Career as Actuary

Stream : Finance & Banking
Sub Stream : Finance
Actuary
  
        Actuary

An actuary is a professional who, using probability theory and mathematical, statistical and financial techniques, analyses the financial consequences of risk to enable businesses to make better-informed decisions. You will assess the financial impact of uncertain future events by methodically analyzing the past, modeling the future, and quantifying the likely range of financial outcomes from different future events. Confused? Read this. Say a person buys a car. The insurance for this car needs to be determined. The actuary does this calculation. Your skills in finance and risk management will be used in areas such as insurance, pensions, and investment. Other applications include census studies, forecasting, banking, and finance The actuary will analyze statistical data, such as mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates and construct probability tables to forecast risk and liability for payment of future benefits. Using these statistics you will ascertain premium rates and cash reserves necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.

Job responsibility of Actuary / actuarial science

a) Actuaries Make Financial Sense of the Future

Actuaries are experts in assessing the financial impact of tomorrow's uncertain events. They enable financial decisions to be made with more confidence by: 
• Analyzing the past
• Modeling the future
• Assessing the risks involved, and
• Communicating what the results mean in financial terms.

b) Actuaries Enable More Informed Decisions:

Actuaries add value by enabling businesses and individuals to make better-informed decisions, with a clearer view of the likely range of financial outcomes from different future events. The actuaries skills in analysis and modeling of problems in finance, risk management, and product design are used extensively in the areas of insurance, pensions, investment and more recently in wider fields such as project management, banking, and health care. Within these industries, actuaries perform a wide variety of roles such as the design and pricing of the product, financial management, and corporate planning. Actuaries are invariably involved in the overall management of insurance companies and pension, gratuity and other employee benefit funds schemes; they have statutory roles in insurance and employee benefit valuations to some extent in social insurance schemes sponsored by government. Actuarial skills are valuable for any business managing long-term financial projects both in the public and private sectors. Actuaries apply professional rigor combined with a commercial approach to the decision -making process.

c) Actuaries Balance the Interests of all:

Actuaries balance their role in business management with responsibility for safeguarding the financial interests of the public. The duty of Actuaries to consider the public interest is illustrated by their legal responsibility for protecting the benefits promised by insurance companies and pension schemes. The profession's code of conduct demands the highest standards of personal integrity from its members.

Employment Opportunities for Actuary / Actuarial Science :

 Actuarial consultants have also started to become more involved with decisions regarding health plans, advising on mergers and acquisitions, demutualization, new product development, and asset management, financial analysis, alternative distribution systems, regulatory compliance and market conduct issues. The big brother of the Insurance industry in India is LIC (Life Insurance Corporation), which employs over 100,000 people. You could join as an Assistant Administrative Officer through the all-India examination. The examination is objective and consists of logical reasoning, general knowledge, and quantitative reasoning. The written exam is followed by an interview. On being selected candidates are sent for a six-month training program.

Top Recruiting Companies for Actuary / Actuarial Science:

  • The life insurance corporation of India is the major recruiter.
  • Insurance companies 
  • Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Ltd.
  • IDBI Federal Life InsuranceTata AIG
  • Milliman India Pvt Ltd.
  • General Insurance Corporation of India
  • Amar Alliance Consultants Pvt Ltd.
  • Darwin Rhodes, India
 How to become Actuary?
A degree in math, statistics, economics, business or finance is a good starting point for a career in actuarial science. 

You could even do your B.A. in actuarial science or a postgraduate certificate/diploma in insurance. 

Actuarial Science is mainly offered as a three-year degree course by some universities or as part of a degree program. you need to take the entrance exam – Associate and later Fellowship of the society- conducted by the Actuarial Society of India.

It is recognized in India as well as in Southeast Asia and Africa. To become an insurance surveyor you need to be a degree or diploma holder in engineering/architecture or hold a Fellowship/Associateship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Median Pay Scale of Actuary / Actuarial Science Salary :

In the government sector, starting salaries fall in the range of Rs 4000- 8,000 which can work up to Rs 6,000 – 9500 in the private sector.
A Zonal Manager gets Rs 16,000 a month. Management graduates can get Rs. 15,000/- to Rs. 25,000/- per month. Salaries in multinationals are very good indeed. 
At the entry-level you will be paid around Rs 4 lakh p.a. and after five years of experience, it can reach Rs 10, 00,000 p.a.

 Top Actuary / Actuarial Science Colleges in India:
1. Institute of public enterprise Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 
2. Amity School of Insurance and Actuarial Science, Noida
3. Actuarial Society of India, Mumbai
4. Amity Global Business School, Ahmedabad
5. Institute of Finance, Banking and Insurance
6. Bright International Education Trust, Banglore /Bengaluru, Karnataka
7. B.N.N college, Thane, Maharashtra
8. Bharti Vidyapeeth Deemed University Pune, Maharashtra 
9.SVKM's NMIMS University, Mumbai

To keep exploring, head on to our page on career banks and blogs on different careers, entrance exams, coursescollegesjobs, etc.

How do I get there?

After 12th

After Graduation

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