INFORMATION ON . . .
Actuaries put a price tag on future risks. Their work requires both analytical and
business skills. (See also What Do
Actuaries Do?)
Actuaries are employed in the insurance industry, government, consulting firms, banks
and investment firms, and large corporations.
Typically, actuarial trainees (those who have yet to pass all of the qualifying exams
administered by The Societies Of Actuaries) major in mathematics, actuarial
science, statistics, computer science, or pass a couple of actuarial exams while still in
school. The first two exams cover undergraduate subjects in calculus and linear algebra
and probability and statistics.
Northern is one of fewer than 200 Canadian and U.S. schools listed by
The Society Of
Actuaries as offering a pre-actuarial curriculum. The Mathematics &
Computer Science Department offers courses covering the content of Exams 100, 110, 120, 130 and 135.
Each of the aforementioned exams is offered two or three times a year at many testing
sites around the country. NMU is one such national testing site.
The contact person for
The Society Of Actuaries at NMU is:
Dr. G. Jailan Zalmai
Mathematics & Computer Science
Department
Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI 49855
Office phone: 227-1601
While actuaries work on all sorts of projects in diverse business environments, they
have one thing in common: They use quantitative skills to analyze and plan for future
financial situations.
Using these skills, actuaries may be involved in projects as varied as:
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Placing a price on a company about to merge with another business.
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Estimating the impact of seat-belt laws in automobile losses and determining appropriate
rate discounts.
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Projecting Social Security benefits so money can be collected to pay workers planning to
retire in 20 years.
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Determining why malpractice insurance costs for doctors are skyrocketing.
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Projecting what the AIDS epidemic will cost life and health insurance companies in five,
ten and twenty years.
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Determining the price for a liability policy.
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Collecting and investing enough money so that an insurance company can pay claims.
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Designing a new retirement program for a company.
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Calculating the price to charge for insuring a satellite launch.
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Estimating the benefit costs for a labor union contract.
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Answering questions like "What risks are insurable", and "How much and
where should companies invest money?"
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Estimating the cost of a major earthquake on the West Cost.
SOURCE: Picture yourself making a terrific choice! The Actuarial Profession,
Society of Actuaries
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