Learning About the CSPA

by Nate Williams, Candidate Representative to the Candidate Liaison Committee

In honor of The CAS Institute (iCAS) conferring the 100th designation of the Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA) credential, I recently sat down with Maggie Kong, FCAS, CSPA, and Chris Macella, CSPA, of Allstate Insurance Company to talk about their iCAS experiences. Maggie and Chris received the CSPA through the Experienced Practitioner Pathway (EPP).

NW: How did you first hear about the credential?

CM: I first heard about the credential when then CAS president-elect Brian Brown came to Allstate to promote it.
MK: Prior to that event, I believe I heard it was in development at one of the CAS meetings.

NW: What motivated you to pursue the CSPA credential?

MK: Going through the EPP route, it was much less of an endeavor than sitting for the exams. It's really relevant to the types of roles we're in, being on a predictive modeling team within a pricing organization. It was like my job description written up as a credential.
CM: Given that I don't have the traditional actuarial background, I thought getting this designation would give more credibility to the work that I do.

NW: How much overlap is there between the CSPA syllabus and what you do daily?

CM: The first exam is like an introduction to insurance. For the second exam, much of the material has to do with data prep, initial data evaluation, data visualization — a lot of the things I have regularly worked on. The third exam covers the concepts, methods and tools used for statistical analyses, predictive modeling and data analytics. This course focuses on advanced tools using various multivariate regression techniques, statistical modeling, machine learning and practical applications. Finally, the case study project gives you an opportunity to apply what you learned to a real-life business problem.
MK: I think it's somewhat similar to taking Exam 5 on the actuarial side – you might have worked in ratemaking or reserving for a few years before attempting the exam, and going from an applied perspective to studying it for the exam can give you a deeper understanding of topics you didn't know or maybe hadn't had the occasion to question before. It could be the same way with modeling work, where you might learn on the job but can make new connections while studying for the CSPA.

NW: Maggie, you were one of the first 100 CSPAs …

MK: Really? I know I was one of the founding members of iCAS — not from getting the CSPA but just signing up for iCAS really early.
CM: Is that like an extra letter behind your name?
MK: I don't think so, but it's still cool.

NW: Now that you have the credential and it's been out there for a while, what value do you see it bringing to the insurance/actuarial community?

MK: I think it's still too soon to know exactly what impact it will have on the profession in the long term. I'll be curious to see, for example, if people like Chris who don't have the actuarial background will have a little more power or weight behind their voices when speaking with regulators. The immediate value, for me, is having a network of people that are working on similar things, including people at Allstate in different departments that I don't know or regularly work with. Recently, at the Ratemaking, Product, and Modeling (RPM) Seminar, I was able to interact with other CSPAs through iCAS community of practice events.

NW: Have the RPM seminar events or just having the credential, directly affected your work?

MK: Definitely. There were a few sessions during the RPM workshops where I was vigorously taking notes, thinking, "I'm going to try this." There was one hour where someone was talking through different ways to feature engineer variables, and by the end I wasn't just taking notes but had an actual line of sight of how I'm going to apply it. I don't always have that coming out of every meeting session.

NW: Has your employer supported candidates' efforts in pursuing the CSPA?

CM: On the exam side, candidates have received what I understand to be similar support to those pursuing actuarial exams — study materials, registration fees, and time to study at work and take the exams.
MK: Allstate will be covering my membership dues like they do for ACAS/FCAS. There was also internal recognition so that it didn't feel like this was something I randomly did on my own, but was encouraged and sponsored by the company.

NW: Would you recommend getting the CSPA?

CM: Yes – there's no reason not to. The exams are a good, structured way to learn about modeling at your own pace without having to go through some class or other formal learning setting.
MK: I already have recommended it to one of my analysts who is not taking actuarial exams but is working on a predictive modeling team. It's a good chance to be well-rounded from both the practical and academic sides.

If you are interested in pursuing the CSPA or the upcoming credential in Catastrophe Risk Management, visit the iCAS website (www.thecasinstitute.org) for more details. Please note that the deadline to apply for the CSPA EPP is June 30, 2018.