What Students Need to Know About Working as an Actuary in Malaysia
What is an Actuary?
Actuaries build and use mathematical models based on statistical data to calculate the appropriate amount of premiums to charge policyholders.
This will require projections of how events will unfold in the future. In calculating the right amount of premiums, the actuary will need to project how large potential claims will be and when they will occur.
Such projections are incorporated into the models to calculate the premium required. At the same time, judgement, business acumen and experience are required to understand and logically interpret the results of the model before finally coming up with a solution to the problem. Actuarial science is a combination of science and art!
Calculation of premiums is only one of the many contributions of actuaries to insurance companies. In addition to pricing decisions, actuaries are involved in designing insurance products, formulating investment strategies, determining reserves to be set up to meet future claims and recommending distribution of profits to shareholders after taking into account the insurance company’s future obligation to policyholders.
Actuaries evaluate and manage financial risks, particularly in the financial services industry. If you are good at mathematics, enjoy problem-solving and are interested in financial matters, you should enjoy studying actuarial science.
The pathway to become a professional actuary in Malaysia can be long. One must pass the actuarial professional examinations and various on-the-job assessments, in addition to obtaining a degree. A normal actuarial studies degree spans 3 years. Thereafter, completing the professional exams may take another 3-7 years (considering working full-time while studying).
What do Actuaries do?
- Actuaries are business professionals who measure and manage the financial implications of future events—pro and con, certain and uncertain, probable and improbable.
- Actuaries measure and manage risk. With a deep understanding of mathematics, actuaries forecast possibilities and develop plans to manage financial risks. Applying a blend of math, statistics, computing and business knowledge, they serve as trusted financial and business advisors. Actuaries inform and make decisions that lead to profits, savings, stability and success.
- With actuaries’ help, businesses can grow and provide greater value; leaders can make strategic decisions based on a clear understanding of risks; and people can prepare for the future with greater confidence.
The Job of an Actuaries in Malaysia
Basically an Actuary calculates the amount of premiums to charge to a policy holder using mathematical models based on statistical data from the past. Since we are not able to predict the future, the actuary has to use mathematical models to make projections as accurate as possible on the chances that disease, accidents or death will occur to a person at a particular age and the potential for claims.
Then the insurance company is able to charge the premium for the financial protection. For example, a premium for a young male driver would be higher as the risks are higher as compared with an experienced driver or the premium for a non-smoker is lower because of the lower health risk.
In short, actuaries use and analyse historical data using mathematical models to come up with projections on the chances of something happening in order to formulate the pricing.
Actuaries are also involved in designing insurance products, formulating involved in designing insurance products, formulating investment strategies, determining reserves to be set up to meet future claims and recommend distribution of profits to shareholders taking into account the insurance company’s future obligation to policyholders.
Actuaries also estimate the amount of future claims by analysing past data or experience to assign probabilities to events such as death, sickness, disability, loss of property or even loss of business profits. Actuaries provide solutions to today’s insurance and financial problems that properly take into account the financial impact of future events. With the actuaries’ expert knowledge in financial matters, they are often key advisors to the Board of Directors.
An actuary’s job is not just boring desk-bound number crunching. Actuaries are faced with challenges of the ever-changing economic environment in which they have to constantly update their techniques of assessment and calculation. It is an intellectual challenge to analyse current trends and predict the future as we live in a world where the unexpected (e.g. the SARS outbreak, September 11 etc.) can happen.
Due to the demand for actuarial technical skills and knowledge, there are vast career options and opportunities for an actuary. Traditionally, actuaries worked only in the insurance industry.
However, with the growing acknowledgement and recognition of actuarial skills today across the various financial sectors, the potential employment opportunities of an actuary have expanded to encompass banks, investment companies, security and commodity broker firms, regulators and even lecturing in the education sector. With such demand, there is an ever-increasing need for actuaries all around the world.
In Malaysia, most actuaries are still working in the traditional life and non-life insurance industry. However, based on trends worldwide and the rapid growth of the Malaysian financial industry, it is expected that more and more actuaries will ventured into the non-traditional areas as mentioned above.
