General insurance actuaries provide expertise in three main areas:
- Reserving - actuaries apply statistical techniques to assess the likely outcome of general insurance liabilities and the provisions that are needed for reporting purposes
- Pricing - actuaries assesses the frequency and average amount of claims to estimate premiums
- Capital modelling - actuaries projects both the liability and assets of insurers to assess solvency and future capital needs.
General insurance, such as motor and household insurance policies, provide payments to cover losses arising from a particular financial event. General insurance typically includes any insurance that is not determined to be life insurance. General insurance is called ‘property and casualty insurance’ in the United States of America and ‘non-life insurance’ in most of Europe.
General Insurance is broadly divided into two areas: personal lines and commercial lines
- Personal lines - products designed to be sold in large quantities, such as motor insurance, household insurance, pet insurance and creditor insurance
- Commercial lines - products which are usually designed for relatively large legal entities. These include workers' compensation (employers’ liability), public liability, product liability, commercial fleet and other general insurance products. There are many companies that supply comprehensive commercial insurance packages for a wide range of different industries, including shops, restaurants and hotels.
The London Market provides a focus for many insurance companies and syndicates operating under a Lloyd’s of London banner to write large commercial risks such as supermarkets, football players and other very specific risks
The London Market consists of a number of insurers, reinsurers, brokers and other companies that are typically physically located in the City of London. Their business is usually written through specialist brokers. The London Market participates in personal and commercial lines, domestic and foreign, and also provides reinsurance.
The General Insurance Board actively influences the environment in which General Insurance actuaries practice
The General Insurance Board is a member-led Board of senior volunteer actuaries that advises the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) on important General Insurance issues. The General Insurance Board sets key objectives each year and has oversight of four subcommittees:
- General Insurance Lifelong Learning Committee (GILL)
- General Insurance Research and Thought Leadership Committee (GIRTL)
- General Insurance Standards and Consultations Committee (GISCC).
With 30% of the general insurance membership living and working outside of the United Kingdom, across 70 different countries, the General Insurance Board has focussed its attention toward how best to deliver support to fragmented overseas members, developing an understanding of their needs and geographic location whilst increasing measurable ECPD outputs aligned to the international GI Community.
Related documents
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General Insurance Board ToR 2018
30 October 2019 -
Solvency II - General Insurance
6 June 2016
Contact Details
For more information about the General Insurance practice area please contact the Professional Communities Team:
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Events calendar
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Pensions: Actuarial Factors used to Calculate Benefits in UK Pension Schemes
Webinar28 January 2021The IFoA’s Actuarial Review Team has published its first thematic review, which looked at the actuarial advice given by scheme actuaries to UK pension scheme trustees on setting transfer values and commutation rates.
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India Town Hall
Webinar28 January 2021IFoA Immediate Past President John Taylor would like to invite you to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) virtual India Town Hall 2021, hosted by John Taylor with IFoA Council Member Mahidhara Davangere and IFoA Chief Executive, Stephen Mann.
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Winter Thought Leadership Lecture with Vicky Pryce
Webinar3 February 2021What are the options for the world economy looking ahead?
In this Thought Leadership Lecture, Economist, Vicky Pryce, will be discussing world economic trends, including the differences in geographical performance and how output is recovering and where.
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Professional Skills Training Webinar - 9 February 2021
Webinar9 February 2021Trust and Leadership for Actuaries
Led by Dr. Jim Baxter, University of Leeds, this webinar introduces some key ideas in the ethics of trust, with a particular focus on those in, or on the path to, leadership roles. Dr Baxter is joined by a panel of experienced leaders who will give their personal perspectives on how they understand the value of trust and how they seek to promote and inspire trust, drawing on their experiences of leadership. The panel includes:
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Health and Care Hot Topics webinar
Online webinar10 February 2021In this webinar, we have two presentations showing the latest research on the implications for life and health insurers of two key issues: genomics and pandemic risk.
Dr Peter Joshi and Paul Timmers will share their research on how well-established underwriting processes can allow for genomics in predicting expected mortality and morbidity. They will then discuss the potential for stratified screening and personalised medicine to improve health and reduce claim costs.
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As the world’s attention begins to turn to COP26 later this year in Glasgow, Sarah Gordon (Chief Executive, Impact Investing Institute) will share her vision for how the financial services industry can deliver for people and the planet, as well as how to encourage more investment with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
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Sub-Saharan Africa Town Hall
26 February 2021IFoA Immediate Past President John Taylor would like to invite you to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) virtual SSA Town Hall 2021, hosted by John Taylor with IFoA Council Members Mukami Njeru, Prosper Matiashe and IFoA Chief Executive, Stephen Mann.
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MENAP Town Hall
2 March 2021IFoA Immediate Past President John Taylor would like to invite you to the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) virtual MENAP Town Hall 2021, hosted by John Taylor and IFoA Chief Executive, Stephen Mann.