A  Michigan Jobs & Career Portal  service.

Actuaries apply knowledge of mathematics, probability, statistics, and principles of finance and business to problems of life, health, social, and casualty insurance; annuities; and pensions.

NATURE OF THE OCCUPATION

Actuaries may:

Determine mortality, accident, sickness, disability, or retirement rates

Construct tables showing the probability of fires, natural disasters, and unemployment occurring

Design or review insurance and pension plans and calculate premiums

Determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits

Determine the basis for distributing surplus earnings

Teach actuarial science in colleges and universities

Tools, Equipment and Materials used may include:

OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTIES

Actuaries may specialize in these areas:

ACTUARIES apply knowledge of mathematics, probability, statistics and principles of finance and business to problems of life, health, social, and casualty insurance; annuities; and pensions.

LIFE ACTUARIES perform the general duties of an Actuary for life insurance companies.

CASUALTY ACTUARIES perform the general duties of an Actuary for automobile, fire, liability, and workers' disability compensation insurance companies.

Actuaries working for the federal government usually deal with a particular insurance or pension program, such as social security or life insurance for veterans and members of the armed forces.

Actuaries working in state government regulate insurance companies, supervise the operations of state retirement or pension systems, and work on problems connected with unemployment insurance and workers' compensation.

Consulting Actuaries set up pension and welfare plans for private companies, unions, and government agencies. Actuaries enrolled under the provisions of the Employee's Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) evaluate these pension plans and submit reports certifying their financial soundness.

In addition to learning about these specialties, you may also find it helpful to explore the following Career Exploration scripts:

WORKING CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Actuaries may work alone or as a member of a team working on a particular project. They may supervise or be supervised by others depending on their professional standing. They usually work in clean, well lighted, well ventilated offices. Some may have their own private offices.

Actuaries generally work a 5-day, 40-hour week. They may work overtime at busy seasons or to meet a deadline.

Actuaries may occasionally travel to branch offices or to offices of their clients. They might travel to professional meetings or conferences.

Many Actuaries join professional associations. The two most common associations are the Society of Actuaries and the Casualty Actuarial Society. Those who join associations pay membership fees.

You Should Prefer:

• Working with mathematics

• Performing activities of a scientific and technical nature

You Should Be Able To:

• Reason logically and use step-by-step procedures in work

• Know the meanings of words/ideas and present information effectively

• Perform arithmetical operations quickly and accurately

• Work within precise limits or standards of accuracy

• See details/recognize errors in written materials, charts, or tables

• Direct, control, and plan the activities of others

• Evaluate information using measurable, verifiable standards

Math Problem You Should Be Able To Solve:

A data set represents the number of years after receiving their driver's license that people had their first accident. The data set is 3, 12, 24, 17, 9, 0, 9, 29. Find the mean of this sample.

Reading Example You Should Be Able to Read and Comprehend:

In systematic sampling, we choose some starting point and then select every kth element in the population.

Writing Example You Should Be Able to Produce:

You should be able to write a report explaining the results of your statistical tests and what the results mean to your company.

Thinking Skill You Should Be Able to Produce:

You should be able to look at the results of your tests and decide what would be the best premium rate for your company to charge.

The most widely accepted standard of full professional status for Actuaries is fellowship in the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society. Examinations for fellowships cover general mathematics, probability and statistics, actuarial mathematics, and insurance and pension plans. Actuaries attain associate status after passing 5 exams and fellowship status after passing 10 exams. Many employers require applicants for actuarial positions to have passed 1 or 2 of the exams. Consulting firms may require full fellowship status as a condition of employment. For employment with the State of Michigan , applicants must have a master's degree in mathematics or actuarial science, or have 2 years of experience and have passed 2 exams.

EDUCATION AND PREPARATION OP PORT UNITIES

NOTE: A Bachelor's Degree (four years of study beyond High School) or a Master's Degree (five to six years of study beyond High School) or a Professional Degree or Doctorate (seven to ten years of study beyond High School) may qualify a person for this occupation.

The following education and preparation opportunities are helpful in preparing for occupations in the Career Exploration script:

***SCHOOL SUBJECTS***

0600 BUSINESS , 0700 CAREERS , 0900 COMMUNICATIONS , 1000 COMPUTERS , 220 MATH

***VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS***

There are no Vocational Education Programs related to this Career Exploration script.

***POSTSECONDARY PROGRAMS***

165 STATISTICS

Programs in Statistics provide opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills needed for drawing inferences from numerical data. Statistical methods are used in the physical, biological, and social sciences as well as in engineering and business. Statisticians are employed by government, industry, universities, and research groups.

Courses may vary from school to school but may include:

Search for a College and/or Instructional Program   

***APPRENTICESHIP OPPORTUNITIES***

There are no Apprenticeships related to this Career Exploration script.

***MILITARY TRAINING PROGRAMS***

There are no Military Programs related to this Career Exploration script.

