Jim Toole, FSA 1997, CERA, MAAA

Managing Director, Life & Health, MBA Actuaries, Inc.,
Winston-Salem, NC

Brief description of the type of work you currently do:

Consulting actuary serving insured, self–insured, regulatory, and legal clients, as well as primary research.

Primary Area of Practice:

Health Benefit Systems

Other Areas of Practice/Interests:

Enterprise Risk Management, Life, Property & Casualty

Professional Background:

Mr. Toole has more than 20 years of management and technical experience in the insurance industry. He has worked in various lines of business including life, health, and P&C, providing support from the product development, filing, financial reporting, regulatory, and management perspectives. Individual life product experience includes term, whole life, UL, and variable, as well as a variety of health riders and stand alone products. Mr. Toole's health experience spans self–insured plans, MEWAs, large group, small group, individual, work–site, and specialty products. Health policy interests include health disparities, community benefit for non–profit hospitals, and health impact assessments.

Mr. Toole is a frequent speaker at industry meetings, seminars, and universities in the United States and Latin America. He has written and/or edited articles for numerous industry publications. His paper Actuarial Considerations in Insurance M&A: An International Perspective was published by the Society of Actuaries in 2003 and included on the Course 8 Finance exam syllabus. He was co–editor of the textbook Insurance Industry Mergers and Acquisitions, published by the SOA in spring 2005. He currently serves as lead researcher on the SOA sponsored project to analyze the potential impact of a pandemic on the U.S. life and health insurance industries.

Volunteer Experience:

Mr. Toole has participated energetically in professional activities for over 15 years, including serving on the Computer Science Section Council, International Section Council (chair 2001), Latin America Committee (founder and past–chair), Course 8 Finance Exam Committee (Enterprise Risk Management track), SOA Marketplace Relevance Strategic Action Team, and Chair of the 2009 Health Spring Meeting. He has been active in the SOA strategic planning process since its inception in 2000, and has served on numerous related committees and task forces. He currently serves on the Self Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) Health Care Committee, and is former chair of the Health Section of the SOA, which coordinates and funds research and education activities on behalf of 3,500 U.S. and Canadian health actuaries. Most recently, he was involved in the effort to form the Social Insurance and Public Finance Section. Locally, Mr. Toole is chair of the Forsyth County Health Equity Action Team, vice–chair of the Winston–Salem Children's Theater, and a director of the Winston Salem Downtown Rotary Club. He is usually coach of one or more of his children's sports teams per season.

Vision Statement:

The Society of Actuaries' mission is "To ... provide expert advice and relevant solutions for financial, business and societal problems involving uncertain future events". While the profession does a fine job untangling financial problems and is sharpening their pencils to address broader business challenges, I would argue the profession has avoided tackling the societal problems of our time. The SOA special interest sections are primarily devoted to the private sector. There is no organizational capacity in the SOA to support addressing the needs of society at large. The profession must also act in the public interest, not solely on behalf of the private sector, or we forfeit the right to call ourselves a profession, and become instead a trade association.

Acting in the public interest does not mean trading entrepreneurial activity for social work. Applying our unique skill set in new ways means more work for actuaries and a more diverse employment portfolio. This is a win–win for everyone and, if successful, brings positive public relations opportunities to the profession. Examples of work in the public interest include intergenerational equity, retirement security, environmental actuarial work and climate economics, health impact assessments, and support of public health efforts. The SOA Board has seen fit to propose The Social Insurance and Public Finance Section, providing opportunities for actuaries to educate themselves on the issues and underwrite the foundational research needed in this area. Actuaries have much to bring to the table to help address societal problems. There is nothing stopping us except our imagination.