The Actuary Magazine https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/ Published six times a year by the Society of Actuaries (SOA), The Actuary gives readers the information they need to stay on top of actuarial trends and enhance their business career development. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:03:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 Control, Collaboration, Augmentation https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/control-collaboration-augmentation/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:23:18 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10278 Every actuary likely remembers their first job. The supervisor hands the trainee a list of steps and often says, “Do step 1 and come back to me.” The trainee returns, the supervisor reviews, and usually sends the work back with corrections. Maybe the trainee misunderstood the direction. Maybe they did it wrong. Maybe the supervisor […]

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]]> A View from Two Sides https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/a-view-from-two-sides/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:09:31 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10271 When preparing for their first jobs, one of the top considerations entry-level candidates may have is whether they want to work for an insurance company or a consulting firm. They likely consider which environment will be more interesting, which will be more demanding, which type of company culture they will like better, and which environment […]

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]]> When Hazards Collide https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/when-hazards-collide/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:39:06 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10239 Extreme events are bad enough when they occur in isolation. A single event allows time to recover, time to rebuild, and time to plan for the next one. But when these events occur in tandem, the effects can be much, much worse than merely the sums of the losses of the individual events. They are […]

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]]> Leading With Authenticity https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/leading-with-authenticity/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:44:03 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10236 I’ve known Alex Zaidlin, FSA, MAAA, for more than two decades. We both grew up in Toronto, studied Actuarial Science at the University of Toronto, and ultimately built our careers as actuaries in New York. The University of Toronto is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading universities, and its actuarial science programs are […]

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]]> From the Slopes to the Sea https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/from-the-slopes-to-the-sea/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:03:56 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10222 Actuaries are often defined by their analytical precision and technical expertise. But what happens when an actuary deliberately steps away from the numbers to embrace the unpredictability of nature? I recently sat down with Ray Shi, FSA, to learn how his pursuit of adventure has transformed not only his personal life but also his professional […]

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]]> Rethinking Risk and Strategy https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/rethinking-risk-and-strategy/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 19:35:21 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10208 For many years, Nigeria’s insurance industry, and indeed the financial services industry, has operated in a state of uneasy equilibrium. Capital requirements, though they existed, were usually reported, and regulatory compliance was largely achieved. Yet, beneath this surface lay a more uncomfortable truth: Many insurers were structurally undercapitalized relative to the risks they carried.1 The […]

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]]> Food for Thought https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/food-for-thought/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:08:20 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10199 At the start of the 20th century, American novelist and social reformer Upton Sinclair wrote about child labor and slaughterhouses, and American industrialist Henry Ford developed his assembly lines. Against this backdrop of industry and social concern, a few individuals began laying the groundwork for shaping government policy on what we eat. The first individual […]

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]]> Beyond the Actuarial Answer https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/beyond-the-actuarial-answer/ Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:58:03 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10193 As an actuary in 2012, I was leading the biggest product launch of the year when I found myself in an ambulance, barely conscious. My blood pressure had dropped to 80/40. In that moment, the product launch wasn’t on my mind. Weeks later, I learned what happened back at the office. My team did not […]

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]]> Actuarial Reflections from Japan https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/actuarial-reflections-from-japan/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:13:41 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10112 In the early 2000s, I worked for an insurance software company with many multinational clients. Quite a few of them had subsidiaries in Asia. This gave me the opportunity to travel to Japan to prospect for new business. In 2025, my wife and I vacationed in Japan. That gave me a chance to reflect on […]

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]]> Insights: AI Risk https://www.theactuarymagazine.org/insights-ai-risk/ Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:13:41 +0000 https://theactmagstage.wpengine.com/?p=10101 On January 27, 2026, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight. Among the reasons cited was the advancement of “disruptive technologies,” including artificial intelligence (AI). While the Doomsday Clock is a symbolic measure rather than a specific risk indicator, its inclusion of AI reflects broader public concern […]

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