I m committed to help the CAS develop clear strategy for education, research and credentials, within the CAS and icas, to ensure members meet market demands.
Education: Bachelor s Degree in Mathematics (Summa Cum Laude) from Bradley University Current Employment: Director, Willis Towers Watson (2001 to present, includes employment with predecessor firms, EMB and Watson Wyatt) CAS Activities and Publications: Activities: Ratemaking Task Force, charged with drafting the Actuarial Standard of Practice for Property/Casualty Ratemaking (2015-present) Over 20 unique presentations at CAS-sponsored events including topics related to predictive modeling, data mining and visualization, pricing, professionalism and innovation Publications: Co-authored Basic Ratemaking (first edition 2004, latest edition 2016), currently on CAS Exam 5 Syllabus Co-authored The Practitioner s Guide to Generalized Linear Models (first edition 2004, latest edition 2007), currently on CAS Exam 9 Syllabus To be published in summer 2016: Predictive Modeling Applications in Actuarial Science, Volume II, co-authored chapter titled: A Framework for Managing Claims Escalation Other Actuarial Organizations: Member, American Academy of Actuaries (1997-present) Price Optimization Task Force (2015-present)
Employment History Prior Employers: AIG: Executive Actuary, Far East (1999-2001) Allstate Insurance Company: Assistant Actuary (1991-1999) Civic Activities: Lector at St Julie Billiart Church Volunteer Assistant Diving Coach, Janik Divers
Why do you want to serve on the CAS Board of Directors? Actuaries have a long, respected history as deeply quantitative, business-minded professionals who take a holistic view to solving problems related to risk. Over the last century, our profession has successfully evolved as the nature of P&C risk has changed and the modernization of technology, tools and techniques has enabled us to continuously improve our craft. Today s actuary is facing a proliferation of data sources, coupled with emerging technology platforms designed to harness such data. An influx of new quantitative skillsets in insurance and the mass adoption of open source programming languages means we are being challenged to understand and appropriately apply an ever-growing body of analytical techniques. Our data-driven insights are being used across the insurance sector - to create or refine products and services, influence decision-making and behavior, and improve the way we measure risk and manage our capital. The challenge for the CAS is to support professionals across two important dimensions: breadth of operational knowledge and depth of quantitative expertise. The CAS is focused on continuously developing our expertise in core actuarial functions (pricing, reserving, ERM, capital modeling, reinsurance) with an increasing emphasis on cross-functional understanding. The expansion of the CAS into specialty areas through the icas subsidiary enables the CAS to address the market need for credentials and education of quantitative specialists that complement and expand the actuarial skill set. I value the opportunity to serve on the CAS Board of Directors to help guide our strategy and provide clarity for education, research and credentials, within both the CAS and icas, to ensure our members continue to meet market demands. I have over twenty years of experience as an actuary, having worked both within large, sophisticated companies, and as a long-time consultant to a diverse array of P&C insurers. I am recognized as one of the early evangelists for predictive analytics in the global insurance sector, a role that continues to energize me. I am impassioned about actuarial education, having coauthored two foundational texts on the CAS exam syllabus. I regularly present at CAS events and I m currently participating in actuarial task forces that are shaping actuarial standards of practice and points of view on important market developments. I had the amazing opportunity early in my career to work overseas as an actuary, and I continue to engage with actuaries across the globe to gain a deeper understanding of challenges facing our industry and innovations designed to address them. I can play a role in expanding our society globally in a manner that aligns with our values. As a member of the Board of Directors, I will draw upon my experiences and my professional vision to ensure the future path of the CAS continues to benefit the profession and our members.
Candidate Issue(s) Identification and Discussion: Issue #1: Education for core CAS and icas The core CAS professional is recognized and valued for skill in the analysis, evaluation and management of the financial implications of future contingent events including the practical knowledge of how these risks interact with each other. Our education and research activities in the CAS need to focus on strengthening our expertise in core functions such as pricing, reserving, ERM and capital modeling. I m personally interested in ensuring our education and research strategies emphasize the connection between these areas. Actuaries are well-suited to address (for example) how new pricing models will affect reserving studies and why those models need to be wellunderstood by ERM professionals. While the CAS continues to be the premier professional association for the education and certification of P&C actuaries, the formation of the CAS Institute (icas) subsidiary enables the CAS to address the market need for credentials and education of quantitative specialties that complement and expand the actuarial skill set. The first such designation will be for data science and predictive analytics. Work is already underway to establish learning objectives, create the curriculum, develop education materials and oversee the credentialing process. I value the opportunity as a CAS Board Member to guide the strategy and execution of the inaugural program and plan additional specialty credentials such as catastrophe modeling and capital modeling. Issue #2: Global presence My career has benefited considerably from collaboration with actuaries in other markets. Issues such as the sharing economy, the Internet of Things, the effect of auto safety advancements, cyber risk, climate change, and changing regulatory requirements are not unique to the North American market. I value the opportunity to help the CAS deepen our ties with actuarial and insurance organizations globally to enable us to collaborate in understanding these issues through research working parties and co-sponsorship of educational programming.
Response from Claudine Modlin QUESTION: Do you believe that the CAS should offer specialization tracks within the FCAS designation? For example, should we have profiles like FCAS - Advanced Reserving, FCAS - Advanced Pricing, FCAS - Enterprise Risk Management, FCAS - Business Intelligence, FCAS - Advanced Analytics, FCAS - Data Scientist,... If so, how do you feel the exam structure needs to evolve to reflect evolving business needs? RESPONSE: Making sure the CAS credential aligns with evolving business needs is of critical importance. Having said that, this is no easy task and requires input from a variety of professionals who are addressing issues such as educational curriculum, method of testing/certification, exam travel time, continuing education, the new icas subsidiary and of course executive and member feedback. As a member of the CAS Board of Directors I would value the opportunity to engage more deeply to understand these issues and address this pressing question. I do feel strongly that the FCAS designation needs to provide every member with a broad understanding of P&C actuarial work. We need employers to know that any FCAS will have a proven understanding of pricing, reserving, risk and capital management, reinsurance, financial reporting, and other topics across the range of P&C insurance products. I compare this to an MBA having a solid foundation in accounting, finance, marketing, etc. In both cases, the professional provides long-term value across the business enterprise and not merely to one specialized aspect. Historically, actuaries have developed specialization through on-the-job training and project work. This has served us well for decades. I recognize that today's business world values highly specialized skills and we cannot nor should not turn a blind eye to that. Our challenge will be to a) ensure we continue to provide our members with a broad actuarial knowledge base, b) support individuals who want to attain specialization and c) do so in a manner that does not create too lengthy an educational process such that we turn away potential members or disgruntle employers who are funding such an education. We should consider not only the CAS examination process but also continuing education through seminars, workshops or working parties and optional designations as are being constructed through icas.