Actuarial Value Ladder Prototype Insurance Market Model*

We used a prototype of the Actuarial Value Ladder in the development of this year's Valuation Actuary Symposium's program. The Actuarial Value Ladder is a professional development tool that will help actuaries plan and manage their careers, provide educational direction for members and assist in communicating the profession's value to employers.

It is a foundational component of the SOA Marketing and Market Development Plan, the Society's program to enhance the image of the profession and encourage targeted leadership skill development. The MMDP is implemented by the SOA Marketplace Relevance Strategic Action Team led by Chair Dan McCarthy.

Based on formal and informal employer and member research, this prototype value ladder is intended to provide actuaries with an understanding of the roles and contributions that they can make both within organizations and on behalf of the profession. The ladder describes the levels at which actuaries can make specific contributions, the value of these skills to employers and to actuaries themselves–along with the necessary competencies to function successfully at each of these levels.

As you read through the program summary, you'll recognize that each session is aligned to a specific stage on the value ladder using the description for each stage–i.e., task/technical, process, employer/client, market, industry, national and global. In addition, we've color coded the sessions to reflect which of the three contribution areas–individual and team, organizational and industry wide–they fall. By reviewing these stages and color codes, you'll be able to select sessions that will help you move your professional development forward in the direction you so choose, to achieve your career goals.

* While there are references to benefits and broader financial service markets, the following is a model created for the insurance market as a prototype. With additional refinement and the input of additional area of practice perspectives, we expect to create multiple applications of this ladder to assist actuaries in their own "value enhancement" process.