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JF Actuarial Services, Inc.
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41 Byberry Avenue, Suite 4
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Hatboro, PA 19040
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215-443-9515
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FAX 215-443-9641
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What's an actuary?
At last, there is an answer.
Actuaries are mathematicians who figure out the likely financial or other results of possible future events.
Easy to say, isn't it? But combining the cost of future deaths, health care, car accidents, or other "contingencies" with an estimate of future investment earnings to get "the number" is serious mathematical business!
Insurance companies pay actuaries to calculate life, health, auto and disability insurance premiums; cash values; dividends and statutory reserves. Pension plan sponsors pay actuaries to oversee the financial health of all pension plans which promise future benefits, including the US Social Security system and private pension plans.
Actuaries typically have a Bachelor of Science or Arts degree, often in Mathematics. In addition, an actuary will have passed at least 10 hours of rigorous examinations. Typical preparation time is 50 hours for each hour of exam.
To become a "Fellow" of the Casualty Actuarial Society or the Society of Actuaries, approximately 50 hours of examinations are required. Attaining Fellowship normally takes at least 6 years of postgraduate study and on-the-job training. The examinations cover general and specialized areas of applied mathematics, law, accounting, finance and investments.
Excerpts from the American Academy of Actuaries Code of Professional Conduct
Professional Integrity
PRECEPT 1. An Actuary shall act honestly, with integrity and competence, and in a manner to fulfill the profession's responsibility to the public and to uphold the reputation of the actuarial profession.
Qualification Standards
PRECEPT 2. An Actuary shall perform Actuarial Services only when the Actuary is qualified to do so on the bsis of basic and continuing education and experience and only when the Actuary satisfies applicable qualification standards.
Standards of Practice
PRECEPT 3. An Actuary shall ensure that Actuarial Services performed by or under the direction of the Actuary satisfy applicable standards of practice.
Communications and Disclosure
PRECEPT 4. An Actuary who issues an Actuarial Communication shall take appropriate steps to ensure that the Actuarial Communication is clear and appropriate to the circumstances and its intended audience and satisfies applicable standards of practice.
PRECEPT 5. An Actuary who issues an Actuarial Communication shall, as appropriate, identify the Principal(s) for whom the Actuarial Communication is issued and describe the capacity in which the Actuary serves.
PRECEPT 6. An Actuary shall make appropriate and timely disclosure to a present or prospective Principal of the sources of all direct and indirect material compensation that the Actuary or the Actuary's firm has received, or may receive, from another party in relation to an assignment for which the Actuary has provided, or will provide, Actuarial Services for the Principal. The disclosure of sources of material compensation that the Actuary's firm has received, or may receive, is limited to those sources known to, or reasonably ascertainable by, the Actuary.
Conflict of Interest
PRECEPT 7. An Actuary shall not knowingly perform Actuarial Services involving an actual or potential conflict of interest unless:
(a) the actuary's ability to act fairly is unimpaired;
(b) there has been disclosure of the conflict to all present and known prospective Principals whose interests would be affected by the conflict; and
(c) all such Principals have expressly agreed to the performance of the Actuarial Services by the Actuary.