What we do- Actuarial video transcript

Dave:
My name's Dave, I work for Actuarial and Insurance Management Solutions, we call that AIMS, I work for the non-life insurance team

Actuaries typically do a lot of financial modelling. They help clients understand their future risks and future cash flows, and how they can better manage those risks.

AIMS is the largest non-life UK practice. We've got over 200 staff and we tailor solutions for our clients from traditional areas on insurance, like reserving and pricing, but also non-traditional areas like banking and healthcare.

My specialism has typically been UK asbestos and also data mining pricing work.

I've been working on a project recently where a motor insurance client of ours had a sudden increase in the frequency of claims, we came in, we used our software to manage transactional data and find and isolate exactly where the frequency increases were happening.

Keri:
My name is Keri and I first joined the PwC Human Resource Services, or HRS, Pensions Practice as a summer intern. I later rejoined the same team as a new graduate actuarial student.

The pensions environment can be quite dynamic. We are a multi-disciplinary team. Not only do we have actuaries on our team, but we've got legal and accounting specialists. We regularly give advice to companies on the best way to manage, control and reduce the costs of their pension plans.

Our work in HRS is predominantly office based. I do sometimes go out to see clients to discuss the work that we're currently doing

I've just recently completed some work on a deficit reduction project we put together a report highlighting some of the risk areas and also identifying options of different things that they can do to reduce their pensions deficit.

Jacob:
My name is Jacob. I work in Actuarial Insurance Management SolutionsI specialise in Life Insurance.

An Actuary calculates quantitative risk and forecasts the financial future. Actuaries also work in things like catastrophe risk, calculating probabilities of death, hurricanes, likely impacts, primarily forward looking quantitative risks.

Our work really looks across the whole spectrum of Actuarial from mergers and acquisitions, deals to economic capital, to solvency.

I would spend perhaps 50% of my time in the London office and 50% at client sites primarily across the UK. Working away from home can be a challenge it requires good time management skills. I have quite a few hobbies and it can be a struggle to make all of them.

A new graduate joining the firm or applying for this position should really think about whether they would prefer to work in a consultancy or within industry. Personally, I really love travelling so having a job where I spend 50% of my time away is a big plus, that's really part of the consultant's life.

PwC seems to be very good at supporting people, they're very good with flexi-time

We show up at say, half past 9, we get an hour for lunch and we're making to leave at half 5, although occasionally we have to work late.

KERI:I think people also appreciate that as an actuarial student that you need to get out of the door at half 5 to get your studying in, get your rest in and get ahead with your exams.

Because I'm still an actuarial student I also get one day off a week for studying, which I find very helpful.

There's also a lot of flexibility around people who can take secondments between different teams, a lot of people from my team have gone on a secondment to parts of the US firm.

If you want to work at a faster pace, PwC's equipped to help you move up the ladder as quick as you wanna run.

KERI: We're encouraged to seek feedback often from our colleagues and also to give feedback to help you progress as quickly as possible.

DAVE: That forms a whole part of the structure about how you learn and how you grow within PwC, it's constructive feedback.

JACOB: I've found that really helpful. They're actually saying, well there's an opportunity for you to be strong here, and this is how you can go about developing those skills.