Not Just Insurance

The need for the skills and talents actuaries can offer do not just reside in the insurance industry. Actuarial skills are transferable to any industry or job that requires financial or risk modeling and management. This can include financial services such as banking and investment management, transportation, utilities, and oil and gas. Events stemming from the 2002 collapse of Enron and Arthur Anderson due to accounting issues have increased the need by many organizations for a enterprise risk management function to manage internal audit, investments, strategic planning, pricing of financial products, compliance, and capital planning. For examples, actuaries may analyze the costs and benefits for a manufacturing company to purchase a new piece of equipment or build a new factory. An actuary working for an airline company may analyze the risks of utilizing the airplane fleet through multiple routing configurations in order to maximize profitability. Actuaries are increasingly filling roles in this new organizational function, as the Chief Risk Officer, or as consultants to the Chief Risk Officer.

While actuaries can do the analysis and management directly within these industries, actuaries also work in positions that service financial decision-making. This includes the development of software applications that allow actuaries and others to conduct analyses and in the management and HR consulting for risk management and the development of pension plans. Finally actuaries work with government institutions such as Social Security, the Department of Labor or Medicare to manage social programs and to develop regulations and legislation.