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Chuks Udo Okonta
Most insurers in Nigeria see actuaries mostly in the context of regulatory compliance
and rarely for business development and management, former Ekiti State Young Progressive Party Guber candidate/Consulting Actuary, Prince Debo Ajayi, has posited.
He said this at an event in Lagos, adding that to correct the wrong impression, efforts are in place to revive the Center For Actuarial Training in Nigeria which would help develop home grown, globally-credentialed actuaries to support the insurance industry.
He maintained that actuaries are professionals that can put together all the various functions of insurance operations, stressing that they know the interrelatedness of all functions and the financial implications on top-line, bottom-line and every line in between.
“They are qualified to model insurance business and develop projections far into the future, noting that a friendly insurance industry will have to discover the relevance of actuaries beyond compliance,” he submitted.
Ajayi stated that as the industry becomes more friendly and engaging in customized product design and benefits, it will become crucial to have actuarial resources in pricing and product development.
He said while competitive pricing will still be required, it would make even less
sense to copy or undercut premiums of others.
“A friendly industry will also mean a competitive one which will require that
managements are aware of the nature of their operating expenses and have the
expertise to conduct functional expense studies.
“This will support decision making and marketing strategy, and competitiveness of the company,” he said.
He remarked that a better managed insurance industry will invest in monitoring experiences against pricing assumptions and peer companies, stressing that this is a crucial role for actuaries to fill.
He maintained that an insurer with adequate actuarial resources will be in position to manage its business portfolios and welcome claims rather than looking for ways to avoid them.
The Actuary said more traditionally known relevance of actuaries is in the conduct of valuations of liabilities and loss reserving to comply with regulatory requirements, stressing that new product designs will require the expertise of actuaries to value and estimate the claims.
