As UK P&C Head of Analytics Property as well as Managing Director with Guy Carpenter, Amrita Pattni’s day to day role is anything but predictable.
“It varies a lot,” she says. “My core role is to support brokers and clients with reinsurance pricing and optimization. I help make sure they have the best possible reinsurance structures in place, that they meet their KPIs, and that they’re priced transparently.
“But there’s much, much more. I also get involved in capital calculations, making sure the reinsurance provides efficient capital relief under the Solvency II standard formula and internal model. I’m even involved in the broking and placement side, speaking to reinsurers to get reinsurance placed. In fact, I’m a full-blown broker on some accounts.
“Sometimes I’m out presenting the stochastic modelling platform we license externally to potential clients, and arranging the licences where necessary. So my days vary a lot, but they’re always focused on delivering what clients need.”
“That feeling of completion, of meeting client needs, and of them valuing what you do – that’s the key thing for me.” – Amrita Pattni, Chartered Actuary
Unsurprisingly, Amrita feels a key challenge of her role is being able to handle her multiple commitments. Another is being able to look beyond established solutions when the need arises.
“You have to be able think outside the box,” she says. “Let’s say a client is struggling with something related to a structure they already have in place. We can’t simply renew it, we have to look at alternative structures that can help them.
“You also have to be able to communicate that thinking. On a day-to-day basis you’re speaking with clients, you’re speaking with brokers, you’re speaking with other actuaries. So you need to make sure you pitch everything at the right level.
“On top of that you need to think about deadlines, about managing expectations and making sure you’re not compromising the quality or integrity of the work. Fortunately, I’m working in a culture in which everyone wants to make sure the work is not rushed and is correct. So it’s always challenging, but it’s very rewarding too.
“When you deliver a piece of client work and they’re happy with it, when you’ve added something of value, of service to someone else, you’ve delivered a good piece of work. So that feeling of completion, of meeting client needs, and of them valuing what you do – that’s the key thing for me.”
A successful project that’s very close to Amrita’s heart relates to a client for whom she eventually became the account exec.
“This is a client with a non-standard, structured reinsurance solution,” she says. “I needed very sophisticated actuarial skills to guide the building of a complex stochastic model and pricing for them. On top of that, it’s a motor account, and I usually work in property. So I had to use my actuarial skills to deliver on a different type of account.
“It was an exceptionally bespoke piece of work. So when the person who was the account exec at the time moved on to a new role, I was one of the very few people in the business who not only really knew the client, but also understood all the nuances of the actuarial side.
“That meant I was best placed to be their new account exec – and having an actuary as the overall account exec is a big statement to make. My actuarial skills put me in that position.
“Working alongside a very talented team of actuaries, brokers and support, we are three years in and have continued to successfully service and add value to the client. That’s something I’m very proud of!”
Amrita believes chartered actuary designation is a way to keep the actuarial profession up to date as well as protecting its status.
“I can absolutely see the benefits,” she says. “Calling yourself a chartered actuary gives you that air of authenticism, of credibility. It’s a great way to protect our profession and our qualifications.
“It’s also good to update and rebrand now and then, just to tell more people about who we are and what we do, as well as why that matters. I think there’s a great deal of value in it.”
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.
