitt, both from Australia.
Topic: introduction to actuarial techniques in social security
Lomé, Togo – April 2013
At the request of la Conférence Interafricaine de la Prévoyance Sociale (la C.I.PRE.S), two volunteers taught a three-day training course on social security systems. The 2 volunteer introduced the participants to principles involved in the financing of social security systems and explained various issues related to actuarial valuations and projections for such systems. A total of 30 attendees from twelve countries participated, including executives and senior managers of the various member organizations and members of la C.I.PRE.S inspection team.
Topic: Tutorials CT4 and CT5
Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Dhaka, Bangladesh– January 2013
2 actuarial volunteers taught four-day seminars on successive weekends to assist students preparing for exams of the Institute of Actuaries of India, and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (UK).
Tirana, Albania – March 2012
As part of a USAID-funded Financial Services Volunteer Corps program in Albania that seeks to strengthen and enlarge Albania’s financial sector, a volunteer, spent one week mentoring two actuaries working for the Financial Supervisory Authority of Albania. This mentoring focused on three areas: 1) the role of regulatory actuaries in the US, 2) problems and issues that arise as part of their current responsibilities, and 3) important topics in property-casualty actuarial science not covered in their previous training, specifically, the loss ratio ratemaking method, classification ratemaking, and the use of the development triangle as a diagnostic tool.
