Insurance
Private insurance companies provide contracts to groups and individuals that protect against various risks – about 60% of actuaries are employed by private insurance companies. Throughout the insurance industry, actuaries traditionally perform many of the same basic functions. These may include determining premiums for insurance products (pricing), developing mathematical models to forecast the value of cash outflows to policyholders (modeling), and determining the appropriate level of cash on hand to guarantee that the insurer can meet all obligations to policyholders (valuation). Although many of the core roles remain fairly consistent across the insurance industry, there is still plenty of variation among the different types of insurance companies.
Life Insurance
What is it?
Life insurance products provide benefits that are contingent on the life of the policyholder. Some examples of life insurance products are whole life insurance, universal life insurance, and term life insurance. If you’re interested in the content from RM 411/RM 412 and SOA (Society of Actuaries) Exam LTAM, then the life insurance industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer life insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Prudential Financial, MetLife, Guardian Life, New York Life, Transamerica, Lincoln Financial Group, Erie Insurance
Which actuarial exam track?
Life actuaries become certified by the SOA. After earning ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) designation, most complete the ILA (Individual Life and Annuities) track to earn FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) designation.
Life insurance products provide benefits that are contingent on the life of the policyholder. Some examples of life insurance products are whole life insurance, universal life insurance, and term life insurance. If you’re interested in the content from RM 411/RM 412 and SOA (Society of Actuaries) Exam LTAM, then the life insurance industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer life insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Prudential Financial, MetLife, Guardian Life, New York Life, Transamerica, Lincoln Financial Group, Erie Insurance
Which actuarial exam track?
Life actuaries become certified by the SOA. After earning ASA (Associate of the Society of Actuaries) designation, most complete the ILA (Individual Life and Annuities) track to earn FSA (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries) designation.
Health Insurance
What is it?
Health insurance covers medical expenses for individuals. Health insurance companies may administer individual coverage plans, which individuals purchase directly from the insurance company, or employer-sponsored/group coverage plans, which individuals purchase through their employer. If you’re interested in the health content from RM 420/RM 430 and SOA Exam STAM, then the health insurance industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer health insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Cigna, Aetna, Highmark Health
Which actuarial exam path?
Health actuaries become certified by the SOA. After earning ASA designation, most complete the Group and Health track to earn FSA designation.
Health insurance covers medical expenses for individuals. Health insurance companies may administer individual coverage plans, which individuals purchase directly from the insurance company, or employer-sponsored/group coverage plans, which individuals purchase through their employer. If you’re interested in the health content from RM 420/RM 430 and SOA Exam STAM, then the health insurance industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer health insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Cigna, Aetna, Highmark Health
Which actuarial exam path?
Health actuaries become certified by the SOA. After earning ASA designation, most complete the Group and Health track to earn FSA designation.
Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance
What is it?
Property and casualty insurance is a broad category of insurance products that cover either damage to a policyholder’s property, or liability expenses from accidents in which the policyholder is legally responsible for another person’s injuries or damage to the person’s property. Examples of P&C insurance products include homeowner’s insurance, car insurance, and renter’s insurance. If you’re interested in the content from RM 420, then the property and casualty industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer property and casualty insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Nationwide, Chubb, Erie Insurance, Geico, Selective Insurance
Which actuarial exam path?
Property and casualty actuaries become certified by CAS (Casualty Actuarial Society). P&C actuaries can earn both ACAS (Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society) and FCAS (Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society) designation by completing exams and online coursework.
Property and casualty insurance is a broad category of insurance products that cover either damage to a policyholder’s property, or liability expenses from accidents in which the policyholder is legally responsible for another person’s injuries or damage to the person’s property. Examples of P&C insurance products include homeowner’s insurance, car insurance, and renter’s insurance. If you’re interested in the content from RM 420, then the property and casualty industry may be for you.
Who hires?
Companies that offer property and casualty insurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Nationwide, Chubb, Erie Insurance, Geico, Selective Insurance
Which actuarial exam path?
Property and casualty actuaries become certified by CAS (Casualty Actuarial Society). P&C actuaries can earn both ACAS (Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society) and FCAS (Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society) designation by completing exams and online coursework.
Reinsurance
What is it?
Reinsurance, or stop-loss insurance, is a type of insurance that is purchased by other insurance companies to protect against the risk of not having enough cash on hand (reserves) to pay obligations to policyholders. Actuarial work within a reinsurance company depends on the type of insurance company being reinsured – life actuaries, health actuaries, and P&C actuaries can all work for reinsurance companies.
Who hires?
Companies that offer reinsurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Munich Reinsurance, Swiss Reinsurance
Which actuarial exam path?
Actuaries interested in reinsurance may choose to become certified by CAS or SOA, depending on whether they are pursuing P&C reinsurance or Life/Health reinsurance.
Reinsurance, or stop-loss insurance, is a type of insurance that is purchased by other insurance companies to protect against the risk of not having enough cash on hand (reserves) to pay obligations to policyholders. Actuarial work within a reinsurance company depends on the type of insurance company being reinsured – life actuaries, health actuaries, and P&C actuaries can all work for reinsurance companies.
Who hires?
Companies that offer reinsurance and commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Munich Reinsurance, Swiss Reinsurance
Which actuarial exam path?
Actuaries interested in reinsurance may choose to become certified by CAS or SOA, depending on whether they are pursuing P&C reinsurance or Life/Health reinsurance.
Consulting
Another popular career path for actuaries is consulting. Consulting actuaries are employed by consulting companies and often work on projects for multiple clients at once. Although projects can vary significantly, consulting actuaries commonly perform audits of clients’ internal insurance departments, provide research and analysis for actuarial-related problems, or fulfill standard actuarial roles like pricing and valuation (when a client lacks the resources to do so in-house). Generally, working as a consulting actuary provides a more dynamic, fast-paced work experience than working as an insurance actuary.
Who hires?
Companies with consulting actuaries that commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Deloitte Consulting,Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, Mercer, Wakely Consulting
Which actuarial exam path?
Consulting actuaries can work in life/health or P&C, so both the SOA and CAS exam paths are appropriate.
Who hires?
Companies with consulting actuaries that commonly hire Penn State actuarial students: Deloitte Consulting,Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, Mercer, Wakely Consulting
Which actuarial exam path?
Consulting actuaries can work in life/health or P&C, so both the SOA and CAS exam paths are appropriate.
Non-traditional
Although most actuaries work in either consulting or insurance, a few choose to work in “non-traditional” actuarial roles. The possible fields for actuaries in non-traditional roles are wide-ranging and can include anything from financial services to technology to energy. If you're interested in learning how other actuaries have applied their unique skillsets outside of insurance and consulting, check out the resources below.