Years Ago In The Actuarial Review

Two items from the "Some things never change" department:

(From M. Stanley Hughey's column)

From the President

"I was impressed by the number of panelists who challenged us, as casualty actuaries, to tackle somewhat different assignments from traditional ratemaking and actuarial analysis. We should have the training, skill, and experience to handle the traditional tasks but the panelists were reminding us, and properly, that the same training, skill, and experience somewhat uniquely qualify us to perform some other badly needed tasks."

(From an opinion piece by Norman J. Bennett)

Maunderings

"I have been told that the Society's examinations today are considerably more difficult than they were five years ago, and that those of five years ago were in turn much harder than those given five years earlier. Obviously, I derided this interesting intelligence from a current candidate, with his added observation that the sequence of diminishing rigor in standards extends back to our earliest days."

And one item from the "Some things do change" department:

(From an editorial by Matt Rodermund)

Who Will Certify Casualty Reserves

"...exclusive of the county mutuals, there are over 2,100 property/liability companies in the United States (2,108 are listed in the 1974 Best's Reports) and, as of now, about 625 qualified property/casualty actuaries (CAS membership). About 350 of these actuaries are employed in about 80 property/liability companies. Of the remaining 275, about 110 are employed by life and health insurance companies, bureaus or company associations, or governmental departments; and about 90 are retired or otherwise inactive, and may not be willing to accept reserve valuation assignments. Thus there are roughly 75 actuaries available to serve over 2,000 companies."