Rising Risks

The Joint Risk Management Section is a collaborative initiative that brings together the experience and perspectives of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and Society of Actuaries (SOA), focusing on both the actuarial aspects and the broader applications of risk management. In concert with other collaborative work (such as the North American Actuarial Council, various inter-organization research projects, etc.), it offers the CAS, CIA and SOA an opportunity to do more of what our members say they want us to do: Find ways for actuarial organizations to cooperate and collaborate on issues of common interest to our profession.

While all areas of actuarial practice are based on a set of underlying principles, in many areas the ability to practice is also based on detailed knowledge of specific local regulatory requirements. By contrast, risk management tends to be less country-specific, which further enhances this section’s ability to serve the needs of members in countries around the world. For example, Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) rules have been adopted in every developed country, and they follow consistent principles that an actuary practicing in risk management in the United States, Canada, Europe or Australia would understand.

Our section currently is sponsoring a number of interesting initiatives. In addition to helping organize sessions related to risk management at various actuarial meetings, our flagship meeting is the Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, held each year in the spring.

We sponsor a variety of research initiatives—including the periodic Emerging Risks Survey, research on the impact of continuing low interest rates and our collaboration on the Actuaries Climate Index—to help address the modeling and pricing of catastrophic risk coverage.

We’re also interested in research on approaches for quantifying operational risk, and applications of predictive modeling in risk management and InsurTech.

To provide section members access to relevant, in-depth reading material, we maintain an e-book library with a selection of books and articles, which we review and update on a regular basis.

Research reports related to risk management are available to anyone on the SOA’s website. But some of the benefits, such as our e-book library and notices about risk management webcasts and research reports, are exclusively for section members.

Section membership is part of branding yourself as a risk manager. Membership offers ample opportunities to volunteer on various initiatives. It is a key element in providing funding for our work, and it demonstrates your support of finding ways for the CAS, CIA and SOA to work together. So if you’re not already a section member, please consider joining!