The Evolution of The Actuary Conference Programme

the evOlutiOn Of the actuary

The 32nd Annual Conference of the Caribbean Actuarial Association CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Caribbean Actuarial Association

The Evolution of the Actuary www.caribbeanactuaries.com

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president’s address

Just a couple of months ago, the WHO declared that the “end of the pandemic was insight”. That is, we are almost there. As the last two years have been a rollercoaster some of us may not be holding our breath as we enter another flu season.

While it has been a global pandemic, the experience varied widely depending on jurisdiction and personal situation. We do appreciate it has been very difficult for many of our members. Some of you may still be resetting or recalibrating. While some others are full throttle ahead identifying and leveraging opportunities presented out of the pandemic. For these reasons, despite the uncertainties, we thought it was important for the CAA to boldly aim for an in-person conference to reconnect and to meet you wherever you are at.

Your CAA board has also been recalbrating to serve you better through these times. Throughout the entire year, we aimed to provide you with inspiring stories of different career pathways, up-skilling opportunities and knowledge of the evolving actuarial practice on public interest issues impacting our region.

This conference is an extension of that intention. We are bringing you a range of topics which are also covered at other global actuarial conferences, but with the context right sized to fit our region. We will cover the range of technical issues from IFRS17 , Climate change, mortality studies, sovereign risk, inclusion and social security by speakers from our region, Africa, North America and Europe. We are also providing sessions to help us think of how you can get involved to further our profession, your career and/or rethink the way we are solving and presenting solutions.

We will also take a moment to celebrate at our AGM the successes of our members and student actuaries.

Whatever your personal experience may have been over the last two years, I really do look forward to seeing your familiar faces gathering on the shores of Barbados, to toast to our future as we continue to grow and evolve together.

SIMONE BRATHWAITE President, Caribbean Actuarial Association

welcOme tO barbadOs

Fun Facts: Did yOu knOw?

The name ‘Barbados’ is derived from the Bearded Fig Trees once found in abundance on the island.

Barbados is an island with one season.... you guessed it, summer!

Visitors highlight the friendliness of Barbadians as the island’s greatest and most pleasing asset. This is reflected in the highest repeat visitor factor in the region of 39%.

Barbados was the only vacation destination in this Hemisphere with a scheduled Concorde service. One of the retired British Airways concordes now resides at our international airport.

Barbados is completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean

Barbados is 21 miles long and a smile (14 miles) wide!

PROGRAMme: day 1

DECEMBER 7TH, 2022

Brunch with the Presidents

10:00am - 11:00am (AST) 9:00am - 10:00am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS:

Simone Brathwaite, President CAA John Robinson, President SOA Roosevelt Mosley, President CAS Hélène Pouliot, President CIA Dwayne Husbands, President IABA

Special EditiOn Of DOwn tO

Brasstacks—Sustainability Of the Caribbean SOcial Security Systems

11:00am - 12:30pm (AST) 10:00am - 11:30am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS:

Lisa Wade, Principal, Eckler Ltd. Derek Osborne, Partner, LifeWorks & NIS Actuary Kim Tudor, Director Barbados NIS

MODERATOR: Dr. Kristina Hinds

Lunch Break

12:30pm - 1:30pm (AST) 11:30pm - 12:30pm (EST)

FOYER

PrOfessiOnalism COurse Part I

1:30pm - 3:30pm (AST) 12:30pm - 2:30pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS:

Marcus Bosland, Colina Ronald Kozlowski, CAS

COffee Break

3:30pm - 4:00pm (AST)

2:30pm - 3:00pm (EST)

PrOfessiOnalism COurse Part II: Case Studies 4:00pm - 5:00pm (AST) 3:00pm - 4:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKER: Michael Tichareva, ASSA

PrOfessiOnal DevelOpment fOr Actuarial Talent

4:00pm - 5:00pm (AST) 3:00pm - 4:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 3

Three seasoned actuaries discuss their career journeys, and offer advice to newly minted UWI graduates and early career professionals with actuarial science degrees and aspirations.

