An actuary opens a magazine and has their eyes opened to the splendor of their own story, but their name does not appear a single time in the magazine. What on Earth did they read?! Certainly, artificial intelligence (AI) can assemble textual and photographic artifacts about people, places and things into a snappy and eloquently narrated timeline. But is an actuary’s timeline any more their story than the ink on the pages of AR or the pixels on the AR landing page?
Said differently: Is the story of an actuary about the inflationary trends they analyze, the data sets and coding tools they use to do so, the marathons they run, the books they read, or any of the other exciting topics our authors cover in this month’s issue?
Or rather: Is it what they see, feel and experience during each episode that will ultimately bring the chapters and volumes of their stories to life? Perhaps after reading our cover story on storytelling, readers will see their own stories as even more exciting and important than previously thought.
As readers process this issue, they may also consider how the stories we feature intersect with their own. For example, what led 42 CAS volunteers to come together and co-author the Property and Casualty Predictive Analytics (PCPA) project? It’s likely that a few anecdotes spurred developing the plan for the PCPA. In this AR, we recognize those who collaborated on this exciting new chapter for the CAS that evokes the spirit of volunteerism and our commitment to excellence.
Among our other stories, Dale Porfilio’s “State of the California Property Market,” features four perspectives on a complex issue (the future of which is still being written). You may (or may not) have perspectives on this report on a 2023 Annual Meeting session. Why should California matter to someone who lives in the Midwest or Northeast? A good story, however, has a universal quality — what can be gleaned from this story and applied to your own?
In Remembrance pays tribute to two beloved actuaries who left us recently. What wonderful stories they had! In reading this and past In Remembrance columns, these members’ stories can continue.
We hope you enjoy all the stories in this issue and thank you for making AR a continued part of your story.