Actuary

An Actuary is a specialist who generally works in the banking and financial field and measures and manages the risk and uncertainty around any investment, insurance, etc.. As an Actuary you would work with different mathematical and statistical tools, computer modelling and computer programmes to compute the risk involved in an investment or insurance. You will present risk analysis reports to your team so that they can use these reports to ascertain the premium rates in insurances, EMIs in the loan, etc. As an Actuary, you might be working with life insurance companies, pension funds, healthcare providers, investment banks, accountancy firms, management consultancies, etc.

You will work to provide a complete assessment of the financial security of the system while focussing on the complexity of the system.

Key roles and responsibilities

As an Actuary, depending on your field of specialisation, you would havethe following roles and responsibilities:

• You are required to calculate premium rates, cash reserves, liabilities, etc. to ensure full payments of future benefits.
• You will be required to design and review insurance policies, annuity and pension plans. You will ensure financial soundness while calculating premiums.
• You will help in determining company policies and explain complex financial matters to executives of companies, government officials, shareholders, policyholders and public.
• Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant. 
• Analyse statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
• You will be designing the financial policies of the company and will also monitor funds that the company holds.
• You will calculate and determine the interest rate for insurance policies for the public.
• You will keep an eye on risks involved in insurance plans to minimize losses.
• You will access any risk related to the financial planning of the company.
• Keeping a check on insurance risks to minimize losses.
• You will predict the occurrence of different illness (like cancer, heart diseases, etc.) among different groups of people to incorporate these risks in policy formation for insurance.

Enterprising: You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk taking and action orientation.

Conventional: You should have interests for Conventional Occupations. Conventional occupations involve repetitive and routine tasks as well as fixed processes or procedures for getting things done. These occupations involve working more with data, systems, and procedures and less with ideas or creativity.

Abilities

Abstract Reasoning: The ability to understand ideas which are not expressed in words or numbers; the ability to understand concepts which are not clearly expressed verbally or otherwise.

Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules and common logic to specific problems to produce answers that are logical and make sense. For example, understanding the reasons behind an event or a situation using general rules and common logic.

Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden among other distracting materials.

Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information from various sources, concepts, and theories to form general rules or conclusions. For example, analysing various events or situations to come out with a set of rules or conclusions.

Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Numerical Reasoning: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and perform other basic numerical calculations correctly.

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or innovative ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a long period of time without being distracted.

Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Verbal Reasoning: The ability to think and reason with words; the ability to reason out ideas expressed in words.

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Knowledge

Accounting: Knowledge of various principles and methods for maintaining records of commercial and financial transactions and records, preparing various reports and statements, ensuring compliance with commercial and business laws and rules of a country, etc.

Business Management:                Knowledge of managing a business which involves planning of what to do, organising resources and people, leading and supervising work activities of people, and monitoring performances of people as well as performance of business. This includes knowledge of marketing, finance, human resources management, operations management, etc.

Economics: Knowledge of economic principles and practices; understanding how various resources such as land, labour and capital are used; how market demands rise and fall; how a country collects and spends money; and similar other economic issues and situations.

Skills

Active Learning: Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

Critical Thinking: Skills in analysis of complex situations, using of logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems and using the best option to solve the problems.

Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Service Orientation: Skills in or keen interest to help and assist people.

Time Management: Skills in prioritizing work, managing time effectively.

Writing: Skills in communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the readers.

Personality

You are always or mostly organised in your day-to-day life and activities.

You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behaviour.

You are always or mostly disciplined in your action and behaviour.

You are always calm or generally remain calm in most situations.

You always feel secure in your surroundings and in most situations.

You can always act independently or could do so in most situations.

You trust others sometimes but not always.

You act independently sometimes but do not do so in some other times.

You are always practical or in most situations.

You always or mostly prefer to stick within a routine or carry out routine and repetitive activities.