SPEAKERS: Andrew Long, Willis Towers Watson Norbert Fullerton, Lane Clarke & Peacock LLP Constance Hall, Eckler

WelcOme COcktail

7:00pm - 10:00pm (AST) 6:00pm - 9:00pm (EST)

FOYER

PROGRAMme: day 2

DECEMBER 8TH, 2022

WelcOme

8:30am - 8.45am (AST)

7:30am - 7:45am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKER: Simone Brathwaite, President Caribbean Actuarial Association

KeynOte Address

8:45am - 9:45am (AST)

7:45am - 8:45am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

Mico Yuk is the Chief Data Evangelist at Count.co, Co-founder of BI Brainz, Host of the Analytics on Fire Podcast, and the mastermind behind the BI/ Analytics Data Storytelling Framework. Mico has appeared on CNN Headline News and other news stations as a data commentator and is a former Microsoft Data Platform MVP and RD.

As a former data scientist, she is excited to share how actuaries can add the power of data storytelling to break into the broader data industry!

SPEAKER: Mico Yuk, Count.co

MODERATOR: Simone Brathwaite, President Caribbean Actuarial Association

IFRS 17: 1st January 2023 & BeyOnd

9:45am - 11:00am (AST)

8:45am - 10:00am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

Insurers will start reporting under the new IFRS 17 regime starting 2023. In this session, our panelists will discuss topics that are top of mind for Insurers as they prepare for this transition. Some of these topics are 1) current state of IFRS 17 implementation, 2) implications of IFRS 17 on P&L , 3) IFRS 17 audit preparedness, and 4) IFRS 17 training requirements.

SPEAKERS: Marcus Bosland, Colina Anquin Cooper, Bahamas First Catherine Sun, Oliver Wyman Ltd Adrienne Darcy, EY Ryan Ali, Sagicor

MODERATOR: David Moreno

COffee Break

11:00am - 11:30am (AST) 10:00am - 10:30am (EST) GARRISON 1-3

InflatiOn Has Arrived

11:30am - 12:30pm (AST) 10:30am - 11:30am (EST) BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Kevin Greenidge, Central Bank of Barbados Kristianna Scoon, EY Constance Hall, Eckler Michele Robinson, Consultant MODERATOR: Mark Longman

PensiOns De-risking: A Caribbean and WOrld COntext 11:30am - 12:30pm (AST) 10:30am - 11:30am (EST) BALLROOM 1 & 2

There has been an evolution in de-risking strategies that are available to the trustees and sponsors of defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. This session will provide members of the actuarial profession with an insightful look at pension de-risking from a Caribbean and Global perspective. We will share our insights and inform you of the leading practices globally as well as in the Caribbean.

SPEAKERS:

Geoffrey Melbourne, Mercer Greg Winston, KPMG Canada Lisa Wade, Eckler

MODERATOR: Judy Veira

PROGRAMme: day 2

DECEMBER 8TH, 2022

Lunch

12:30pm - 1:30pm (AST)

11:30am - 12:30pm (EST)

FOYER

Climate Change Risk and its IntegratiOn intO ERM FramewOrks

1:30pm - 2:00pm (AST)

12:30pm - 1:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

Regulators and lawmakers are watching the implications of climate-related risks very carefully and are becoming increasingly concerned about the insurance industry’s response to climate change. Ongoing attention by all stakeholders, pilot exercises all over the world and a substantial increase in awareness towards climate-related risks have incited insurers to develop and refine their stress testing capabilities on climate-related risks. In this talk, Daniel Teetz will discuss practical steps some insurers are taking in their climate change risk assessment and integration into their ERM framework.

SPEAKER: Daniel Teetz, Oliver Wyman MODERATOR: Sonya Babb

Actuaries and a Sustainable WOrld 2:00pm - 3:00pm (AST) 1:00pm - 2:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

What are the threats that climate change poses to a sustainable insurance industry and a sustainable world? What will actuaries’ roles look like in a sustainable world? Louise Pryor and Nancy Watkins will discuss both the impact that sustainability has on actuaries – the challenges posed by climate risk, for example – and the impact actuaries can have on sustainability. What should actuaries do in order to fulfil our professional obligations, and what can we do to help save the world?

