Ask an Actuary

"As a math major, I interviewed for both actuarial and statistical related jobs in other industries. I didn't pursue a career with the other jobs since they didn't sound as appealing or rewarding."

Every other month a different casualty actuary will be asked to describe the path that led him/her to an actuarial career. This month's actuary is Jill Cecchini, Assistant Actuary at Allstate Insurance Company.

Q: When did you first decide to become an actuary?

A: I decided to become an actuary upon the advice of my father, a former actuary. He encouraged me to obtain an actuarial internship while I was in college. I did, and I really enjoyed the experience so I decided that this could be one of my full-time career options upon graduation.

Q: Who or what influenced your decision?

A: I guess I would have to say the experience of my internship, but also my interviews for non-actuarial jobs. As a math major, I interviewed for both actuarial and statistical related jobs in other industries. I didn't pursue a career with the other jobs since they didn't sound as appealing or rewarding.

Q: What is your educational background? Where did you attend college and what was your major?

A: I attended the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, and I have a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

Q: What classes did you take in college that helped prepare you for the career? What class was most helpful? What classes outside of math and statistics (such as communications) were helpful?

A: Until my senior year, I was taking classes that could help me get a job in any industry. I took my required math, statistic, and programming classes, but I also took finance, economic, and accounting classes because I found them interesting. However, after my internship, I signed up for a few actuarial type classes, like theory of interest, life contingencies, and a general insurance class. I did this so I could be prepared for an actuarial career, if I chose that option. I think all of the classes I have mentioned have been extremely helpful since I think they have made the exam process alot easier for me.

For a class outside of math, I would have to say bowling was the most helpful. It was a fun class then, and I still use the skills that I learned in the league that I'm in today (just kidding). Seriously though, I have found my general finance class to be very helpful in my work experience.

Q: What was your first job in the profession? How did you get the job? Did you start as an intern or in an actuarial training program? What type of work did you perform in you first actuarial job?

A: My first actuarial job was an actuarial internship with Coopers and Lybrand. I worked in their defined benefits area and prepared a company's annual evaluation of their pension plan. I was fortunate to get this job through my college's on campus recruiting program. U of I has an excellent actuarial science program, and although I was a math major, I was still able to benefit from their recruiting process.

My first property and casualty job was with Allstate Insurance Company. With this job, I worked in the personal lines auto department and prepared and analyzed state rate level reviews.

Q: When did you take your first exam? How long did it take for you to get through the exam process?

A: I took my first exam in February of 1988. I was a sophomore in college and had recently finished my calculus classes and decided to give Part 1 a try. Fortunately, I passed (maybe another reason why I decided to become an actuary). I received my ACAS in 1995. I still need to pass Part 10 to receive my Fellowship.

Q: What was your career path from your first job to your current position?

A: In 1989, I had my internship with Coopers & Lybrand. In 1991, I began working at Allstate in the personal lines auto area. I later rotated to the homeowners area. In 1995, I left Allstate and began working at Zurich-American. Here, I was involved with the pricing of large Commercial risks. In 1997, I returned to Allstate. I am currently working as a manager in the auto research area.

Q: What type of work do you do on a day-to-day basis in your current position?

A: My day-to-day work involves the project management with others of the review of auto rating plans and auto insurance related issues. I also prepare and complete my own analyses as well.

Q: How long have you been in the profession?

A: I've been in the profession for about 8 years.

Q: What advice would you give to someone first starting out?

A: My advice to someone in school is to try to take as many classes as you can to help prepare for the exams. I think it makes the exam process a lot easier. Also, if you're pursuing a non-actuarial science degree, try to take some actuarial or business classes before graduating. Any exposure helps.

My advice to someone just beginning their actuarial career is to try to get as much exposure as you can to the different actuarial jobs within your company. I think it's a great opportunity to be exposed to different actuarial functions and will help you become a "well-rounded" actuary.

Q: I am an actuarial student in Pakistan.I am registered with SOA and I have passed two courses 100 (Calculus) and 110 (Probability and Stats) of SOA privately. Now I am planning to take 140(Interest theory) and 135(Numerical analysis).

I am also a student of the local university which gives the Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer System Engineering in 4 years. I have already gone through one year and it is really impossible for me to join any firm of Actuaries to gain experience during my graduation.

My first question is whether my B.E degree in Computer Systems will give me any advantage in my career as an actuary. I also would like to know how many exams I can take until my graduation without any internship or field experience. Is field experience necessary for future exams or can I pass all the exams privately? Thanks for your time. Muhammad Ali Fahad

A: Mr. Fahad, although you are not pursuing a college degree in math, statistics, or actuarial science, I think your degree in computer science engineering will still be helpful if you decide to pursue an actuarial career upon graduation. I'm sure your course work is based on math related topics which can be very helpful in an actuarial career. Also, the fact that you have passed a few exams before graduation shows employers that you are seriously considering a career in this field.

In response to your second question, you can take as many exams as you want before graduation. Technically you do not need work experience to pass the exams, but sometimes work experience helps you to understand the concepts more easily.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your career.

Q: I attend Rowan University as a math major and I'm taking College Comp I. In my writing class, I'm writing an essay on the occupation I'm pursuing, and I have a couple questions to ask. How much reading and writing is required for an actuary? What style of writing is used and who is the audience? And was college classes enough for the reading and writing You do? Thank You, David Thibault

A: I think in our profession, reading and writing are skills that we use often everyday in our job. For example, I often read industry related articles, write proposals to our regional offices, respond to questions raised by insurance departments, and document our analyses. As well, we have to pass a series of exams that requires us to read several articles and/or abstracts from textbooks and to be able to answer short essay type questions on the material. I think for the majority of my work, the writing is a "business style" format. I think the required rhetoric classes I took in college were helpful, but I have been able to improve this style of writing with job experience.

Q: Hello. I am a graduate student studying industrial/organizational psychology at Georgia Tech who is interested in predictors of employment litigation. I am wondering where I can find some information on actuarial studies which have been performed relating to Employment Practices Liability Insurance or EPLI. I am wondering which variables are most important in assessing the risk of employment litigation for any given organization. Any assistance you can give would be appreciated. Thanks. Jennie Rivlin

A: I guess I would start out looking for publications on the CAS website. You might be able to find a related publication using the search engine on the website. Also, the Proceedings section of the CAS website may have a paper that has been written on the topic and presented at the CAS meetings. Good Luck with your research.

Q: 1. Could you explain to me the difference betweeen casualty and life actuaries? 2. What area of math do actuaries use the most? Thank You.

A: 1. I think the differences that do exist for casualty and life actuaries are based on the differences in the types of insurance being evaluated. On the life side, the insurance evaluated is generally centered around life insurance, health insurance, and pension funds. Therefore with these products, mortality, amount of death benefit, investments, and the amount of medical benefits are often key variables to consider when evaluating experience. For the casualty side, the insurance evaluated is generally centered around workers' compensation insurance, auto insurance, homeowners insurance, and general liability insurance. Therefore with these products, inflation, repair costs, medical costs, and litigation costs are often key variables to consider when evaluating experience.

2. The math areas that actuaries focus the most on revolve around statistics. Primarily applied statistics and modeling data.