Actuarial Process Optimization—A Case for Using Modern Technology in Actuarial Domain
Actuarial Process Optimization is a framework for using technology to support the actuary of the future. In this article, we discuss the capabilities of new technologies and explore examples where they can be used to aid with providing strategic business direction, optimizing skillsets and use of technology, and maintaining governance, control, and risk frameworks.
Innovation in technology has disrupted nearly every industry creating mounting internal and external pressures on organizations to accelerate the adoption of their digital agendas. The COVID-19 pandemic further brought to light the need for technology to be adaptable, powerful, and scalable. Insurance companies have been trying to keep up with the pace of innovation, primarily focusing on adopting modern technology on the consumer experience front.
Many have modernized the front office processes that support application, underwriting, and claim handling. The significant benefits achieved through process optimization and the use of modern technology have been the topic of discussions at many insurance conferences and publications.
As the insurance industry leaps into the future, actuaries must not only proactively refine their roles and responsibilities within insurance companies, but also seek opportunities for improvements and optimization in their day-to-day work. This article will focus on how technology and actuarial process optimization will support the role of the future actuary as a leader, risk manager, and technologist.
Opportunities for APO
Actuaries are valuable and strategically important resources to insurance companies. We are trained both on the job and through an intensive education and exam curriculum to study and own insurance risk. As highly capable professionals, actuaries are often self-reliant, and are interested in owning all technology tools, data and processes that support their daily jobs. However, this hands-on approach can lead to performing many tasks that do not require actuarial expertise. By occupying ourselves with various high effort but low value tasks, we often neglect to focus on higher value tasks that are truly valuable to the future of our organization. Advancements in technology and the desire for lean operations have contributed to many insurers evaluating their strategic direction and the role of the actuary of the future, shifting their focus onto highest value tasks.
Unnecessarily complex and error prone ETL, production and reporting workflows.
Time and resources wasted on resolving errors and tracing back complex process steps.
Production and process errors that can result in misstatements and delays in reporting.
Multiple unvalidated spreadsheets with overlapping functionalities.
Multiple sources of information, but no single “source of truth.”
Storage and processing time wastage.
Actuarial Science