Actuarial Review, March – April 2018
This March-April issue includes articles on:
- New Report Holds Keys to Diversity and Inclusion: Five Barriers Revealed
- Chefs and Actuaries
-  It’s a Puzzlement: Public Key Decryption
Plus more!
Register for CAS Student Central Webinar: Predictive Analytics and Your Actuarial Career
Registration Now Open!
CAS Student Central Webinar: Predictive Analytics and Your Actuarial Career
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
3:00p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
The CAS will host a webinar for Student Central members to provide an understanding of Predictive Analytics. Data is all around us, and with predictive analytics, we can leverage this data in new ways. Learn more about how to get started in predictive analytics, including:
- Introduction to predictive analytics and data science and how actuaries use it in the real world
- Steps you can take now to prepare for a career in predictive analytics
- Tools and resources are available to you through Student Central and the CAS, including a demo of the Cognalysis MultiRate™ predictive modeling software which all CAS Student Central members now have complimentary exclusive access to thanks to Gross Consulting.
There will be an opportunity for Q&A.
Registration is free and open to CAS Student Central members. You will be able to attend the webinar from anywhere that you have internet access via computer, telephone, tablet, or other streaming device.
Webinar Presenters
Megan Goldfarb, FCAS, MAAA, CPCU, CSPA, Research Manager at State Farm
Meghan Goldfarb is a Research Manager at State Farm, where she has served in a number of roles over the past 10 years, with an increasing focus in predictive analytics and big data technologies. She loves to learn new things – and has earned a variety of designations and degrees. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA), a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), a Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA), in addition to earning her MBA and MS in Business Analytics from Indiana University. She and her husband Jason, who is a statistician, have two amazing children – Ari (age 6) and Emma Kate (age 1) – who are destined to love math as much as their parents.
Chris Gross, ACAS, MAAA, Founder of Gross Consulting
Chris Gross has twenty-five years of experience in the insurance industry. Chris started Gross Consulting in 2005. He has served a wide variety of clients across the United States from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, including insurance companies, banks, manufacturers, and governmental entities. He has provided clients with cutting-edge analytical services as well as unique software solutions. Before starting Gross Consulting, Chris was VP & CFO of the Financial & Professional Services business group at Travelers. Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in Economics, both from the University of Minnesota. He also is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
CAS President Visits Ball State University
CAS President Brian Brown recently visited Ball State University, which was one of three schools recognized in 2017 as a winner of the CAS University Award.
Brown’s visit in late February kicked off with a luncheon with actuarial student leaders and faculty, including Professor John Beekman, who started the actuarial science program at Ball State in 1963.
Following lunch, Brown gave two presentations: one to the graduate students and one to the undergraduate students.
Ball State has a thriving graduate program with students from many locations throughout the world, including Africa, Saudi Arabia, and China. “The students had a high energy level and asked a number of good questions,” said Brown. “I was impressed with the strong exposure they are getting to predictive analytics. They were very interested in how credit score was first discovered to be predictive for auto accident probabilities and my simple examples of cluster analysis. Also, many of the students are using R, which I believe is positive as R program skills are in demand by employers.”
“The undergraduate group was also very energetic,” said Brown. “They asked how I chose the actuarial field and what I like about my job.”
Brown outlined several aspects of the actuarial career that appeal to him:
- Actuaries continue learning throughout their career, through continuing education programs, as well as writing and presenting papers. Continuous learning is essentially a requirement, because the work of actuaries is constantly evolving to address emerging risks and new technologies.
- Actuaries get to work with other actuaries, who are a bright and fun group of people.
- Actuaries may have the opportunity to travel. “As a consulting actuary, I have been fortunate enough to travel throughout the world,” Brown explained.
- Actuaries who belong to the CAS join a strong, close community of professionals, with one in three of members volunteering for the CAS. “I have made many strong friendships through my work on CAS committees,” Brown said.
As Brown reflected on the visit to Ball State, he expressed, “I would like to congratulate Gary Dean, FCAS, and a fellow member of the CAS, on building a great program with a diverse student population from many different countries. Great Job, Gary!”
The Ball State visit followed Brown’s earlier visit to University of Wisconsin-Madison, as he continues his tour of the 2017 CAS University Award winners. Next stop: St. John’s University.
March 2018 Student Central Newsletter
In this issue: Learn about the New Benefit for Members of CAS Student Central: Access to Predictive Modeling Software! Meet our Featured Millennials in our Profile Series. Read about CAS President Brian Brown’s Visit to the University Of Wisconsin- Madison, and much more!