SPEAKERS: Louise Pryor, IFOA Nancy Watkins, Milliman MODERATOR: Rohan Hall

CryptO and BlOckchain Talks 2:00pm - 3:00pm (AST) 1:00pm - 2:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 3

SPEAKERS: Sebastian Jaimungal, University of Toronto Avinash Persaud, Special Envoy Prime Minister of Barbados

Danish Choudry, FMFW.io MODERATOR: Stokeley Smart

SOvereign Credit Risk: A Life Insurance and Banking Perspective 3:00pm - 4:00pm (AST) 2:00pm - 3:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

Life Insurance Perspective: This session will start off by introducing the objectives and approach of the Actuarial Society of South Africa’s Sovereign Credit Risk Working Group. The insights gained by the working group with regard to global sovereign credit events and practices in terms of managing this risk will be shared. Lastly, the session will touch on how South African sovereign credit risk is impacting IFRS17.

SPEAKERS:

Idelia Hoberg, EY (South Africa) Michael Tichareva, Claxon Actuaries International MODERATOR: Lin Ping-Teng

Alternative Risk Transfer: Why we shOuld NOT bOther with assetliability management fOr Captive Insurers

3:00pm - 4:00pm(AST) 2:00pm - 3:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 3

PROGRAMme: day 2

DECEMBER 8TH, 2022

The session will provide insight into how asset-liability management (ALM) is applied for alternative risk vehicles, delving into the drawbacks of some of the traditional approaches to ALM in the context of short-tail risks and discussing alternative approaches that could be taken in this context.

SPEAKER: Shadrack Kwasa, London and Capital

MODERATOR: Serge Boutet

COffee Break

3:30pm - 4:00pm (AST) 2:30pm - 3:00pm (EST)

GARRISON 1-3

The ROle Of the P&C Actuary in the Caribbean

4:00pm - 5:00pm (AST) 3:00pm - 4:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS: Dr. David Oakden, Financial Services Commission Turks & Caicos

MODERATOR: John Robinson

The EvOlutiOn Of COVID-19 and its Impact thrOugh its TransfOrmatiOn

4:00pm - 5:00pm (AST) 3:00pm - 4:00pm (EST)

BALLROOM 3

SPEAKERS: Dr. Joy St. John, CARPHA Alison Rose, KPMG (Canada)

Dinner

7:00pm - 10:00pm (AST)

6:00pm - 9:00pm (EST)

FOYER

PROGRAMME: day 3

DECEMBER 9TH, 2022

Debate

8:45am - 9:00am (AST)

7:45am - 8:00am (EST)

The Chiefs

9:00am - 10:00am (AST)

8:00am - 9:00am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

Did you ever wonder what the pinnacle of your career would be? Had you ever dreamed this could or would be it? These global financial services C-Suite professionals discuss their early work, career path, and the pivotal moment when the stratosphere was not only visible on the horizon but became imminent. They will also discuss their outlook on global and local economies and industries.

SPEAKERS:

Eva Lewis, Citi Jamaica

Dave Dowrich, TIAA Noel Harwood, Gen Re Life Paul Gray, JMMB Group

MODERATOR: Nicola Barrett

The Alternative MethOds Of COnstructiOns Of MOrtality Tables (CIA2014) & SOA New PensiOns

MOrtality Study

10:00am - 11:00am (AST)

9:00am - 10:00am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) has outsourced the construction of the latest Canadian life insurance table, the CIA2014. The table was graduated using a traditional construction approach, namely WhittakerHenderson interpolation. Sylvain and his partners at QED in South Africa were asked by the CIA to investigate and develop alternative construction methods, including the use of General Additive Model (GAM) and Neural Network Model (NNM). We will explain the advantages and disadvantages in using these methods. We will further make comparison to the published CIA2014 table.