E-Learning Courses and Programs   

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPERIENCE AND METHODS OF ENTRY

Postsecondary education programs in statistics may offer some opportunities for experience. Many life insurance companies and consulting firms offer summer or part-time work to college students interested in an actuarial career. Since these job openings are limited in number, companies should be contacted well in advance. Some companies limit their job offers to college seniors. Some persons may find openings as tutors or graduate assistants while in college.

            School-to-Work opportunities include:

informal apprenticeships

mentorships

job shadowing experiences

touring a local Actuary employer

internships

volunteer work with a Actuary employer

community service work with an agency

To obtain employment as an Actuary, apply directly to employers, including government agencies. Assistance may be obtained from college placement offices, other Actuaries, and professional journals and associations. Persons willing to relocate to the insurance centers of the U.S. , such as New York and Chicago , will find the most opportunities. In addition, you should access and search the Internet's on-line employment services sites such as:

              You should also enter an electronic resume on these on-line services.

EARNINGS AND ADVANCEMENT

Earnings of Actuaries vary according to the employer, geographic location, Actuary's experience and level of responsibility, and number of actuarial exams passed.

Nationally, new college graduates with actuarial degrees who had not passed any actuarial exams were offered annual salaries averaging $52,741 in mid 2005. As Actuaries pass the exams, they generally receive merit raises. Most Actuaries who have attained associate status and passed 7 or more exams earned between $75,800 and $91,900 a year in mid 2005. Earnings of new fellows (who passed all 10 exams and had several years experience) were between $101,600 and $125,300.   The median yearly earnings of "all" workers in the U.S. were $33,852 in 2005.

Actuaries with a bachelor's degree working for federal government agencies (2006) had annual starting salaries of $25,195 or $31,209, depending on their academic record and qualifying test scores. Those with a master's degree started at $38,175 per year. The salaries of these federal workers may be higher in some urban areas.

In the Great Lakes States, Actuaries earned an average annual income between $47,700 and $102,300 (mid 2005).

Most Actuaries receive paid vacations and holidays; life, accident, disability, and hospitalization insurance; retirement plans; and paid sick leave. Some companies provide savings and stock investment plans. These benefits are usually paid for, at least in part, by the employer.

Actuaries generally advance after successful completion of actuarial examinations. Advancement may take the form of increased salary or of promotions to increasingly responsible top level jobs. A career ladder may include actuarial trainee, associate Actuary, fellow Actuary, and consultant or executive Actuary. Some Actuaries join consulting firms or start their own firms. Actuaries employed by colleges or universities may advance from instructor through the ranks to professor.

EMPLOYMENT AND OUTLOOK

There were approximately 17,600 Actuaries employed nationally in 2004. Employment in this occupation is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2014 due to expected growth in the insurance industry. Some are self-employed. The industry distribution for Actuaries looked like this:

Competition for Actuarial positions will be keen. Anticipated downsizing and merger activity in the insurance industry is likely to have the greatest negative impact on Actuaries with the least experience. Opportunities will be best for college graduates who have passed at least two actuarial examinations while in school. Competition will be keen for top jobs and for teaching positions. New employment opportunities should become available in health services, in medical and health insurance industries, and in government -- in healthcare and Social Security. Changes in managed healthcare and the desire to contain healthcare costs will continue to provide opportunities for actuaries. Some actuaries also are evaluating the risks associated with controversial medical issues, such as genetic testing or the impact of diseases such as AIDS. Others in this field are involved in drafting healthcare legislation. As healthcare issues and Social Security reform continue to receive growing attention, opportunities for actuaries should increase.

Actuaries will continue to be needed to evaluate risks associated with catastrophes, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters. Growing areas in property and casualty insurance are environmental and international risk management. Actuaries evaluate risks such as the likelihood of a toxic waste spill, or the costs and benefits of implementing pollution control equipment in a factory. As economic globalization continues and companies expand their operations abroad, they increasingly rely on actuaries to evaluate the risk of setting up a new factory or acquiring a foreign subsidiary.

Investment firms and large corporations may increasingly turn to consultants to provide actuarial services formerly performed in-house.

There are approximately 475 Actuaries employed in Michigan . Well over 90% work in or near metropolitan areas and large cities. About one-half of all Actuaries are employed by insurance companies. Most others work for consulting firms. A few work for government agencies.  

Employment of Actuaries in Michigan is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2012. About 30 openings is expected annually, with 10 due to annual growth and 20 due to replacement of Actuaries who retire, die, or leave the labor force for other reasons.  Some additional openings will occur as workers transfer to other jobs or occupations.

A particularly fast-growing field is group insurance and annuity Actuarial consulting. Also, the liability of companies for damages resulting from their products has led to an increase in the number of casualty Actuaries.  

SOURCES OF ADDITIONAL INFO RMATION

Printed Occupational information is available upon written request from sources below.

Copyright © 2006 Michigan Department of Labor & Economic