Actuarial Specialties

The very nature of being an actuary lies in the essence of managing risk. Before the advent of financial engineering, risk managers -- and yes -- even before the invention of calculators, actuaries were the first professionals managing risk and modeling financial implications based upon the likelihood of future scenarios. Actuaries have a deep understanding of the nature of risk and excel at putting a value to a risk exposure, regardless of the industry.

While risk exists in all industries, no other industry has been forced to balance the financial implications of risk more than the insurance industry. As such, traditional actuarial specialties include life, health, property, and casualty insurance. In these cases, actuaries may develop, price, and manage annuities, life, homeowner, health, and auto insurance products. Actuaries are increasingly involved in defining and creating pension and retirement plans for organizations, either on staff or as a consultant. In addition, as the population of industrialized nation ages, actuaries will increasingly find roles as financial planning advisors.