Graduates of the Actuarial Studies major are well prepared for careers in the following areas:
- Banking and finance
- Capital and risk management
- Financial planning
- Financial reporting and performance management
- General insurance
- Health insurance
- Investments and asset management
- Life insurance: product pricing, design and distribution
- Superannuation
- Valuation of insurance liabilities and financial instruments.
What are the examples of actuarial work?
The traditional areas in which actuaries operate in Malaysia are: consultancy, investment, life and general insurance and pensions. Actuaries are also increasingly moving into other areas of the financial sector where their analytical skills can be employed.
- Consultancy
- Actuarial consultancies offer a whole range of services to their clients on issues such as acquisitions, mergers, corporate recovery and financing capital projects. Many also offer advice to employers and trustees who run occupational pension schemes. In fact, such consultancies are probably the biggest employers of actuaries in the UK.
- Investment
- In the area of investment, actuaries are involved in a range of work such as: pricing financial derivatives, working in fund management, or working in quantative investment research. Often investment actuaries work in fields where their understanding of insurance or pension liabilities helps them to manage the investment of the corresponding assets.
- Insurance
- The work carried out by actuaries in insurance includes designing new insurance policies, setting premium rates, calculating a company’s financial status (based on the policies already sold), and answering technical queries from policyholders. Insurance actuaries also undertake detailed investigations of different experiences; such as how assets and expenses have performed and the extent of different types of claims for different types of insurance policies (eg death claims for life insurance or car theft for motor insurance).
- Pensions & Employee Benefits
- In the pensions field, actuaries are usually involved in designing and advising company pension schemes, especially where a value needs to be placed on a scheme’s accumulated pension promises. Actuaries are also involved in designing schemes for employee benefits.
Where do most actuaries work in Malaysia?
Actuaries are normally found in the insurance industry. They also work in consulting, financial institutions, banks, investment, brokerages, or as lecturers.
The American Society of Actuaries defines actuaries as ‘professionals who provide expert advice and relevant solutions for business and societal problems that involve economic risk.’ In Malaysia, one of the places where actuaries are often found is at insurance companies. Using mathematical models based on statistical data, they are the brains behind the calculation of the amount of insurance premium that a policyholder has to pay.
With their readily transferable skills, actuaries can also be found in many other fields. Besides the hugely popular insurance field, an actuary can work in finance, marketing, manufacturing or in the development of new products.
For example, an actuary might be hired by a business to help determine where it should invest its money based on risk and potential return analysis. Opportunities for actuaries range from the education industry to research work and even to government agencies. Because of the importance of their work, actuaries are respected throughout the business community.
In Malaysia, most actuaries can be found in life insurance companies, financial institutions such as banks, consultancies providing advice in the fields of employee benefits, life insurance and general insurance, Bank Negara Malaysia and public universities.
The areas of work for actuaries are not limited to insurance firms only. Instead, the horizon for this line of job is very wide. Below are some of the areas of work which actuaries do:
- Life Insurance / Family Takaful
- General Insurance / General Takaful
- Reinsurance / Retakaful
- Actuarial Consulting
- Investment and Financial Services
- Employee Benefit Industry (e.g. EPF)
- Government Sector (e.g. BNM)
- Colleges and Universities
What are the career options available to actuaries?
Actuarial Science is a qualification you can take anywhere in the world. It’s a highly regarded profession that is high in demand in Malaysia and you’ll be well rewarded for your analytical and problem solving skills and your ability to lead. Emerging as a key growth sector of the 21st century, actuarial science applies elements of economics, finance, statistics and advanced mathematics to interpret, manage and evaluate risk.
Employment opportunities include working as an investment analyst, portfolio manager, actuarial consultant, insurance actuary, superannuation actuary, risk analyst, big data analyst, liability manager and high level manager.
