NOTE: In-person events in 2020 will only occur when the COVID-19 pandemic is under control and government restrictions on travel and public gatherings are rescinded. Additional webcasts will likely be added to this list to make up for any cancelled in-person events.
The following is a list of recent and upcoming professional development (PD) opportunities with general insurance (GI) relevant content by the SOA:
- Python Bootcamp for Actuaries 2020—March 4–5, Littleton, Colo.
- 2020 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium—March 9–10, Tampa, Fla.
- Model Governance for Advanced Analytics, Webcast—March 23
- Reinsurance 101 Webcast—April 6
- SOA & CAA Joint Webcast Series, IFRS 17—April 10
- COVID-19: What a Small Company Actuary Needs to Know—Virtual Town Hall—April 17
- A Medical and Epidemiological View of COVID-19 for the Insurance Industry Webcast—April 23
- BEAT Regulations Webcast—May 12
- IFRS 17—Current Challenges and Future Considerations Webcast—May 20
- Inside InsurTech: New Insurance Products for the Digital World Webcast—May 21
- ERM and Professionalism Webcast—May 26
- 2020 IAK-SOA Joint IFRS 17 Seminar—Sept. 4, Seoul, South Korea
- 2020 Predictive Analytics Symposium—Sept. 24–25, Austin, Tex.
- The SOA Predictive Analytics Seminar—Sept. 28, Bangkok, Thailand
- 2020 Annual Meeting & Exhibits—Oct. 25–28, Seattle, Wash.
- The SOA Predictive Analytics Seminar—Nov. 13, Hong Kong
- Professionalism Webcast—Dec. 8
- 2020 SOA China Symposium—TBD (originally scheduled for May 28–29)
- The SOA Asia-Pacific Annual Symposium—TBD (originally scheduled for June 1–2)
Session planning is underway for the 2020 SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit in Seattle. It is expected to provide a number of GI relevant sessions, likely including:
- Understanding Tail Risk and Modeling Extreme Events
- What To Do With All This Data?
- AIT Research on Artificial Intelligence
- The Machines are Taking Over … But is Anyone Watching?
- An Overview of Weather Data Sources for Actuarial Research
- Insurance Markets, the Brussels Effect, and Solvency Regimes in Asia-Pacific
- How to Research: A Presentation for Non-research Actuaries
- Investment optimization for life, P&C and health companies
In addition, there is an SOA GI Breakfast planned that will update those interested in any recent developments in the SOA’s GI Track. Finally, the SOA Annual Meeting & Exhibit will include many sessions that, while not GI specific or relevant, will be of interest to all actuaries, including those in GI. These offerings will include:
- Don't Be Automated: Staying Relevant in the 21st Century
- Low and Negative Yields: The Cure or Cause of All Ills
- Employing Emotional Intelligence to Create Diverse and Inclusive Teams
- Driving Actuarial Innovation
- Pandemics, Infectious Diseases and the Coronavirus
- IFRS 17—A Global Standard With Local Impact
- Overcoming Unconscious Bias
- The Future of Talent: Attracting Tomorrow’s Actuaries
- Get a Piece of the Pi: “Infinite” Opportunity to Increase Your Influence Through Improved Communication
- Underwriting Hot Topics: Trial by Jury
- Actuarial Professionalism: Judge & Jury
The SOA also offers e-courses and webcast recordings for PD. Some of these are relevant to GI, such as:
- Applications of Statistical Techniques for Professional Development e-Course,
- Enterprise Risk Management e-Course, and
- Insurance Analytics with Machine Learning: A Primer for Actuaries Webcast recording.
Be sure to check out the SOA’s professional development opportunities at https://www.soa.org/pdopportunities/. The webpage allows filtering on many levels to facilitate searching for opportunities. It also includes links to past events that may include access to the presentation slide deck. Also check out the SOA’s research page for general insurance related topics at https://www.soa.org/research/topics/research-emerging-topics/#general. Reading research papers can be a good source of professional development.
The SOA counts on everyone’s support and ideas to make the most of our continuing education opportunities. If you have any GI specific (or GI relevant) ideas for seminars, meeting sessions, and webcast topics, or would like to write a GI relevant article, please forward them to Staff Fellow Anthony Cappelletti at acappelletti@soa.org.
There are also volunteer opportunities to work on the GI Track exams as an item writer and/or grader. Refer to the SOA website for volunteering (https://www.soa.org/volunteer-program/default/, select View Volunteer Opportunities and then select General Insurance Exams Item Writers).
In addition to offerings from the SOA, many virtual GI PD opportunities are to be expected during the year from other sources. For example, from March to May, the following were offered by other organizations:
- In March, the International Actuarial Association’s ASTIN section held the webinar “Spectral Risk Measures (SRM) and Applications in Insurance ERM.”
- In April, the European Actuarial Academy held the webinar “Data Quality, Validation and Movement Analysis – Requirements and Approaches to Manage Quality under Solvency II,” the International Association of Actuaries held ASTIN webinar “Triangle-Free Reserving, “ the Canadian Institute of Actuaries held the webinar “How property and casualty providers are dealing with COVID-19 pressures on coverage and options” and the Casualty Actuarial Society held the webinars “What Should Define the Future of Insurance Regulations” and “Professionalism in Novel Situations.”
- In May, the European Actuarial Academy held the webinar “Data Science Pricing of Motor Insurance,” Pinnacle Actuaries Resources Inc. held the webinar “COVID-19's Economic Impact on Driving Patterns and Insurance,” and the Casualty Actuarial Society held the webinar “Don't Put All Your AALs in One Basket: Catastrophe Concentration Pricing for Primary Insurers.”
Given the fluid situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, all in-person events planned during the year are subject to change. Webcasts are likely to be added. Please check the applicable websites to ensure you have the latest information on PD opportunities for 2020.