Attracting more young people to become actuaries is a necessary approach to maintaining the vitality of the profession. CAS members in China have made this a priority through a cooperative program that has been in place for three consecutive years between the CAS and Peking University, one of the most prestigious universities in China.
In September 2012, Dr. Kai Chen, an associate professor in Peking University’s risk management and insurance department, got in touch with CAS members in China and pitched a worthy idea. His wish was to have these CAS members visit the campus and give presentations to the students about the different aspects of casualty actuarial science. Ms. Xuelian Wan and Ms. Sheen Allen, coordinators of the CAS University Liaison program in China, forwarded Dr. Chen’s idea to me and appointed me the main contact to drive the program.
During the fall 2012 semester, three CAS members volunteered to contribute to the cooperation program. Mr. Yao Wang from Towers Watson began with a presentation on non-life insurance ratemaking. Then Mr. Qinnan Zhang from China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation joined with a presentation on non-life insurance reserving. I gave the final presentation on non-life reinsurance. Feedback from the students and teachers in Peking University on these interactions was very positive; both parties were even more confident to continue the program in the future.
In 2013 three more CAS members volunteered for the cooperative program with Peking University; Ms. Sheen Allen from Deloitte, Mr. Long Li from China Life P&C and Dr. Li Zhang from China Re P&C visited the university, making presentations on non-life insurance ratemaking, non-life insurance reserving and non-life reinsurance, respectively. The cooperative program continued in fall 2014, with the presentations from Dr. Ting Yu from Ernst & Young on non-life ratemaking, Mr. Qinnan Zhang from China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation on non-life reserving and from me on non-life reinsurance.
Time flies quickly and three years have passed. All the volunteers who made contributions to the program are greatly appreciated. In 2015 we are going to push forward the Peking University program with even more energy, recognizing its benefits for both the profession and the university. We are also looking for opportunities to expand this kind of cooperative program to other universities in China in the hope that more and more talented youth will be attracted to the promising profession and will keep it vibrant.
The Chinese insurance market has been growing very rapidly during the past decade, with an annual average growth rate of around 20 percent in premium income. According to public statistics, the Chinese insurance market became the fourth largest in the world at the end of 2013.
Nevertheless, the actuarial profession in China is very young, especially for the property-casualty business. The CAS members practicing in the Chinese market are making great efforts to enhance our profession’s contributions to the public. We also hope to gain more recognition in society.
Xiaoxuan (Sherwin) Li, FCAS, FIA, FCAA, CCRA, ARA, MCSE, is the assistant general manager of the actuarial and risk management department for China P&C Reinsurance Company Ltd. in Beijing. He has served as a CAS University Liaison as well as a member of the CAS Syllabus Committee.