Actuaries have historically taken on the following positions in companies:
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Chief Risk Officer (CRO)
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Appointed Actuary / Signing Actuary
- Asset/Investment Consultant
- Management Consultant
Actuaries can Specialise in Various Fields in Malaysia
Combining their skills in mathematics, statistics, economics and finance, actuaries are able to gauge and make expert financial predictions about the future.
Actuaries can specialise in the following fields:
- Traditional life insurance
- They focus on the analysis of mortality, the production of life tables and the application of interest to produce life insurance, annuities and endowment policies. It also includes credit and mortgage insurance, long term care insurance and health savings account.
- Health insurance
- They focus on the analyses of rates of disability, morbidity, mortality, fertility and other contingencies. Also of great importance are the effects of consumer choice and the geographical distribution of medical services as well as the procedures and use of drugs and therapies.
- Pension industry
- They measure costs of alternative strategies with regards to the design, maintenance or redesigning of pension plans. The strategies are greatly influenced by collective bargaining, the changing demographics of the workforce, changes in internal revenue code and financial and economic trends among others.
- Property and casualty
- They focus on data collection, measurement, estimation, forecasting and valuation tools to provide financial and underwriting data for management to assess marketing opportunities and the required degree of risk taking.
- Reinsurance
- Focus on designing and pricing reinsurance and retro-reinsurance schemes. Their responsibility also includes establishing reserve funds for known claims and future claims as well as catastrophes.
What do Actuaries work as in Malaysia?
Actuaries work in insurance and everywhere in-between.
Actuaries are at work all over the world—anticipating and solving financial, economic and other problems for companies, institutions and societies.
Actuaries are in demand in financially focused businesses including insurance, employee benefits and consulting. The field is expanding to include just about any industry or opportunity where decisions carry financial weight: banking and investments, government, energy, e-commerce and marketing. More and more, leaders want to reinforce their decisions with trusted analysis.
Actuaries measure risk and discover ways for people and organizations to stay secure, even when the risks are high. And because risk is everywhere, so are actuaries.
People generally know that actuaries work in the insurance industry but what is it that an actuary really does? If you have a life insurance policy, you’ll have to pay premiums regularly to your insurance company in exchange for the financial protection that the company is providing you. Have you ever wondered who calculates the amount of premium you have to pay?
Actuaries build and use mathematical models based on statistical data to calculate the appropriate amount of premiums to charge policyholders. This will require projections of how events will unfold in the future. In calculating the right amount of premiums, the actuary will need to project how large potential claims will be and when they will occur.
Such projections are incorporated into the models to calculate the premium required. At the same time, judgement, business acumen and experience are required to understand and logically interpret the results of the model before finally coming up with a solution to the problem. Actuarial science is a combination of science and art!
Calculation of premiums is only one of the many contributions of actuaries to insurance companies. In addition to pricing decisions, actuaries are involved in designing insurance products, formulating investment strategies, determining reserves to be set up to meet future claims and recommending distribution of profits to shareholders after taking into account the insurance company’s future obligation to policyholders.
Actuaries also estimate the amount of future claims by analysing past data or experience to assign probabilities to events such as death, sickness, disability, loss of property or even loss of business profits. Actuaries provide solutions to today’s insurance and financial problems that properly take into account the financial impact of future events. With the actuaries’ expert knowledge in financial matters, they are often key advisors to the Board of Directors.
An actuary’s job is not just boring desk-bound number crunching. Actuaries are faced with challenges of the ever-changing economic environment in which they have to constantly update their techniques of assessment and calculation. It is an intellectual challenge to analyse current trends and predict the future as we live in a world where the unexpected (e.g. the SARS outbreak, September 11 etc.) can happen.
Due to the demand for actuarial technical skills and knowledge, there are vast career options and opportunities for an actuary. Traditionally, actuaries worked only in the insurance industry. However, with the growing acknowledgement and recognition of actuarial skills today across the various financial sectors, the potential employment opportunities of an actuary have expanded to encompass banks, investment companies, security and commodity broker firms, regulators and even lecturing in the education sector. With such demand, there is an ever-increasing need for actuaries all around the world.
