IFoA Middle East Conference 2024: Riyadh

IFoA President Kalpana Shah

Kalpana brings 30 years of business experience in the insurance and investment industry. She was longstanding Group Chief Actuary and Partner at Hiscox until 2016. She is now one of a handful of female Chairs in the insurance industry, a non-executive director of several organisations and a member of the Capacity Transfer Panel for Lloyd’s of London.

She is also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers and member of Court of the Worshipful Company of Actuaries. She has Chaired and contributed to committees for the IFoA, Bank of England, Lloyd's of London and the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kalpana headed the first voluntary team of actuaries helping the UK’s National Health Service with emergency analytics and planning.

Kalpana is a regular judge for the Women in Insurance Awards and a frequent speaker on insurance and diversity related topics. Over the years she has been recognised for her work by organisations including the Institute of Directors, Financial Times, Cranfield University, Insurance Insider and Brummell Magazine.

H.E Mr Abdullah Al-Homid, Deputy of Supervision, Saudi Arabia Insurance Authority (IA)

• Moderator: Safder Jaffer, Managing Director and Principal, Milliman
• Umar Al Mahmoud, CEO, Medgulf
• Johnson Varughese, CEO, Walaa
• Anuj Agarwal, CEO, Allianz Saudi Fransi
• Ahmad Al-Qarishi (Chief Underwriting Officer, Saudi Re)
• Ehab Al-Atassi, Executive Director, National Casemix Center of Excellence

• Moderator: Samih Geha, Chief Actuary, Nitaq
• Nasser Aljudayi, Director of Actuarial and Analytics, Bupa Arabia
• Tarek Alameh, Senior Executive Director – Actuarial, Tawuniya
• Khurram Amin - VP Actuarial, Al Rajhi
  
• Mahmoud M Almalki, Actuarial Studies General Manager, GOSI
• Dana Barhoumeh, Chief Actuary, Saudi Re

What are the opportunities for actuaries in the Middle East? There are clear trends targeting insurance penetration related to, for example, Vision 2030, as well as potential changes to reserving approaches. But how should the actuarial profession approach this? This is a key issue for the actuarial profession in the Middle East, but also for actuarial communities around the world.

Paul Sweeting, Senior Advisor, Hassana Investment Company and Board Member, Tawuniya

What will it take to develop the actuarial profession in the GCC?

Certainly, there is no shortage of demand for actuaries in the GCC nor in shortage of the supply. So, what are the problems and what should be done about it?

Ibrahim Muhanna, Managing Director & Actuary, Muhanna & co. (Actuaries & Consultants) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Muhanna Foundation

This session provides a comprehensive benchmarking analysis. It compares the key principles, methodologies, and quantitative requirements of Saudi Arabia’s risk-based capital regime with the Solvency II directive.

It also explores the potential challenges and pitfalls to anticipate during the transition. This part of the discussion draws from the collective experience of insurers that have undergone similar transformations under Solvency II or other risk-based capital regimes.

Raghav Ohri, Lux Actuaries and Consultants

As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is embarking on a transformation of its health system to make it a global model of excellence on all fronts. This includes reforms in healthcare payment and financing. The presentation focuses on the healthcare transformation objectives and the roles actuaries can play within key stakeholders to make this a success.

Neha Taneja and Samar Badran, National Casemix Center of Excellence

This session addresses the critical theme of reinsurance optimisation, exploring it as a potential source of savings for insurers. Through real-world case studies and interactive discussions, participants will gain practical knowledge and actionable strategies to enhance their reinsurance practices. This will provide them with the ability to align objectives with business goals, implement practical strategies, and enhance return on capital while controlling volatility.

Yasmin Al-Mutawa and Gero Niessen, WTW

In this talk, Salama Abusalim shares her experiences of a career break. A decision that was hard to take after 14 years of study and work. Through her personal story, she explains how taking a break can help in developing other identities and applying actuarial skills in other fields of life. This session is a pre-recorded presentation.

Salama Abusalim, Allied Actuarial Consultancy

Hatim Maskawala, Badri Management Consultancy