While she was still in sixth form, Rebecca Weare attended a careers fair presentation about becoming an actuary. The speaker led by saying that becoming an actuary would need at least a 2:1 in a numerate degree.
Most of the audience promptly switched off. Rebecca, on the other hand, was immediately interested.
鈥淢aths was my favourite subject at school,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I thought an actuarial career sounded really interesting.
鈥淚 went to Oxford, studied mathematics and got my master's degree. In my penultimate year I got an internship at Zurich Insurance. The work was interesting, the team was great and they were lovely enough to offer me a graduate role, which I took in September 2020.鈥�
The structured nature of the actuarial career was, Rebecca adds, a huge help during a time when the world was turned upside down.
鈥淚t was a weird start to my career, working remotely during lockdown, but I was grateful for the security,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was also really attracted to the structure. It鈥檚 very clear what you need to do to progress in an actuarial career.
鈥淚t was great to have that while the world was in chaos.鈥�
Rebecca now works as a marine pricing actuary at MS Amlin, meaning her day-to-day role is very mathematical, which suits her despite its challenges.
鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges is that you never have all the data,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think that has always and will always be the case. Things are improving as technology improves, but I don't think we'll ever reach a point where there's perfect data all the time.
鈥淪o as actuaries, we use our professional judgement to decide the value we can get from the data we have, and how to bridge the gap of what's missing. We think about the assumptions we can make, and how to reach a conclusion when we don't have all the answers.鈥�
Fortunately Rebecca, in common with most actuaries, loves solving problems. 鈥淚 like to get stuck in with the raw numbers,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y favourite parts of the day are when I can just get my head down and focus on solving something.鈥�
“If people are interested in mathematics and they’re interested in a professional career, being an actuary is a fantastic option. And hopefully the term Chartered Actuary says a bit more about it.” – Rebecca Weare, Chartered Actuary (Fellow)
One of the biggest problems Rebecca has solved to date involved pricing a large renewable energy construction account. 鈥淚t was mostly about insurance for constructing wind farms around coastal Europe,鈥� she says.
鈥淗undreds of objects, hundreds of variables. Plus the renewable energy sector is still developing. We don't have the claims experience data that we have for other sectors. But we still had to find a way to come up with a sensible price that would allow us to write the business.
鈥淚 opted for exposure analysis rather than experience analysis. I built some visualisations to plot where all the sites were going to be and look at their exposure to windstorms, natural disasters and so on. The underwriters were really on board, so we were able to write the business.鈥�
As someone who often works in the wider European sphere, Rebecca feels there鈥檚 value in chartered status. 鈥淓uropean underwriters can be less familiar with actuaries as a concept,鈥� she says. 鈥淚'm hoping that they'll be more familiar with the concept of 鈥榗hartered鈥�. I'm hoping it will give a little bit of extra oomph to my title.鈥�
Rebecca also feels chartered designation could help improve understanding and expectations from people considering their career options. Going back to that career day from her sixth form, she recalls the impact of the presenter鈥檚 opening statement.
鈥淚 just saw 95% of the room switch off, because they suddenly realised this wasn't for them,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ad the title of the talk included 鈥榗hartered actuary鈥�, it might have drawn a more appropriate audience.
鈥淚f people are interested in mathematics and they're interested in a professional career, being an actuary is a fantastic option. And hopefully Chartered Actuary says a bit more about it.鈥�
We鈥檒l be sharing member stories from around the world on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for updates. If you鈥檝e chosen to adopt Chartered Actuary status, or if you鈥檝e employed an actuary who is helping to transform your organisation, we鈥檇 love to hear from you.
