The Actuarial Profession - News

Office closures - Wednesday 29 February

epegg — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:57:55 +0000

28 February 2012

Please note that staff from all three offices - Edinburgh, London and Oxford - will be attending a staff away day on Wednesday 29 February.

The offices in Edinburgh and Oxford will be closed. In London, the Library will be closed, but members may use the members' lounge area if they wish. Telephone calls will be answered and messages passed on where appropriate.

All three offices will return to normal opening hours on Thursday.

Public Affairs and Consultations Committee and Solvency II Steering Group

mscanlan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:02:17 +0000

23 February 2012

The Actuarial Profession has announced the establishment of a new Public Affairs and Consultations Committee (PACC) that will report to Council.

The Committee has been formed in line with the governance and infrastructure proposals within the public affairs strategy endorsed by Council and Management Board last year. Its purpose is to advance the achievement of the Profession’s public affairs and thought leadership objectives.

Derek Cribb will chair the Committee, and its membership is as follows:

• Chief Executive (Chair)

• The President, Immediate Past President and President-elect

• Chair of PREC

• Public Affairs Director

• Two senior volunteers

o Martin Potter (who in addition to being a Council member also sits on the Scottish Board’s public affairs sub-committee)

o Kate Angell (a member of the GI PEC who also chairs its Communications sub-committee).

We can also confirm that the Solvency II Strategy Group has agreed to take on an enhanced role, adopting a more directive approach to the coordination of Solvency II activities within the Profession, particularly on communications issues. To reflect this change, the Group will report to PACC and will now be called the Solvency II Steering Group. Richard Bulmer will continue to Chair the Group.

It is expected that much of the research and education / CPD activity in respect of Solvency II will continue to be undertaken by volunteers and working parties reporting into the PECs. However, the Solvency II Steering Group will seek to coordinate members working on similar subjects across practice areas.

For more information, contact paul.atkinson@actuaries.org.uk Interim Director of Public Affairs.

Exam entry closing dates, April 2012 exams

fmcneil — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:33:56 +0000

23 February 2012

Exam entry for the April 2012 exams will close at 17.00 (UK time) on Monday 27 February for those entering to sit at overseas centres, and for those wanting to sit subject CT1 (Financial mathematics) as non-members of the Actuarial Profession. Late entries can not be accepted.

Exam entry will close at 17.00 on Monday 19 March for those sitting at centres in the UK and Ireland.

Practical exams: new dates for 2012/2013

fmcneil — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:13:56 +0000

22 February 2012

New exam dates have now been published for CT9, CA2 and CA3 for July 2012-June 2013.

We apologise for the delay in releasing the dates but due to the Olympic Games taking place this year we have had to source other venues and rearrange locations. We will still continue to monitor demand and add extra exams where possible.

The current booking period has been extended to Friday 16 March to allow for the late release of the new dates. The next booking period opens as usual on 1 April 2012. Any dates which have not been filled will still be available to book.

New CMI working papers on income protection

fmcneil — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:50:03 +0000

21 February 2012

The CMI has published Working papers 59 and 60 presenting an analysis of the experience of individual IP business for 1991-2006 using the latest graduations, IPM 1991-98, for the first time as the comparison basis.

More information

Help set ActEd’s next tutorial timetable

fmcneil — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:32:17 +0000

16 February 2012

ActEd needs your help if you are planning to attend one of their tutorials next session, leading to the September/October 2012 exams.

They would like you to let them know which subjects you might be taking and where you would like your tutorials to be held.

Given that it’s Olympic year, they hope that you have an extra incentive to attend a tutorial outside London – hence please let them know what you might be studying.

We understand that you haven’t even sat the April exams yet and so won't be completely sure about what you might be doing. However, we would appreciate your best guess and then, hopefully, the feedback to ActEd won’t be too far from the truth.

To help, please visit ActEd’s short Tutorial demand survey and complete it by 21 February. It should take less than five minutes of your time.

The results from this survey will be used to set the provisional timetable.

Thank you in advance for your help.

New society to give boost to Northern Ireland’s actuaries

mscanlan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:05:03 +0000

Article date:

07 February 2012

Summary:

The growing importance of Northern Ireland’s actuarial community is to be recognised with the launch of the Society of Northern Ireland Actuaries (SONIA), at an event at Queens University Management School on Tuesday 7 February.

The society is aimed at actuaries Northern Ireland and further afield including students training to become actuaries on the Queen's university management school's Actuarial Science and Risk Management degree.

The society will, for the first time in Northern Ireland, offer actuaries and students training to be actuaries the opportunity to discuss and debate the latest issues in the delivery of actuarial services as well as issues surrounding the related professions. Generously funded by Invest NI, it will also offer a platform for local actuaries to provide their opinion on actuarial issues from pensions to investments and beyond and offer students networking and professional development opportunities.

The event will include speeches from Arlene Foster MLA, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment and Jane Curtis, President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Arlene Foster said:

“We want to see more of the same high quality employment opportunities available for our people here in Northern Ireland as they would find in London, Edinburgh or Dublin. For too long Northern Ireland has exported its best assets in the form of young people, or have watched as their talents are under-utilised when they stay in the region.

“Crucial to that aim is the continued co-operation between our world class colleges and universities, industry and government that has facilitated new course development to meet industry needs.

“Actuarial services and risk management is an excellent example of such collaboration – the Actuarial Science course launched by Queen’s University in 2007 followed extensive consultation with industry, and it marks a very significant development in creating the right talent pipeline for this area.”

Colin O’Hare, President of SONIA and programme director for the Actuarial Science degree at Queen’s said:

“Northern Ireland has a small but strong actuarial base, and with the establishment of the actuarial degree at Queen’s four years ago, now has the capacity to grow rapidly in the future. A further motivation for the development of SONIA is to provide an actuarial visibility for Northern Ireland as it develops as a centre of excellence in actuarial science and risk management across the UK.”

