Life and P&C Actuary Groups May Merge
The Society of Actuaries was founded in 1889. The Casualty Actuarial Society was founded in 1914.
(Related: James Glickman to Lead Society of Actuaries)
Two groups that serve actuaries may merge.
The boards of the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuary Society (CAS) announced today that they are looking into the possibility of combining.
The boards could vote on a combination proposal as early as mid-November, and they could put the proposal to a vote in early 2019.
The combination proposal would address details such as what the combined organization might be called, and where the headquarters would be.
What Is an Actuary?
Actuaries are professionals who have taken classes in statistics and other forms of math, and prove that they understand math, insurance, and related products and services by taking difficult exams.
What Are the SOA and the CAS?
The SOA is a Schaumburg, Illinois-based group for actuaries who work with life insurance, annuities, health insurance, pensions and related products and services.
The SOA is descended from an organization founded in 1889 and now has about 30,000 members. Mike Lombardi is the SOA’s president.
The CAS is an Arlington, Virginia-based group for actuaries who serve the property & casualty insurance sector. The CAS was founded in 1914 and now has about 8,000 members.
Brian Brown is the president of the CAS.
Why Merge?
The SOA and CAS boards say a merger could give the combined group more resources to address evolving fields and opportunities, improve the actuarial education system, improve efficiency and diversity of thought, and create a stronger global brand for the actuarial profession.
In a set of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) prepared for SOA and CAS members, the boards note that actuaries face growing competitive challenges from professionals in data science and advanced analytics.
Professionals who are in data science and advance analytics, but are not actuaries, may “seek to benefit from the rapidly evolving environment and displace or marginalize our profession,” the groups say.
Resources
The SOA and CAS boards are posting information about the proposed combination here.
— Read SOA To Rethink Credentials Changes, on ThinkAdvisor.
— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.