Nicholas John Dumbreck, FSA 2008, FIA, CERA, MA

Head of London Life Practice, Milliman, London, UK

Brief description of the type of work you currently do:

Consulting actuary advising life companies and other financial institutions

Primary Area of Practice:

Life Insurance

Other Areas of Practice / Interests:

Enterprise Risk Management

Professional Background:

• (1976-86) Imperial Life of Canada, latterly as corporate actuary of the UK branch
• (1986-2009) (Mar) Watson Wyatt (formerly R Watson & Sons)–Consulting Actuary, (Head of the Insurance and Financial Services Practice 1995-2002; member of the, Partnership Board 2003-05)
• (2009) (Apr) onwards Milliman–Consulting Actuary

My work as a consulting actuary over the past 23 years has included:

• Acting as appointed actuary/actuarial function holder
• Advising on mergers, acquisitions, demutualizations and other restructurings
• Acting as independent actuary for portfolio transfers
• Expert witness work

Most of my work has been in the UK, but I have also worked on assignments in Ireland, continental Europe, Asia, South Africa, Canada and the Caribbean.

Volunteer Experience:

• Institute of Actuaries
• Examiner, 1988–1994 (Principal Examiner 1991-94)
• Member of Council, 1993–98, 1999 to date
• Honorary Secretary 1996–98
• Chairman, Education and CPD Board (Faculty and Institute of Actuaries) 2002–04
• Vice President 2003–05
• President 2006–08
• Member of the IAA Education Committee 2002–06; Council member since 2008
• Member of the Groupe Consultatif Education Committee 2002–06 and the Freedoms and Professionalism Committee 2008–present
• Member, Groupe Consultatif 2008–present
• Chairman, Staple Inn Actuarial Society 2002–04.

Vision Statement:

The fortunes of the actuarial profession depend on its ability to attract bright, numerate graduate–level entrants. The long average time to qualify has been an impediment in this respect, particularly because it tends to put off the more entrepreneurial types who are capable of taking the profession into new areas. This leads to calls to shorten travel time.
At the same time, the range of techniques needed by actuaries has been growing, creating pressure to expand the education syllabus. Reconciling these conflicting demands has been a major challenge throughout the time I have been involved with the profession. Much has already been done by the Society to address this, including the introduction of validation by educational experience and the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice e–learning modules. The increased emphasis on Associate–level qualifications, particularly CERA, is also helpful. However, winning the war for talent may require more than this. I believe that allowing exemptions from some of the Society's exams based on a student's performance in an accredited university course should form part of the way forward. Rigorous accreditation procedures would be needed to ensure equivalence of standards, but I am convinced that there are significant benefits in allowing students to accelerate their path towards qualification by taking advantage of suitable opportunities for full–or part–time
university–based study.