Actuaries Abroad

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An Actuarial Alpine Adventure
by Karin H. Wohlgemuth

Casualty Actuaries of Europe (CAE) held its 2003 Spring Meeting on May 12 at the ZFS offices in Zurich, Switzerland. Of the two dozen actuaries in attendance, about half were CAS members and half were members of other actuarial organizations, which brought a great mix of experiences into the discussions. Attendees were not limited to Swiss residents and came from as far as London and Paris.

Members elected Doug Collins as CAE's new vice president and president-elect. Doug is with Tillinghast in London and CAE members are happy to have him on board. Doug Lacoss transferred into the presidential position and I will continue as secretary-treasurer.

The meeting agenda included three presentations, all of which generated lively discussions. Christoph Hummel's presentation on "Capital Allocation in the Presence of Tail Dependencies" challenged some traditional actuarial views on correlation and Frank Cuypers introduced the audience to patents and "Intellectual Property." Both presentations were well-received and many thanks go to the speakers.

Last but not least, Karen Schmitt and Alessa Quane updated everyone on the new structures and activities of both the CAS International Issues Committee and the European Regional Committee, including new thoughts on Mutual Recognition (MR). Given the location, this topic is clearly very near and dear to CAE's members, and it was particularly valuable to discuss this among actuaries belonging to other organizations.

At least two points emerged from the discussion. For one, there is some widespread confusion as to the exact meaning of MR, especially regarding practice rights in the U.S. and the fact that only particular actuarial organizations are being considered right now.

Second, MR is usually discussed (and reviled) in the context of "diluting" the value of the FCAS designation. However, MR also works the other way around. The CAS attitude that it is the "widely recognized worldwide leader in casualty actuarial science" and that "CAS exams are already recognized as providing the best training for casualty actuaries"¹ is not universally accepted by others outside of the CAS. It was clear this topic could be discussed at much greater length than was available at this meeting.

CAE members are spread over many countries in Europe, but the majority are located in Zurich or London. However, there is a growing number of CAS members in a few other places like Ireland. Future meetings of CAE will consider such locations to make sure all of our members have a chance to attend the meetings. Since speakers are usually drawn from a group of local actuaries, this would also give everyone else some insights into unfamiliar markets and their current issues.

Beyond the meetings, CAE is trying to create more general interactions between all of its members and subscribers, regardless of actuarial organization or recognition. Because of the scattered nature of the membership, CAE is also trying to encourage its members to have local meetings, whether or not speakers are available. The meeting in Zurich was a success and we hope to have more of the sort in the future. More connections with other actuaries can only benefit the actuarial community at large.

¹ From "Mutual Recognition - What's In It For Me?"