Steven Loyens - Senior Actuary, Arch Insurance Services (Europe), London
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When and why did you choose an actuarial career?
Three reasons:
Firstly, when working in my previous employer’s internal audit department I came across a very arrogant actuary. His day-to-day job, he said, involved applying very complicated maths and statistics. When asked what it took to become an actuary he told me not to bother because as a Continental, I would never pass the exams. I decided to prove him wrong.
Secondly, combining maths, statistics, financial knowledge and economics sounded really appealing. The actuarial path felt like a natural next step in my career.
And then finally, I can’t deny it: money.
Briefly explain what your work involves, practice area, etc
I work in General Insurance as a Senior Actuary, which makes me responsible for reserving, pricing and management information. Tasks range from design and implementation of systems and processes to the more traditional analysis of the numbers. I have 3 direct reports, so my role involves quite a bit of people management. Prior to this position I was the Capital Management Actuary responsible for Solvency 2 modelling.
Which skills do you consider to be essential for your job?
Excel, VBA for Excel, Access, VBA for Access, SQL, communication, stress management, organisational and planning skills, persistency, perfectionism and a good (sometimes slightly cynical) sense of humour
What do you like most about your job?
Diversity of technical skills, people management and interaction with underwriters and senior management. The job is very high profile, as we are a very small team (given our premium volume). This means hard work and very little room for error, but it creates fantastic opportunities to earn your stripes and be noticed which puts you on the fast track to management.
How do you achieve a work/life balance?
The answer to getting the work done is more training for the team and delegating tasks, with appropriate follow-up. The answer to getting a life is arranging things outside of work that I can’t get out of so I’m forced to leave the office, e.g. gigs, courses or gym sessions. It’s not an easy task to find this balance but it’s essential to keep trying.
Future plans?
Becoming chief actuary, develop the team and improve a number of systems and processes in our company. Also, get my team away from their desks and have them talk to the underwriters and other staff. Get rid of the actuarial geeky number-crunching image to avoid having to listen to the same bad jokes again and again.
Any advice you may have for others considering an actuarial career?
Discuss the impact on your social life with your partner. You will need to study during weekends and after hours, no matter how hard your day in the office was. Studying will eat into the quality time you could have spent with your partner. Without moral support you won’t get there. Initially it’s easy enough to combine work with study, but you will assume responsibility quickly putting more pressure on study time. Also, make sure you have a dedicated study space and build a routine around studying. And very importantly, don’t be afraid to take a break. Your efficiency and effectiveness will increase massively after a break. You’ll make up for the ‘lost’ study time.