Indian - Frequently asked questions
To ensure that we are answering the right questions from our Indian members and our potential student members, we have created a specific page for frequently asked questions. We have contacted experts in India to gain their valuable insight into the local market and we hope that this page will give you further insight into that market, what skills employers want from you, working in specific industries and also giving you advice on where to find key information.
Remember if there is a question that we haven’t answered email Jenni Hughes.
1. What entry requirements do you need when looking at an actuarial career?
The Profession looks for a minimum requirement of a Year 12 certificate with a maths grade A and one other subject at grade B. If you do not meet this requirement or have other qualifications then your application will be looked at individually to ensure that your qualifications are comparable to UK requirements. All entry requirements will be monitored and assessed by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK.
Employers look for similar requirements to that of the Profession. As student's qualifications vary so much, especially those coming in from a course that doesn’t require the Year 12 maths qualification, each application will be assessed on an individual basis. It would be wise to look at what skills employers are looking for and also check through job websites or Indian recruitment agencies to see exactly what employers are looking for in terms of qualifications to ensure that you have what they need.
If you are unsure whether your qualifications enables you to enter into the Profession, please contact the membership team.
2. What is the job market like for those students who come from a non-mathematical background?
The Indian actuarial job market (for students) is divided into two segments, freshers or entry level students and experienced students. For experienced students, a non-mathematical background is ok for employers since the emphasis is more on the actuarial skills earned during employment. Other things such as communication skills and the number of exams passed are also taken into consideration.
Also at entry level there is no significant resistance from employers to take students from a non-mathematical background. However, your analytical capabilities will be checked during the interview process if this is the case. Also, the number of papers cleared before you would look to enter the job market also remains an important factor. If you are from a non-mathematical background in college and you are able to clear some CT series papers parallel to your college education then your non-mathematical background should not be a significant discriminating factor during the interview process with a prospective employer.
However, you would need to look at other routes to enter actuarial employment if you are from a non-mathematical background with no exams passed and with no analytical capabilities.
3. What skills are employers looking for?
The two keys skills which are most sought after by employers are analytical capabilities and communication skills. Interestingly, actuarial examinations evaluate both of these skills at various levels. In addition, employers expect students to develop broader actuarial and business knowledge rather than just concentrating on the niche area they work in, which is why rotation of roles in an actuarial function is common.
It is also advantageous to have some kind of certification/qualification related to computer programming. This is because computing remains a critical skill in actuarial work although currently it is not examined through the actuarial exams. It can vary from basic skills like excel to programming coding in an actuarial application of statistical software.
4. What key skills do actuaries provide to companies?
Employers and the public acknowledge that actuaries bring strong analytical capability to the work that they do. Actuaries in India have a much stronger presence in the Insurance sector than in many others. However, as Indian economy grows there is a strong likelihood that actuarial talent will be welcomed by other financial institutions like banks, infrastructure finance and investment banks. Also, exciting opportunities have already started emerging on consulting side.
5. What are my job opportunities like in India?
Actuarial job opportunities are limited in India compared to the UK or USA markets. The majority of the opportunities that are coming up these days are from outsourcing set ups by UK/USA/European actuarial firms and insurers where the emphasis is more on practical skills rather than number of papers you have cleared. For example if you are good at modelling in actuarial software then how many exams you have passed is not that relevant. It is good to have some exams but for some employers it is not essential.
6. What does it mean to work in an insurance company?
The Indian insurance market like any other market is divided in two sections i.e. Life and Non-life (also known as General). However, due to economic growth, specialised insurance companies in Health Insurance are also coming up. It is also expected that Pensions and Reinsurance market will also see new players.
Currently, many of the global insurers are present in the Indian market through joint ventures with Indian companies. Though the market is growing very fast it is still heavily saturated by Government owned insurers both in Life and Non life verticals. The market is also tightly regulated by the Indian regulator. However, as the industry and economy matures the regulatory framework will more likely to be principle-based rather than rule based.
