As data analytics is playing a more important role in insurance industry, we will interview actuaries and professionals in data science to share their perspectives on Data Scientists and Actuaries. A series of Q&A's will be posted, and we welcome any additional comments.
What questions do you have for actuaries in predictive analytics? To continue the conversation, we interviewed Edgar Pal, who started his job as an actuarial analyst and now working in the Predictive Analytics group of Zurich North America.
Q: What role do actuaries play in your analytics team? How does actuarial skill set contribute to the capabilities of the team?
A: Actuaries can play the role of key communicator when the analytics team is working with business partners that also include actuaries. Actuaries can improve the communication efficiency because they have better understanding of the actuarial issues and speak the same language.
Q: What skills should actuaries or actuarial students develop to prepare for an analytics role?
A: Programming skills such as SAS, R or SQL will be beneficial. Database management skills are also important because analytics projects often times involve gathering data as the first task. For instance, some actuaries attend MS program in Computer Science or Analytics to further their analytical and programming skills. On the other side, soft skills are also valuable to develop because it will help better understand the business need – who will use the product and how the product will be used.
Q: How does analytical work differ from traditional actuarial work?
A: As a contrast to the prior actuarial experience that involved rate indication study and pricing/portfolio metrics reporting, actually working in an analytics team can trigger more interaction with business partners and leaders. Interpersonal skills are important to create a strong relationship with business partners to facilitate the delivery of insights from analytics products.
Q: How do actuaries effectively work with the rest of analytics team members?
A: The rest of the analytics team consists of predictive modelers, data scientists, analytics consultants, and so on, which is a very diverse environment that everyone contributes value in its own way. Being open-minded will be critical when interacting with non-actuarial mindsets in analytical work.
Please feel free to post any comments or feedback. They are well appreciated.