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Having completed a degree in mathematics, a career in financial services was a logical step. Having taken some time out to travel I started my career at UK & Ireland Life on the graduate programme in 2003. |
My first 18 months were spent in Client Accounting which provided me with exposure to the operational functions of the company as well as an immediate element of client contact. It was during this time that I started my actuarial studies and so a rotation into an actuarial area was the obvious next step. The department I moved to was involved in the pricing, monitoring and valuation of the existing business which provided me with a firm grounding in many key aspects of actuarial work. It also continued to provide access to a number of the company's key clients.
In 2007 I became a qualified actuary and moved into the Financial Reporting team. The move to a specialist technical area was a new challenge but the skills and knowledge gained were to prove invaluable in
later roles. The role demanded working within tight timeframes and inevitably I had to learn to work under pressure. I also had to work on my communication skills (not always natural for an actuary!) to ensure technical issues were explained clearly and concisely to colleagues of varying seniority as well as auditors.
After three years in Financial Reporting, I moved back to the front office by taking the role of Marketing Actuary. The focus of this role was very different to that of a reporting actuary, providing an introduction to successful client management and the tactics underpinning quote activity.
This year I moved to Risk Management. This area draws on much of the experience and knowledge gained over the previous eight years while still providing new challenges. For example, I now not only work for our UK office but am also responsible for the risk management in our Australia and South Africa offices. I work in areas which pose the greatest risk to the company and I have to challenge and review assumptions and processes.
I believe it is crucial for any actuary to be able to rotate within different actuarial functions to ensure they get full exposure to all areas. UK & Ireland Life has definitely provided me with many opportunities to develop and broaden my skill set.