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The Future of the Actuaries: The Exponential Actuary and Deloitte's 2024 global insurance outlook

According to Deloitte, the future of actuaries is evolving rapidly as technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation create a new future of work. Leveraging actuarial analytics, these technologies enable the role of the actuary to shift to a true business strategist, providing key insights and bridging the gap between technology and strategy. Accordingly, the recently published comprehensive outlook on the insurance market 2024 by leading Deloitte partners and managers prominently addresses those developments. We have gathered the key take-aways from these two sources.
Written on 11/14/23

Pioneering the future of the actuary

AI. Automation. Machine learning. The rise of technology is rapidly creating a new future of work. And it’s gathering speed, redefining jobs, and transforming entire professions by enabling humans and machines to work side by side. In addition, evolving global and local regulatory requirements promise fundamental change. These collective forces are dramatically changing the future of actuaries in an exciting way—opening opportunities for actuaries to take on dynamic, new business roles.

Long recognized as key contributors of business insights around risk and data analysis, actuaries often find themselves overwhelmed with highly manual, machine-type work. Advances in technology are enabling actuaries to automate and augment their work, boosting them into higher-value, more strategic roles focused on insight generation and key decision-making. Deloitte’s Human Capital team helps clients optimize actuarial talent to meet growing strategic, regulatory, and data-driven needs and elevate the actuarial function to a whole new level. Our approach is not just technology-driven, but also encompasses work, workforce, and workplace to ensure permanent, consistent, and deeper value across the organization.

Why evolve to actuaries of the future?

Insurance companies are facing disruption at an unprecedented pace due to increased demands placed on the actuarial workforce such as the need to:

  • Consolidate or improve data capabilities, processes, and actuarial and finance systems
  • Respond to concerns regarding quality such as input errors and lack of consistency
  • Develop cost reduction and related strategies to improve efficiency
  • Keep pace with rapidly evolving regulatory changes, such as IFRS 17 (International Financial Reporting Standard), Principle-Based Reserving (PBR), and US GAAP Targeted Improvements
  • Respond to rating agency developments, such as an innovation score component by A.M. Best

To meet these growing demands, while also acting as strategic advisers to the businesses they serve, leaders today expect more from their actuarial teams, and those that complement their actuarial function with automation and AI are better positioned to meet their objectives. In fact, 17% of global executives surveyed report that they are ready to manage a workforce with people, robots, and AI working side by side, and our experience shows that this is likely to increase quickly.

Moreover, Deloitte’s 2019 Human Capital Trends Report revealed that many employees experience unmet job aspirations, due in part to work that is not challenging. The report also found that organizations, in order to achieve success, usually need to become better connected, reflecting employees valuing a social environment. A smart, forward-thinking strategy leveraging technology can shift workers’ activities so that they are less repetitive and more motivating; and a well-communicated approach to merging human and machine productivity will not only decrease apprehension about this inevitable evolution, but provide an enhanced sense of connectivity to coworkers and the firm. 

For further information and case studies, click here 

2024 global insurance outlook

Deloitte's analysts expect insurers to evolve to address changing operating environments and precipitate even greater societal impact from 2024. This would have a direct impact on the role and work of employees. Here are their key messages:

  • Escalating frequency and severity of global risks—from climate change to cybercrime—is intensifying focus on the insurance industry’s capacity and readiness to react as society’s “financial safety net.”
  • Most insurers are realizing that reacting to risks may not be good enough, and are undertaking transformation efforts aimed at preventing losses from happening in the first place.
  • This shift to a more customer-centric business model will likely require advanced technology adoption and modification of company cultures to help minimize siloed interactions, enhance collaboration among employees, and increase accessibility of customer data—but skill sets may need to be augmented.

  • Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has been in decline since Q2 2022 due mainly to macroeconomic factors. However, as increases in interest rates and inflation ease, pent-up activity may drive an upsurge in deals later in 2023 into 2024. Insurance technology companies (InsurTechs) remain at the forefront of acquisition activity as carriers increasingly look to these capabilities for solutions across the value chain to power transformation efforts.

  • A fundamental mission underlying much of this change is that the industry’s role is changing to being  a sustainability ambassador, influencing and propelling purpose-driven decisions and strategies of clients across industries to create a better workplace, marketplace, and society.

To go to Deloitte's extensive '2024 global insurance outlook', please click here.
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