Thomas Saliba

You may have noticed that for the first time in 10 months, I haven’t announced a new episode of Actuarial People today! Two bits of good news: ▪️They’ll be back very shortly! ▪️There are already 40 episodes with fantastic people from the profession available to listen to at any time, so feel free to catch up on any you’ve missed! Search for ‘Actuarial People’ wherever you listen to podcasts :) #pensions #insurance #actuaries #actuarial #somethingdifferent

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The update to UK's version of the Solvency II matching adjustment is finally complete. It was a long journey taking many years. In this article, Nick Ford summarises the implications of the changes and what's in store for life insurers. https://okt.to/3g0DlC

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Featured #STEM role: Actuary! 🧠 We have a team of highly skilled actuaries within BPAS Actuarial & Pension Services. But - what is an actuary, and what do they do? This quick video from the Society of Actuaries offers a comprehensive explanation:

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In the third of our VBA mini-series - John Nicholls explains how to improve your VBA by using its massively useful but little-known suite of extensions. https://lnkd.in/eSYAFvgT #VBA #VBAExtensibility

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And here it is! Your first sneak peek at our new actuarial valuation software, Intelli-ACT.   Underpinned with the latest programming technology, computational techniques and data science Intelli-ACT delivers exceptional performance and ultra-granular data outputs.   And it’s fast. Very fast. Where current valuation systems can take hours to produce complex valuations, Intelli-ACT processes millions of calculations and rows of data in minutes.   But you may be wondering if we've ramped up the speed of the video. Nope - it's running in real-time.   We're excited to show you how Intelli-ACT takes you to the all-important part of the process -- generating your deep-dive valuations -- easily, accurately, and without fuss. We've purposefully designed the user interface and stylish screen layouts to let you enter your data and parameter sets quickly and logically.   Because of its speed and simplicity, Intelli-ACT gives you cost-effective and regular visibility on the health of your scheme to support your de-risking and endgame strategies. You don't need to wait 1, 2, or 3 years to see if you're in surplus or deficit. No need to pay huge outsourced fees. Check monthly, or even daily if you're so inclined!     ------------- 📣 Unveiled at last week's #PLSA Annual Conference, Intelli-ACT has caused a bit of a stir. We already have follow-on conversations and demos booked in the diary. Check out our original announcement: https://lnkd.in/erzDywZx 📱 If you'd like a chat about Intelli-ACT's capabilities, drop us a direct message or add a comment and we'll get in touch.   We'll also put you on our ACTuary news list to inform you about the final product development phases and upcoming release date. Grab a piece of the ACTion. 😁 #Actuaries #PensionsSoftware #ActuarialSoftware #DigitalAdmin #PenTech #IntelliACT

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Our new series of videos for The Actuary magazine launches today – focusing on a topic of keen interest to the actuarial profession and wider audiences beyond. We hope this trailer piques your interest to watch the full 7-minute film here: https://lnkd.in/e3mV_uUC And please get in touch if you'd like to discuss how audio/visual content could boost engagement within your communications plan. #actuaries #malaria #contentmarketing #digitalmarketing

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🌟 New Year, New Opportunities? 🌟 As we get closer to wrapping up the year, it’s natural to start thinking about where we are in our careers and where we want to go. For those in the actuarial pensions field, it might be the perfect time to think about a fresh start with a new role in the new year. 🔄 Why consider a change now? January is when many companies allocate fresh budgets, start up new projects and look for new talent. Joining a new team right at the start gives you the chance to make an impact from day one and settle in as the year unfolds. 💼 What are the benefits of making a career move in pensions? 🎉 Stay Competitive on Salary: Changing roles can be a great way to keep your pay in line with market trends and make sure your skills are valued – no one wants to feel stagnant in their role. 🎉 Expand Your Network: New companies mean new connections. You’ll meet a whole new circle of professionals who can bring fresh insights and opportunities. 🎉 Gain Diverse Experiences: Every company tackles actuarial challenges a bit differently, so a new role is a chance to grow your skills and perspective. 🎉 Re-ignite Your Motivation: Sometimes, a change of scenery is all it takes to get excited about work again and set new goals. 🔍 Curious about what’s out there? The actuarial pensions market is evolving fast, and companies are on the lookout for experts with fresh ideas and strong technical skills. If you’ve been thinking about making a move, now might be the time to take a closer look. 👉 Let’s connect! Feel free to reach out – I am happy to chat about what’s happening in the pensions world and where the best opportunities might be. A fresh start in 2024 might be just what your career needs! #ActuarialPensions #CareerMove #NewYearNewYou #PensionIndustry #ActuarialJobs

