Careers

Our Client’s Confidential Project follows: 

JOB TITLE: Senior Vice President – Chief Actuary Officer 

REPORTS TO: Executive Vice President - Finance & Chief Actuary Officer

JOB SUMMARY

Serves as the functional leader for the Actuarial department and all actuarial services at COMPANY. Sets the long-term and short-term strategy goals for the Actuarial department as well as specific goals for each actuarial focus, and ensures goals align with business objectives. Directs and maintains optimal synergy and alignment between the reserving, ratemaking, pricing, operations, and ERM functions of the Actuarial department. 

Leadership: 

• Serves as the functional leader for the Actuarial department and all actuarial services at COMPANY 
• Sets the long term and short-term strategy goals for the Actuarial department as well as specific goals for each actuarial focus, and ensures goals align with business objectives 
• Partners with senior leadership and with Actuarial to ensure all goals, projects, and objectives align with the strategic direction 
• Develops and implements a talent strategy across the portfolio of functions to achieve goals. Effectively develops and grows internal talent – a priority in COMPANY’s culture. Successfully attracts great new talent where needed to fill gaps in expertise or raise the bar of performance. Fosters an innovative culture, including supporting new ideas and providing guidance on potential changes. Fosters an environment of collaboration within the team and with other teams and profit centers. Functions as trusted partner to entire C-level leadership team. Advances COMPANY’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. 
• Ensures that the budget for the Actuarial Department is set at a level that balances efficiency, effectiveness, and service levels 
• Collaborates with HR to ensure that actuarial roles and exam policies remain up to date and effective in their intended goals 
• Directs and maintains optimal synergy and alignment between the reserving, ratemaking, pricing, operations, and ERM functions of the Actuarial department 
• Establishes, maintains, and improves the business partnerships with Finance, Underwriting, Claims, Investments, COMPANY Reinsurance, and Strategic Analytics as well as internal and external auditors 

Reserving

• Directs the maintenance of reserves within COMPANY’s stated reserve risk statements, for both primary and assumed business, and in accordance with Actuarial Standards Of Practice (ASOPs) 
• Performs the creation of and then signs the Statement of Actuarial Opinion (SOP), ensuring compliance with applicable NAIC regulations 
• Creates and maintains actual versus expected studies of Loss and Loss adjustment expense for both primary and assumed books of business 
• Ensures effective communication of all actuarial work products from the Reserving function to internal and external customers 
• Reviews and approves consolidated Loss and Allocated Loss Adjustment Expense (ALAE) initial expected Loss ratios that feed financial planning and analysis (FP&A), actuarial reserving, and appropriate ECM inputs 
• Estimates accident year ultimate Loss and ALAE ratios that feed ratemaking and pricing models 
• Provides leadership and actively participates on the Executive Reserve Commit
  

 Branch Ops:

Establishes and maintains an environment of collaboration with field leaders, specifically marketing and underwriting, including establishing and implementing strategies for branch profitability and growth 

• Participates in the field business planning process (both top and bottom line), seeking the optimal mix of actions (rate changes, risk differentiation, exposure verification, targeted classes, etc.) 
• Establishes appropriate account-level premium change targets by field office, considering marketing goals, underwriting selection standards and competitive rate studies 

• Communicates actuarial analysis and findings to the field, including explaining the impact of companywide changes in actuarial reserving picks on field financials 
• Sets service standards with the field offices that optimize their needs and operational efficiency 
• Attends rate review meetings in the field on an as-needed basis to ensure the rate reviews are as effective as possible and to build and maintain trust between different field teams and their assigned actuarial department team member 
• Sets prospective field office Loss and ALAE ratios for use in budgeting, planning, and underwriting cycle management

ERM

• Leads the expansion of COMPANY's Economic Capital Model (ECM), supporting both the primary and the assumed businesses, and ensures proper maintenance of the ECM 
• Communicates ECM outputs to management and the Board 
• Directs the development, deployment, maintenance, and communication of the tools needed to measure and manage the risk portfolio, including monitoring appropriate surplus allocation techniques and tools to optimize surplus utilization 
• Participates in setting and reviewing COMPANYs position relative to stated risk appetite and tolerance statements 

