Life Insurance companies provide life insurance, pensions and other financial services and are one of the largest practice areas for actuaries to work in.
Actuaries within this sector assist companies with the development of insurance policies by assessing the risk factors of an individual or group. Actuaries are involved with all stages of product development from pricing to the marketing of the products and policies. In addition, actuaries fill key roles in financial management and the investment of policyholders’ money by developing strategies that ensure customers get a good return.
The role of an actuary in Life Insurance is varied and can include:
- monitoring the funds required to provide the benefits promised
- recommending bonuses to be added to with-profit policies
- providing expert advice on investment
- advising on strategic risk measurement.
It is currently a legal requirement that each UK life office appoints one or more actuaries to perform the ‘actuarial function’; advising the firm’s directors on the firm’s ability to pay claims and how to ensure that the life insurance and pensions benefits from the many millions of pounds invested by policyholders are secure.
As such, the demand for an actuary in the Life Insurance sector is high. This means that when life offices are bought and sold or life funds merged, actuaries tend to be retained by both sides.
For more information, visit the IFoA’s website here.
View our latest actuarial jobs here.