Jane Curtis, President of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries said:

“With around 40 new actuarial students now passing through Queen’s University every year, the establishment of the Society is timely. SONIA can only help further the standing of the profession in Northern Ireland as it encourages the development of a strong actuarial community focused on research and opportunities for members.”

ENDS

Enquiries: Tel. Michael Scanlan on 020 7632 1453 or email michael.scanlan@actuaries.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1. Actuaries provide commercial, financial and prudential advice on the management of a business’s assets and liabilities, especially where long term management and planning are critical to the success of any business venture. They also advise individuals, and advise on social and public interest issues

2. Members of the Profession have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s.

3. The Profession is governed by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. A rigorous examination system is supported by a programme of continuing professional development and a professional code of conduct supports high standards reflecting the significant role of the Profession in society.

4. The Profession is available to provide expert comment to the media on a range of actuarial- related issues, including enterprise risk management, finance and investment, general insurance, health and care, life assurance, mortality, and pensions.

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Improved mortality rates lead to 20,000 fewer deaths in 2011

mscanlan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:24:41 +0000

Article date:

03 February 2012

Summary:

The Actuarial Profession has carried out analysis of the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics and found further improvements in longevity in England and Wales, with an overall improvement in the mortality rate of 4%

Put simply, this means that there have been 20,000 fewer deaths last year than would have been expected if the mortality rate hadn’t seen this improvement. The 4% improvement marks an upturn of the average rate of improvement of 2.4% over the 10 years to 2010

Gordon Sharp of the Actuarial Profession said:

“The last 20 years have seen unprecedented improvements in mortality rates, particularly for pensioners. These figures are initial estimates for 2011, and are subject to revision once ONS publish updated population estimates for the year. However, we are able to say with confidence that the mortality improvement for 2011 has been well above the average.

“The separate improvement figures for men and women are almost identical, at 4.1% and 4.0% respectively. These compare with average rates of improvement of 2.9 % p.a. and 2.1% p.a. over the 10 years to 2010. This means that there have been 20,000 fewer deaths than would have been expected if there hadn’t been this improvement. To put this into some kind of context, that’s enough to fill the O2 arena in London.

“It’s also worth noting that, once again, the ‘golden cohort’ of people born around 1931 has shown continued strong improvements of nearly 5%.

“The total number of deaths in England in Wales in 2011 was 484,000. This is a highly significant figure as it marks the third year in a row where the number has been below 500,000, a figure exceeded each year from 1953 to 2008.

“Mortality rates can vary significantly on a year to year basis and it is important not to read too much into one year’s figures. However, as policy makers continue to look for solutions to the challenges faced by an ageing population, it has never been more important to ensure that mortality figures and trends are properly analysed”

ENDS

Enquiries: Tel. Michael Scanlan on 020 7632 1453 or email michael.scanlan@actuaries.org.uk

Notes to editors:

5. The analysis was carried out by the Actuarial Profession’s Continuous Mortality Investigation which carries out research into mortality and morbidity experience. The CMI regularly publishes highly regarded reports and working papers.

6. The data and figures quoted all relate to the population of England and Wales. Scottish figures from the General Register Office for Scotland will be issued later this year.

7. The rates of mortality improvement are calculated by comparing an initial estimate of the mortality rate in 2011 with the mortality rates for 2010 and earlier years (published by ONS). The main calculations use age-standardised mortality rates covering all ages; age-standardised means that the rates have been adjusted to allow for changes from year to year in the age structure of the population, so that the comparisons are on a like-for-like basis.

8. The calculation of mortality rates uses data on the number of deaths registered in the year and on the size of the population. The ONS usually publish ‘final’ data for each calendar year around the middle of the following year. The initial estimates for 2011 have been based on provisional data for death registrations, issued weekly and monthly throughout the year by ONS, and an estimate of the population size and distribution by age. This population estimate has been produced by linear extrapolation of the trends seen over the last 5 years.9. The methodology used for the initial estimate of mortality rates for 2011 has been tested, using data for 1980 to 2010, and found to be a reliable estimator. The differences between the estimates of annual all-age mortality improvement rates produced using this method and the ‘final’ published figures all lay in the range plus or minus 0.5%. Given the initial estimate for 2011 of 4.0%, it is therefore likely that the final result will lie in the range 3.5% to 4.5%.

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The HP12C calculator is now reinstated for exams

fmcneil — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:05:09 +0000

31 January 2012

The Hewlett Packard HP12C calculator has now been reinstated in the list of those approved for use in the exams.

Following feedback from individual students, representatives from the student consultative forum, employers and from other actuarial associations, it has been decided to reverse the previous decision to remove the HP12C calculator from the approved list.

The full list of approved calculators is:

Casio FX82 (with or without any suffix)
Casio FX83 (with or without any suffix)
Casio FX85 (with or without any suffix)
Hewlett Packard HP12c (with or without any suffix)
Sharp EL531 (with or without any prefix or suffix)
Texas Instruments BA II Plus (with or without any suffix)
Texas Instruments TI-30 (with or without any suffix)

You must ensure that you are using one of these calculators in all your exams, or you will be given a mark of zero.

Approved models of calculator may be purchased from the Actuarial Profession's eShop.

Subject CA3 online practical exam - development update

fmcneil — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:12:40 +0000

30 January 2012

The online version of the CA3 practical exam will be available in 2012 as an alternative to the face-to-face exam.

The online exam will be delivered through an application called CA3Online. This was successfully piloted in 2011, and gives students access to the pre-exam material and the exam within one online environment.

The final development phase of the CA3Online application is currently taking place, and once this is complete further information and exam dates will be published.