Briefing

A seminar on The Role of the Actuary in the Economy was held on 26th November 2001 in Beirut, at the Phoenicia Intercontinental. The International Association of Actuaries and the newly formed Lebanese Association of Actuaries in association with The Muhanna Foundation organized the seminar.
Actuaries are the mathematicians and problem-solvers of the business world and in the field of social protection. They are best known historically for their role in the financial management of insurance companies and pension institutions. Their roles include estimating the future costs of contingent liabilities in order to advise on sound premium rates or contribution levels, monitoring the quantum of future liabilities, advising on the management of assets to meet those liabilities and using dynamic modelling techniques to evaluate the potential impact of risks which may be faced in the future.

Speakers

Liz Goodwin, Director of Actuarial Education at the Institute of Actuaries UK, debated about the alternative actuarial educational system that is the Exam System addressed to the persons already in the practical field. She insisted upon the professionalism of the Exams and the necessity of passing them or being exempted from, to qualify as an active actuary member of an actuarial association. The 2005 ultimatum of unifying the actuarial educational system has been mentioned as an important step towards a more coherent and worldwide system.

Curtis Huntington, Director of the Actuarial Program at the University of Michigan, USA "Actuarial education is now converging at a global level. Universities have an important part to play in this and universities in the Arab World should think seriously about establishing actuarial programs. They can expect to get plenty of encouragement and support from established universities offering such programs and from the International Actuarial Association.

Ibrahim Muhanna, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, "There is an urgent need to develop the actuarial profession in the Arab World. At the present time there are only about 0.2 actuaries per million active population in the Arab World, compared to 4 per million in the developing nations and 16 per million in the Western World. There is a growing demand for actuarial skills but hardly any local supply. We want to encourage young people to take up the actuarial profession as a career. They will find it pays very well and offers a very satisfying career professionally.

Chris Daykin, Government Actuary of the United Kingdom and a former President of the Institute of Actuaries, Actuaries are people who can make financial sense of the future. They can play a vital role in the protection of policyholders of insurance companies and members of pension funds. In the field of social protection, actuaries advise on the financial soundness of social security schemes, including those organized as public schemes at the national level, schemes sponsored by individual employers or groups of employers. Actuaries are also closely involved in many countries in the financing of health care and in demographic issues. Actuaries also advise regulators to ensure that the companies they supervise are managed soundly and that they will be able to meet their future liabilities.

The seminar was attended by:

33 Insurance Sector from 58 invitees
6 Financials Bankers and Auditors from 28 Invitees
18 Government Officials from 24 invitees
16 Educational Institutions from 31 invitees
24 Media representatives from 35 invitees
6Syndicates and Associations from 8 invitees
10 Actuarial Students from 10 invitees
1 from the Legal sector
1 from 16 Other different institutions
5 from 6 actuaries members of the Lebanese Association of Actuaries
1 independent actuary
131 in total

Sponsored by:

ARABIA
ALICO
MEDGULF
MEDNET
S N A
The Muhanna Foundation
The Institute of Actuaries - UK
The Society of Actuaries - US