As a child, Jake Iveson would return from school trips with certificates bearing the legend ‘Asked the Most Questions’. An accomplishment, he says, he was proud of, and which has stood him in good stead throughout his adult life.
“Growing up in the north of England, my parents instilled the importance of education - a value I took to heart,” he says. “I was a curious child, happy to be so, with a natural affinity for mathematics and exploration.
“That affinity never diminished, so like many actuaries I completed a maths degree. Also like many actuaries, I left university with no idea what I wanted to do.”
Jake found himself part of the analytics team at Mercer, a role that suited his love of asking questions. But he kept getting the same answer: ‘that’s what our actuaries do’.
“I realised the job I wanted was what these ‘actuaries’ did,” he says. “I didn't even know what an actuary was at the time. Then I discovered that insurance actuaries dealt with the risks associated with all kinds of interesting and varied events, like planes falling out of the sky, satellites crashing – a whole world I had never experienced.
“Since then I’ve literally seen every element of that world, from gut-wrenching social cases and climate change litigation to dams bursting and planes disappearing. It’s an amazing career.”
Now with Oliver Wyman, Jake works across every line of business from reserving to pricing to capital. “I might be talking to someone doing parametric insurance linked to climate one day and someone looking at the transition from oil and gas to solar the next,” he says.
“It has given me a veneer of knowledge on an enormous range of subjects, which I can go into depth if I need to. My job is to help the client get to where they want to be by using key actuarial skills such as problem solving and strategic planning, and by working with the experts I have around me.
“That's why I love what I do. It's my job to genuinely care about my clients’ business. And not just their business – we're addressing issues that affect the whole of society, too.”
“We need people to know they can trust us and that they can demand a high degree of quality. Chartered status is what our profession needs to maintain that trust.” – Jake Iveson, Chartered Actuary (Fellow)
Jake goes on to explain how varied those issues can be, saying: “In a recent conversation with an expert in biodiversity, I discovered that the value of an orca is £4m. If an orca is killed, it represents a genuine, mathematical loss to society of £4m.
“How does that affect us? Can it be insured against? Can there be government intervention? It’s an enormous and complex problem and it’s one I have the opportunity to get involved with.
“For me, that's what it’s about. We can do reserve reviews, price reviews and anything else that actuaries can get involved in, but ultimately, it's our job to care.”
Jake believes that means caring for the profession too and recognising the power and influence actuaries can have. “We have to be careful in what we say and how we operate,” he says.
“We have to make sure our models are perfectly readable, nothing refers in cycles, all the inputs are together, nothing is hidden.
“We need to make the liabilities crystal clear, explain in depth the model’s intended purpose and the implications of using it, as well as why it can't be used in certain ways. This is to help the client to avoid making the wrong decisions.”
That's something, Jake believes, that’s ingrained in how actuaries operate, and it’s why he thinks the profession itself needs to be protected. “Those taking on actuarial work without our qualification process can't work to those same standards,” he says. “That needs to be clearly understood.
“As we grow outwards, we need to protect and communicate our standards and responsibilities. We need people to know they can trust us and that they can demand a high degree of quality.
“Chartered status is, I think, what our profession needs to maintain that trust. It denotes quality and expertise. I’m proud to be an actuary and of the work we do, individually and collectively, to help others. I believe that’s something that deserves to be protected, now and in the future.”
We’ll be sharing member stories from around the world on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for updates. If you’ve chosen to adopt Chartered Actuary status, or if you’ve employed an actuary who is helping to transform your organisation, we’d love to hear from you.