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Part-Qualified Pensions Actuaries – there is still time to secure a new role before the end of the year.   We have just over 5 weeks remaining, but that's plenty of time. How will it work in reality? ▪ Day 1 – Get in touch with me for an exploratory conversation. Learn about the opportunities available at your level, and agree on a plan of action. ▪ Day 2 - If using a CV, perhaps 24 hours for you to polish it up and send it over. But if you have 3+ years' experience at a good consultancy, a CV may not be needed. I would then speak with the relevant companies on your behalf. ▪ Day 3-5 - allow 1-3 days for interviews to be requested, and a little time to book in your meetings. ▪ Week 2 - First stage interviews with a choice of online or in-person. ▪ Week 3 - Complete any 2nd stage interviews and receive offers.    Some of the above can happen more quickly (a second stage isn’t always required for example) or more slowly depending on diaries. But you can certainly receive offers within 3 weeks and be in a position to accept and resign on a similar timescale.   So don’t put things off until the New Year – you know how busy you’re going to be in Jan! And in Feb... and the exams... #pensions #actuaries #actuarial #hiring #somethingdifferent

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Discover how AINSURCO combines actuarial excellence with IT innovation to drive success in the UK insurance industry. Get in touch with Neha Agarwal, FIA, or Rishav Bajaj, FIA, CERA  for more information. #InsuranceConsultants #UKInsurance #Ainsurco

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Are you looking for fresh and up-to-date industry content? Look no further than the Orange Malone blog! You'll find everything you need to understand the challenges and successes of the Actuarial world, from gender pay gap opinions to why the counteroffer is rising within recruitment. Find out what you can learn today: https://bit.ly/44rUGLx #OrangeMalone #Blog #PayGap #Actuary

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📊 Survey Results Are In! After reaching out to a large number of GI actuaries across the UK market, we found that the overwhelming reason professionals are holding back from moving jobs at the moment is Job Satisfaction. The survey presented three options: Economic Uncertainty: Concerns about the current economic climate and job security. Job Satisfaction: Contentment with their current role and company. Limited Opportunities: Perception of fewer appealing job opportunities in the market. Job Satisfaction was the clear frontrunner, leading me to a broader question for my network: What are companies doing now that they weren't doing before to enhance job satisfaction? We've seen a lot of movement in the job market over the last couple of years post-COVID. It seems companies might be implementing new strategies for talent retention perhaps? 💡 What are your thoughts or comments? Are there specific initiatives or policies that have significantly improved your job satisfaction? What changes have you noticed in your workplace that make you want to stay? How has your employer adapted to ensure a more fulfilling work environment? Your insights are invaluable! Let's start a conversation and share best practices that can benefit everyone in the industry. #JobSatisfaction #ActuarialScience #TalentRetention #CareerGrowth #WorkplaceCulture

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Have you taken part in the 2024 Pensions Actuarial Salary Survey yet? Here’s another preview of how one of the questions is stacking up so far. When you complete the survey, the 12 answers are presented in a random order, and you drag and drop to rank them. It’s interesting to see ‘variety of work’ down in 8th place after 300+ submissions! Please use the link to take part, and share with a few friends/colleagues: https://lnkd.in/eJ7NQ7g7 #pensions #actuarial #actuaries #salarysurvey2024 #somethingdifferent

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Are consultancies taking over the role of contractors in the actuarial field? Our latest blog explores this evolving trend, examining how the shift impacts both organisations and professionals. Dive into the discussion to understand what this means for the future of actuarial work. Blog post: https://lnkd.in/ehsp3vDU #ActuarialRecruitment #Consultancies #Contractors #IndustryTrends #OgdenScott

