Actuaries face a host of new challenges to ensure they are ready for Solvency II and could see their roles redefined, delegates a plenary session of the Actuarial Profession’s General Insurance Research Organisation (GIRO) conference heard last month.
Speakers said technical provisions are fundamental to Solvency II, and warned actuaries should not underestimate the work involved to meet these requirements. In addition, the importance of gathering the right data in order to calculate the technical provisions should not be underestimated, particularly if the data is not currently available, they warned.
Jerome Kirk, of Lloyd’s, said: “The technical provisions of Solvency II raise questions about the actuarial role. Will actuaries find themselves under extra pressure? Will they need additional protection? And, if so, who is going to provide this?”
“This is something which, as a profession, we have to get right. Solvency II calls for actuarial independence. Does this mean that actuaries can no longer be part of a firm’s management structure? Issues like this have to be addressed to ensure that we are ready for Solvency II.”