ActuariesOne of the main functions of actuaries is to help businesses assess the risk of certain events occurring and formulate policies that minimize the cost of that risk. For this reason, actuaries are essential to the insurance industry. Actuaries assemble and analyze data to estimate the probability and likely cost of the occurrence of an event such as death, sickness, injury, disability, or loss of property. Actuaries also address financial questions, including those involving the level of pension contributions required to produce a certain retirement income level and the way in which a company should invest resources to maximize return on investments in light of potential risk. Using their broad knowledge of statistics, finance, and business, actuaries help design insurance policies, pension plans, and other financial strategies in a manner which will help ensure that the plans are maintained on a sound financial basis. Most actuaries are employed in the insurance industry, specializing in life and health insurance or property and casualty insurance. They produce probability tables which determine the likelihood that a potential future event will generate a claim. From these tables, they estimate the amount a company can expect to pay in claims. For example, property and casualty actuaries calculate the expected amount of claims resulting from automobile accidents, which varies depending on the insured person�s age, sex, driving history, type of car, and other factors. Actuaries ensure that the price, or premium, charged for such insurance will enable the company to cover claims and other expenses. This premium must be profitable, yet competitive with other insurance companies. Within the life and health insurance fields, actuaries are helping to develop long-term-care insurance and annuity policies, the latter a growing investment tool for many individuals. Actuaries in other financial services industries manage credit and help price corporate security offerings. They also devise new investment tools to help their firms compete with other financial services companies. Pension actuaries working under the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 evaluate pension plans covered by that Act and report on the plans� financial soundness to participants, sponsors, and Federal regulators. Actuaries working in government help manage social programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Actuaries may help determine company policy and may need to explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public in general. They may testify before public agencies on proposed legislation affecting their businesses or explain changes in contract provisions to customers. They also may help companies develop plans to enter new lines of business or new geographic markets with existing lines of business by forecasting demand in competitive settings. Both staff actuaries employed by businesses and consulting actuaries provide advice to clients on a contract basis. The duties of most consulting actuaries are similar to those of other actuaries. For example, some may evaluate company pension plans by calculating the future value of employee and employer contributions and determining whether the amounts are sufficient to meet the future needs of retirees. Others help companies reduce their insurance costs by lowering the level of risk the companies take on. For instance, they may provide advice on how to lessen the risk of injury on the job, which will lower worker�s compensation costs. Consulting actuaries sometimes testify in court regarding the value of the potential lifetime earnings of a person who is disabled or killed in an accident, the current value of future pension benefits (in divorce cases), or other values arrived at by complex calculations. Many consulting actuaries work in reinsurance, a field in which one insurance company arranges to share a large prospective liability policy with another insurance company in exchange for a percentage of the premium. Related news articles The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security ... - 16 Oct 2006 Business Wire (press release),...are winners providing the benefits but they are enabling employees to make better use of those benefits,�? said Dan McCarthy, consulting actuary at Milliman ... Eastern Campus To Host Math-Science Fair & Competition on October ... - 16 Oct 2006 Yahoo! News (press release)Professionals presenting include a forensic pathologist, an actuary, a manager of student affairs at an engineering college, a horticulturalist, a chemist, and ... Fitch Rts Suffolk County, New York $94MM GOs 'AA-'; Upgr ... - 16 Oct 2006 Business Wire (press release),Although the county is still in the process of selecting an actuary to determine its long-term liability for other post employment benefits, officials expect ... Surviving spouse has hidden costs - 16 Oct 2006 Akron Beacon Journal,...sign off on the pension option her husband chose, but many couples do not communicate about it very well, said Rappaport, who is a consulting actuary based in ... Another actuary blows the whistle on the high cost of life ... - Oct 15, 2006 Personal Finance,The evidence is provided in a paper entitled "Essays on Products and Planning", which was delivered by independent actuary Vernon Boulle at the annual ... HRSDC: EI Commission Releases Chief Actuary's Report - Oct 13, 2006 CCNMatthews (press release),13, 2006) - The Canada Employment Insurance Commission today released the Report of the Chief Actuary to the Employment Insurance Commission on the EI Premium ... Transamerica Re hires chief pricing actuary - Oct 2, 2006 Charlotte Business Journal,Transamerica Reinsurance has hired Scott Boug as vice president and chief pricing actuary of the company's US life reinsurance business. ... Boug is Named Chief Pricing Actuary for Transamerica Reinsurance - Oct 2, 2006 dBusinessNews Charlotte (press release),Reinsurance, a major worldwide reinsurance supplier, announced today that Scott A. Boug has been named Vice President and Chief Pricing Actuary of its US life ... Pat Robertson Executive director, Public Employees Retirement ... - Oct 15, 2006 Jackson Clarion Ledger,...system operates by collecting contributions from covered employees and employers at rates set by the board of trustees as prescribed by our consulting actuary. ... EI Commission Releases Chief Actuary's Report - Oct 13, 2006 Government of Canada Newsroom (press release),OTTAWA, ONTARIO - The Canada Employment Insurance Commission today released the Report of the Chief Actuary to the Employment Insurance Commission on the EI ... Scott Boug named Chief Pricing Actuary for Transamerica ... - Oct 2, 2006 Carolina Newswire (press release),Transamerica Reinsurance, a major worldwide reinsurance supplier, announced that Scott A. Boug has been named Vice President and Chief Pricing Actuary of its ... W. Warwick has big plans for town's pension fund - Oct 8, 2006 Kent County Daily Times,...was required by state law to submit a letter to Auditor General Ernest A. Almonte describing the town's plan to meet an actuary's recommended contributions. ... Alaska Retirement Management Board Adopts New Assumptions - Oct 9, 2006 SitNews,The actuary, Buck Consultants, reported that experiences in several areas departed from assumed or forecasted numbers sufficiently to warrant revising the ... Tax break considered for seniors - Oct 10, 2006 St. Petersburg Times,...year, residents have complained about high insurance bills, prompting not just Tuesday's tax discussion but the hiring of an outside lawyer and actuary to help ... Andy Doll and Leslie Svoboda Named Vice Presidents at Fireman’s ... - Oct 4, 2006 Business Wire (press release),NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Andy Doll and Leslie Svoboda have been named vice president and chief actuary for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company’s ... 'Some people don't always die on time' - Oct 7, 2006 Globe and Mail,It's an actuary's job to estimate how long you will live. ... If anyone has an answer it's Ian Markham. He's a senior actuary at Watson Wyatt Canada. ... More information on Actuaries from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of Actuaries occupation Number of Actuaries in the U.S. Salary and earnings for Actuaries Working conditions for Actuaries Significant points for Actuaries Training requirements for Actuaries Labor Information Home | Occupational data by city | Search Rainforests | Madagascar | What's new |