There is a general consensus that Insurance market in India will continue its impressive growth because of current low insurance penetration to the vast Indian market. A lot of innovation is also coming up in products and technology and Indian insurers are keen to adopt global standards in Actuarial and Risk Management practices.
7. What career options are available to me?
India’s economy is growing very fast, which means that there are other competing and rewarding career options which you should be aware of.
You may find yourself questioning whether you should be Chartered Accountant (CA) or Actuary, or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Actuary and so on.
The Indian financial services sector including insurance is growing fast which accounts for the increased demand of not only actuaries but of other talent. Qualifications such as CA, CFA and MBA are in demand in the insurance sector. Indian employers are open candidates from a diverse background.
Actuaries are predominantly hired in actuarial functions; however, there are interesting roles in areas like Risk Management, Investment and IT available as well. CAs are generally found in Finance, Audit, Risk Management, Tax and Investments roles; however, they are increasing their presence in operations, underwriting and sales.
CFAs are also being considered for roles in investment (asset side of the insurance business).
From a remuneration perspective, generally niche areas like Risk Management, Actuarial Modelling and specialised underwriting are being rewarded more than the traditional areas.
8. Where can I look to find job placements?
For experienced students the best way to find jobs is through networking and posting your CV on popular job search websites. Many actuarial employers post roles on the career sections of their website.
Things are bit difficult for entry level students. For you, in addition to networking and posting your CV on job search websites, it is advisable to also look for various graduate programmes offered by actuarial employers. Also, there are some multinational recruitment consultants operating in India who specialise in actuarial related recruitment. You can also get help from college alumni and placement teams in your college.
You could also contact our local education advisers who may be able to help advise you on the local market.
9. Job opportunities - what are they, challenges and opportunities
In India, actuarial job opportunities exist broadly in three segments
- traditional actuarial roles in insurance companies
- actuarial roles in outsourcing setups of multinational insurance companies and actuarial consulting firms (popularly known as KPOs)
- non traditional areas like Risk Management, Information Technology, Education and Research.
Generally all the three roles are well paid. However, the requirement for actuarial talent (especially students) is growing faster in segment (2) than in the other two segments. However, the key challenge for employers is that there is slow growth in the insurance market and also there is a lack of "the right" skills. It is very difficult to define what "right" skills mean since they vary from role to role, but it is very clear that just clearing exams is now not enough. Additional skills like effective communication, regulatory knowledge, processing skills and business acumen are also desired.
Another challenge is that currently due to slow economic growth there is lack of enough entry level actuarial opportunities. Though in the long run, prospects for an actuarial career in India remain very bright.
10. How difficult is it to move from an accountancy background to an actuarial one?
This isn’t academically difficult because both courses require strong analytical capabilities and hard work to clear the exams. However, a lot depends on your own personal career interests and the availability of opportunities in the market. It also depends whether in accountancy you hold a professional qualification like Chartered Accountancy (CA) or Bachelors degree in Commerce earned through your college education. Since CA is also a rigorous programme, like the actuarial route, a qualified CA ideally should not find studying for Actuarial exams that "unusual." However, students should keep in mind that to become an actuary, you need a much greater understanding of statistical and mathematical concepts compared to accountancy. If you lack an aptitude for statistics and mathematics despite your accountancy training, you may find the actuarial qualification difficult to manage.
11. Is it advisable to do both the accountancy and actuarial exams together - to increase job prospects?
Generally it is not a good idea to focus on too many things at the once because there remains a high risk that you may end up achieving nothing. An accountancy qualification (for example a CA qualification) requires lots of time, energy and patience to pass with flying colours. Also, it may send confusing message to employers that you are not clear whether you want to become an actuary or an accountant as both offer different career paths.
Our usual advice would be to focus on one professional qualification at one time. However, if you are doing a Bachelors in Commerce or a similar graduate programme at college then you could consider clearing some of the actuarial CT exams because then it would be relatively easier to manage study time for both your graduate course and the actuarial exams.