In Malaysia, most actuaries are still working in the traditional life and non-life insurance industry. However, based on trends worldwide and the rapid growth of the Malaysian financial industry, it is expected that more and more actuaries will ventured into the non-traditional areas as mentioned above.
In the wide field of opportunities to manage risk, one industry employs more actuaries than any other: insurance. Within this industry, actuaries hold significant positions:
- In insurance companies, where actuaries develop, price and manage products across all lines of business—life, health, retirement, and general insurance (property and casualty).
- With consulting firms, where actuaries advise employers on the design and management of pension, retirement and other employee benefit programs and provide actuarial advice to insurance companies and other providers of financial services.
- Within employee benefits departments, where actuaries define, create and manage pension and retirement plans for employees.
- In government agencies, where actuaries operate retirement and insurance programs.
- For financial advisories, where actuaries provide financial planning guidance to individuals.
With actuarial work, opportunities grow and change along with the world. For instance, changes in healthcare laws have created the need for more actuaries to evaluate the effects of those laws on insurance programs and benefit plans. Additionally, catastrophic weather brings opportunity for actuaries in the general insurance field to predict, evaluate and cover the risks associated with potential storms.
Examples of actuarial work:
- Valuation –performs experience studies, cash flow testing and other tasks to set the amount of reserve and capital to be held by an insurer
- Pricing –determines product features and pricing of products
- Pension –certifies the contributions needed to adequately fund a pension plan
- Consulting –advises clients on actuarial financial risks, usually associated with employee benefits and insurance
- Reinsurance –performs traditional actuarial duties for a reinsurer that would accept risk from a direct insurance company
- General Insurance – performs roles like a valuation or pricing actuary, with a specialty in property and casualty insurance
- Health Insurance –performs actuarial duties for a health organization or insurer
- Product Line or Segment Risk Management – performs risk management functions for a specific line of business for an insurance company
Non-traditional Career Pathways for Actuaries in Malaysia
In terms of employment opportunities for actuaries, the insurance industry is number one—but not the only industry for actuaries.
Wherever there is risk—and a desire to manage it—there is opportunity for actuaries to apply analytical skills and business knowledge to solve problems. Changes in the world bring new risks; and new risks mean new challenges for actuaries. Also, as more leaders and organizations see that risk modeling and management can help them navigate volatile situations, actuarial careers are taking exciting turns.
Actuaries are finding roles in industries where actuaries have never been.
As companies seek greater control over risk, they are bringing actuarial work in-house. Enterprise Risk Management has become such a trusted, essential function that some organizations employ a Chief Risk Officer, a risk management-focused position at the most senior level of business leadership.
Additionally, actuaries find professional growth and personal satisfaction in fields such as:
- Financial services, such as banking, investment management and stock markets in developing economies
- Technology, e-commerce and business start-ups of all sorts
- Environmental causes, climate change and weather risk management
- Transportation, such as shipping and air travel
- Energy, such as utilities, oil and gas
- Government institutions, social programs and other groups that help shape legislation
Examples of non-traditional actuarial fields in Malaysia
- Business Analytics, where actuaries work on predictive modeling and data mining
- Enterprise Risk Management, where actuaries provide tools, techniques and perspective to manage operational risks at an enterprise or corporate level
- Senior Management, where actuaries provide broad business and management oversight for an organization’s most senior decision makers
- Investments and Fund Management, where actuaries focus on asset risks for asset managers but also contribute in areas such as hedging strategy, derivatives structuring and structured finance
- Banking and Financial Services, where actuaries help banks and financial services companies with product portfolio, capital management and risk analysis
- Environmental Finance, where actuaries apply finance techniques and practices to environmental issues
- Wealth Management and Financial Planning, where actuaries contribute skills and expertise to wealth management firms and individuals (rather than to insurance companies)
- Health and Retirement Financing, where actuaries offer advice on aspects of social insurance including funding levels and population projections
- Sales and Marketing, where actuaries help set policies, messages and compensation levels for those directly involved in marketing
- Entrepreneurial Actuaries, which represents a wide range of opportunities for actuaries who desire to set up and run their own business
