Heriot-Watt University Students' Actuarial Society: Discovering Potential in a Changing World

Join us at the 2017 SAS Annual Actuarial Conference to hear the very latest insights from leading experts. Explore the development of innovative risk modelling concepts in analysing risk of terrorism; learn the systemic impact of climate change in actuarial perspective and what we can all do more as actuaries and individuals.

Audience composition

• Heriot-Watt Actuarial Science students, both undergraduate and postgraduate
• Lecturers
• Working actuaries.

The demographic of Heriot-Watt students is quite diverse; most of our students come from the UK, but we also have about a large number of actuarial science students from China and South East Asia.

This year we will also be awarding a cash prize of £200 for the Best Questions Asked. 
The winner(s) will be chosen by a representative of the IFoA Scottish Board.
 

Topics include, but are not limited to:

A Ramble Through Some Historical Actuarial Countryside
Craig Turnbull, Standard Life, Insurance Solution, Investment Director

Craig will highlight a few of the interesting episodes in the history of actuarial thought that have arisen over the last two hundred years or so, and reflect on what lessons they may provide for today’s actuaries and the future of actuarial approaches in fields such as risk management and Solvency II.

The Insurance of Terrorism Risk
Dr. Gordon Woo, Risk Management Solution, Chief Architect of RMS Risk Model

With the increased threat of terrorism, the Insurance industry faces a need to understand and manage terrorism risk.  Dr. Gordon Woo will introduce on quantitative terrorism insurance risk modelling, engaging the largest historic terrorist attack event – 9/11.

Risk Management in Climate Change
Sandy Trust, Grant Thornton UK LLP, Senior Manager

Climate change as one of the major global risks has been discussed across the globe addressing its risk impact on current society and global financial system. Sandy Trust will explore more about climate change in actuarial perspective,
from risk and uncertainty management to scenario analysis.

The Rising Profile of Pensions
Melanie Stephenson and Louise Lau of Barnett Waddingham

Pensions is finally starting to be a hot topic of conversation.  Melanie and Louise will talk about the recent pensions news that is relevant to everyone, not just those of you considering an actuarial career in pensions.  This includes the reform of the State Pension, the effect of Brexit and the US election on UK pension schemes, the success of auto-enrolment and the fall of BHS.  

Speakers

Craig Turnbull joined Standard Life Investments in March 2015 after a fifteen year career at Barrie & Hibbert. At B&H, he was Head of Research and Advisory, overseeing industry-leading work in insurance asset-liability modelling, economic capital, Solvency II and the hedging of insurance liabilities. At SLI, Craig leads the Insurance Solutions team, which works closely with Standard Life Investment’s global insurance client group to support their insurance asset management requirements.

Craig qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 2003. In 2013, he was awarded the Institute of Actuaries’ Peter Clark Prize for best actuarial research paper. He is the author of the recently-published book, A History of British Actuarial Thought.

Dr. Gordon Woo is a catastrophist at Risk Management Solutions. He is the chief architect of the RMS terrorism risk model. For his innovative work on terrorism insurance risk, he was named by Treasury & Risk magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in finance in 2004. In September 2013, as a leading international authority on quantitative terrorism risk assessment, he was called to testify to the US congress on terrorism risk modelling. He has been a frequent lecturer on terrorism risk at the NATO Centre of Excellence for the Defence against Terrorism, in Ankara, Turkey.

He is the author of the two books, ‘The Mathematics of Natural Catastrophes’, published by Imperial College Press in 1999, and ‘Calculating Catastrophe’, published by Imperial College Press for the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Dr. Woo graduated as the best mathematician of his year at Cambridge University, completed his PhD at MIT as a Kennedy Scholar, and was a member of the Harvard Society of Fellows. He is currently an adjunct professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, as well as a visiting professor at University College London