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The recent increase in the frequency of extreme weather events has impacted risk modelling and calibration, as it becomes harder to accurately predict weather related risks. Reinsurance costs have also risen in response to the increase of extreme weather events and uncertainty around risk calibration. These factors have impacted UK insurance companies, claims for flooding damage alone in the UK between 2000 and 2019 exceeded £1.3bn, which has in turn created more difficult market conditions for clients to find the necessary cover or weather related risks. Find out more in our latest article: https://lnkd.in/eBttDyhz #floodinsurance #weatherrisks #businessinsurance #TysersBrokers #TysersRetail #insurancemarket #commercialinsurance #insights

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Health and protection insurance usage surged 55% in 2022 - ABI - Health & Protection (https://lnkd.in/eJmZi8ff) Usage of health and protection insurance has risen and continues to rise since the pandemic. Some stats reported by the ABI have highlighted the following: Almost 1.8 million people accessed health services through health and protection insurance in 2022, up 10% from 2021, with each person accessing support five times on average. The total figure of 1.77 million people using insurance to get treatment was also up 55% from 2019. The ABI also emphasised the significant rise in the number of times people were using health services through their cover. This increase was from 3.5 times per person on average in 2021 to five times on average in 2022. Usage of remote GP services has also risen considerably. In 2022 there were nearly nine times more virtual GP appointments through insurance than in 2019 before the pandemic. For mental health counselling, insurers arranged 1.2 million mental health counselling and therapy appointments in 2022. Of that total 94% were accessed through a workplace scheme, with 192,000 of the 200,000 people who used the services using workplace insurance. These patterns of usage are mirroring trends within WPA’s business. Usage of plans overall has increased but people are making multiple claims a year on their plan whereas in the past it was not used this frequently. If you are concerned about not having cover then please feel free to get in touch for free advice and no obligation quotes. [email protected] 07954 402863 #healthinsurance #privatemedical #health

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A very insightful conference yesterday, EY’s Decoding the Future of Underwriting led by the irrepressible Chris Payne There were many useful points made that although focussed on the London Market apply across retail lines too. Key takeaways: - Start with a clear vision of the “why”. I think Douglas Loots from Coherent flat out said they would not work with an underwriter that didn’t know that the goal was - Start small. The London market is full of heterogeneous processes and products. So don’t “boil the ocean” and instead target smaller areas of improvement - There is no one system that can “do it all “. Partnerships are critical across the ecosystem. Jamie McDonnell at Guidewire was very focussed on this as a reality of the London Market - Joining up the “ecosystem” is difficult and should not be sought as an end in itself. Does each connection help you achieve something? Does it make things better and faster ? - The underwriting work bench is dead. Long live the underwriting work bench! The term is disliked but everyone is trying to find and deploy the joined up tools that make an underwriters life easier. - These investments are not about cost reduction in the underwriting process. They are a response to the exponential increase in data and the commensurate reduction in time for underwriters to get quotes to market of the correct quality and price - Finally without a solid foundation of data any insight derived will undermine the organisation rather than drive it forward. Tom Wilde at Indico and Alex Johnson at Quantexa were vocal on this. Congrats also to the panel including Kav Benepal Andrew Yeoman Yana Wilson (Spesivtseva) Andrew I remember joining our event at Experian 10+ years ago and kindly lending his insight then. Thanks to Chris and looking forward to the next one !

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🔍 Detailed Underwriting Analysis! 🔍 Gain a competitive edge with CaseMatrix's Underwriting Reports. Analyse live policies, complaint reasons, and resolutions with ease. Stay informed and make strategic underwriting decisions with our powerful reporting tools. https://casematrix.co.uk/ #UnderwritingReports #BusinessData #Insights

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Here is a snapshot on salaries for non-actuarial pricing professionals in London. To be clear, these pricing professionals decided not to pursue/ continue their actuarial studies. There is still huge earning potential, even if you decide the actuarial qualifications aren't for you! Let us know if you're interested in seeing a qualified actuary salary report to contrast.

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