The road less taken… wider fields for General Insurance actuaries in the US

​We came across two connected articles written by Annmarie Geddes Baribeau for the US Casualty Actuarial Society magazine which together set out the non-traditional roles performed by 8 actuaries, and their routes to get there. Published in late 2017, we found them useful examples of how professionals can push outside of the usual definitions for their profession, and contribute in other areas. Each of them first worked in insurance and/or consulting before entering new industries.

​Annmarie highlights two common attributes across the individuals profiled: "First, they possess a willingness to charter the actuarial road less taken. Second, each one mentions the role of family as part of his or her career decisions." 

Our takeaways from each of the 8 examples:

Sharon Carroll, Analytics Director, Hospitals / Healthcare

• The role: analysing data to help hospitals and patients (i.e. business intelligence)
• On moving into this wider field: "acquiring new skills and adapting to different terminology"
• Recommended skills: "being adaptable and willing to learn more", and "listen[ing] to the problems [in different industries and] using volumes of data to understand what is causing the challenges they face and being able to tell a story to help identify and fix them"

Bill Wilt, Research on diverse topics in insurance and reinsurance

• Bill's company offers "research and insight via subscription, customised analysis by client request, and insurance education... Subscribers include insurers, reinsurers, brokers and investors".
• His advice: 
  • "think expansively" beyond conventional sources to find more insight
  • "if an actuary turns to consulting, they should consider finding a niche where they're knowledgeable and passionate and can offer something larger competitors can't"
  • support from family and friends – and patience – are critical: "It takes time to establish credibility and relevance"

Robert Anderson, Actuarial Manager for Hertz car rental 

• As Hertz self-insures general and motor liability and some workers' compensation, Robert calculates rates and claims liabilities as well as stays "current on laws and regulations for each state and nation". His role is also expanding into risk management, where he is active in renewing lines of commercial insurance.
• On moving into this area: "learning a new industry and solving insurance challenges from a different perspective attracted him"
• His suggestion: "If you define yourself by your profession rather than by your skill set, it becomes difficult or uncomfortable to leave a more traditional role within the insurance industry"

Mike McMurray, majority owner of a minor league baseball team (currently Hillsboro Hops)

• The role: CEO and chairman of the baseball team, working with major league affiliates, league partners and corporate sponsors, conveying "technical things in a way lay people... understood" – he calls his work "essentially the kindergarten of player development"
• His views on analytics:  "can be useful if you put it in the proper perspective" but "not being able to identify truly useful data is still an issue" and "people need to understand the limits of analytics"
• On actuaries: "actuaries understand context" and "will understand the credibility limitations of small data sets and will seek out additional information"

Kevin Kuo, Software Engineer 

• The role: "enhancing R's open-source ecosystem to offer big data and deep learning capabilities" to users [of the R statistical analysis software]
• In one previous role, he built predictive models using data from sensors and telematics devices with external topographical and climate data to assess vehicle maintenance requirements
• On moving into wider fields: "Don't get too fixated on insurance knowledge… but leverage the fact that you have experience working with quantitative problems in a business context."
• His suggestions: "roll up your sleeves and start coding" to "actually get solutions built"

[As an aside, the story of another software/technology expert applying his skills in a new area was published by Protagion earlier this month – see Tapiwa Chiwewe's story here]

Aaron Fezatte, Strategy Manager, online travel company Expedia

• The role: applying business intelligence to boost online sales of optional travel coverage, including working with insurers to develop travel insurance products to meet the needs of customers globally
• On moving to wider fields: Aaron was attracted by the opportunity to establish new processes and procedures from the ground up
• His conclusion: "there are plenty of interesting roles out there that are directly related to risk"

Cathine Lam, Data Scientist, Infectious Disease risk quantification and mitigation

• The role: after consulting with Milliman, Cathine joined Metabiota given her passion to minimise the social and economic consequences of widespread infectious diseases. The company's clients include government agencies, businesses, reinsurers and insurers, and Cathine's role includes "developing and enhancing the infectious disease stochastic catalog" and "producing realistic modelled loss cost outcomes"
• Her advice: 
  • "have an open mindset because there will be a lot to learn [when serving in a new industry]"
  • "professionals from other industries can offer different insights"
  • "it will be rewarding when you use your cross-industry analytical and actuarial skills to help solve problems"

Frank Chang, Director of Insurance Safety and Analytics, Uber Technologies (peer-to-peer transportation)

• Frank's team's role: determining the right price for insurance (and reserves needed) at every stage of a transportation trip, using detailed information collected through the Uber app, including GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope data, recognising that commercial auto insurance was too expensive for peer-to-peer drivers who generally work part time
• His career covered a variety of areas, a PhD in mathematics, and a role as in-house actuary for Google (including calculating reserves for its captive, pricing warranties on consumer electronics, credit modelling for AdWord customers, and building enterprise risk models and fraud assessment)
• His suggestions: 
  • "learn as much as possible about insurance because you become the insurance expert"
  • "we need to think of ourselves as broad consultants"
  • "non-traditional roles require applicants who want to work in a creative environment"

The full articles can be found at:

• https://ar.casact.org/the-others/
• https://ar.casact.org/the-others-part-2-analytics-capabilities-expand-opportunities-for-actuaries/