• Participates on committees managing reserve risk, underwriting cycle management risk, and catastrophe risk 
• Recommends optimal ceded reinsurance and retro placements that balance retained risk and cost 
• Completes renewal submission questionnaires and partners with internal customers during audits completed by assuming companies 
• Ensures the accurate and timely completion of CAT modeling efforts on the primary business, and collaborates with the assumed business on CAT modeling 
• Serves as the COMPANY Actuary representative to rating agencies including but not limited to AM Best and Fitch

Ratemaking

• Provides companywide line of business (LOB) rate change objective recommendations and ensures that specific state and line rate change proposals align with company goals 
• Directs and provides oversight regarding actuarial tools that help COMPANY run the business, including price and rate indications, internal and external trends, expense allocations and forecasts, investment income, profit loads, large Loss loads, CAT loads, contingency loads, optimal credibility theory and standard(s), exposure to Loss (versus actual Loss experience), etc. 
• Regularly reviews business needs and evaluates existing tools and processes against opportunities to balance improved accuracy with increased efficiency 

• Ensures all COMPANY ratemaking work conforms to the CAS Statement of Principles Regarding Property and Casualty Insurance Ratemaking and other applicable standards of practice 
• Ensures actuarially appropriate adjustments to accident year ultimate Loss and ALAE ratios to feed the selection of initial expected Loss and ALAE ratios for reserving and budgeting 

Pricing & Modeling

• Directs and ensures actuarial models enable the creation of special rating plans and dividend plans for large accounts, safety dividend groups, and business segments (i.e., schools, municipalities, etc.) 

• Monitors and reports out to the executive leadership team on the performance of industry segments and product groups 
• Directs and oversees the accuracy of predictive and prescriptive models to differentiate policies, accounts, and segments based on risk and expected profitability 
• Directs the implementation of models where appropriate, including leveraging technology, providing training, and achieving buy-in 
• Recommends the creation or modification of models to enhance or replace traditional actuarial tools in the pricing and reserving areas (and other practice areas as directed) 
• Provides support for the pricing and modeling needs of COMPANY

Business Intelligence, Rating Engine and Actuarial Applications

• Directs the process of transferring all rating algorithms and rate tables from legacy system to Guidewire Policy Center rating engine, including updates and maintenance of the rating engine going forward 
• Ensures, through the Actuarial Applications database, that the Guidewire platform continues support for critical actuarial pricing and modeling applications, including Rate Compare, Rate Impact, Price Guidance, and other production models 
• Ensures that the department obtains and secures data, maintains it, and controls its quality and accessibility so that it can be used and support all actuarial processes and analysis. 

Supervision

The position is supervisory.   Creates a culture and environment where user friendly applications are created and maintained to allow others to utilize data for analysis. 

• Vice President - Actuarial Operations
• Assistant Vice President - Assumed Reinsurance Pricing and Reserving
• Assistant Vice President - Property & Casualty Reserving and Pricing
• Assistant Vice President - ECM and Ceded Risk

Education & Experience

The education and experience below are required for the job unless labelled as preferred: 

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, actuarial science, statistics, or related field 
• Ten years of leadership experience in the actuarial area of a property and casualty insurance company 
• FCAS designation or additional relevant experience 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Superior knowledge of actuarial computations, statistical analysis, rates and filings, and reserve analysis for property and casualty companies 
• Advanced knowledge of strategic planning and insurance products and services 
• Superior verbal and written communication skills coupled with human relations skills 
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities 
• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to meet deadlines 
• Excellent presentation skills 
• Occasional travel required; a valid driver’s license with an acceptable motor vehicle report per company standards required if driving 

Competencies

• Demonstrates Business Insight 
• Develops Talent 
• Drives Vision and Purpose 
• Makes Decisions 
• Thinks Strategically