SPEAKERS:

Sylvain Goulet, Eckler

Caesar Balona, QED Consultants

Patrick Nolan, SOA

MODERATOR: Michelle Chong Tai-Bell

The Risk-Adjusted Banking Actuary: OppOrtunities fOr Applying Actuarial Techniques in BankingFOcus On Basel II & III 10:00am - 11:00am (AST) 9:00am - 10:00am (EST)

BALLROOM 3

This discussion is on the back of developments in recent years where actuaries are increasingly being involved in wider fields including banking practice in a number of jurisdictions around the world that include South Africa, Australia, North America and the UK. The objective is to provide guidance and information to actuarial professionals on opportunities for applying actuarial techniques in wider fields including banking practice and highlight areas where actuaries elsewhere are already currently involved as well as areas where actuaries may be involved. The discussion also leverages the work of the Banking Virtual Forum of the International Actuarial Association that worked on a paper on “Opportunities for Applying Actuarial Techniques in Banking” released in July 2021. Most opportunities for Actuaries in banking are typically in risk management areas ranging from credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk, operational risk and other business risks. Most methodologies and techniques used to quantify banking risks, allocate capital and determine product prices are already familiar to actuaries.

SPEAKER:

Michael Tichavera, Claxon Actuaries

International MODERATOR: Nikita Gibson

COffee Break

11:00am -11:30am (AST)

10:00am - 10:30am (EST)

GARRISON 1-3

PROGRAMME: day 3

DECEMBER 9TH, 2022

Measuring Sensitivity fOr VaR & ES and Advancing the Insurance Industry

11:30am - 12:30am (AST) 10:30am - 11:30am (EST)

BALLROOM 3

In this session Silvana will propose a sensitivity measure for Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) which will quantify the information a risk factor contains for modelling VaR or ES of a portfolio loss. As a participant, you will be able to join Silvana in using a flexible sensitivity analysis framework, called Scenario Weights for Importance Measurement (SWIM) which is a freely available R package designed by Silvana. In this segment, participants get to illustrate the scope of stressing VaR and ES via the SWIM ShinyApp.

SPEAKERS: Silvana Pesenti, University of Toronto Edward Villars, EVC Africa

MODERATOR: Stokeley Smart

Scrap Or Save yOur SOcial Security System?

11:30am - 12:30am (AST) 10:30am - 11:30am (EST)

BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS: Stewart Haynes, NIS St. Vincent & the Grenadines

The Honourable Ryan Straughn, M. P. Simone Balkissoon, LifeWorks Rohanne Beckles, Sagicor

MODERATOR: Derek Osborne

Lunch

12:30pm - 1:30pm (AST) 11:30pm - 12:30pm (EST)

FOYER

Climate ScenariOs - Assessing Impact On Assets and Liabilities

1:30pm - 2:30pm (AST) 12:30pm - 1:30pm (EST) BALLROOM 1 & 2

SPEAKERS: Srinivasan Iyer, Moody’s Matthieu Bousetta, Moody’s Karthik Yadatore, Milliman Mitch Morin, Milliman

MODERATOR: Ron Kozlowski

ESG and Investments: An Industrywide Perspective 1:30pm - 2:30pm (AST) 12:30pm - 1:30pm (EST) BALLROOM 3

SPEAKERS: Shadrack Kwasa, London and Capital Andrew Long, Willis Towers Watson Norbert Fullerton, Lane Clarke & Peacock LLP

MODERATOR: Horace Johnson

The Return Of the JEDI Actuary 2:30pm - 3:30pm (AST) 1:30pm - 2:30pm (EST) BALLROOM 1 & 2

The world exploded when George Floyd was murdered, and it was finally and irrevocably evident that race remains a hotbed issue in this world. As the President of Southern New Hampshire University says, “The world distributes talent evenly, but the world does not distribute opportunity evenly.” JEDI stands for Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and it has morphed from the original DEI acronym. How can we get gifted, talented, and diverse people the opportunities they deserve?

SPEAKERS:

Nicola Barrett, Milliman Wendy John, FMR Bertha Pilgrim, Eckler

MODERATOR: Nicola Barrett

Beach Party: COpacabana 7:00pm - 11:00pm (AST) 6:00pm - 10:00pm (EST)

RIsC: Industry Growth Initiative

The New Actuary

What does the emerging actuary look like in developing industries?

Our histOry

The actuarial profession in its present form began in the late 17th century with the increased demand for coverage against events such as death, burial and retirement. These events required that money was set aside to pay annuity and death benefits years into the future. This led to estimating future contingent events, and the development of important actuarial concepts such as assessing mortality by age and discounting the value of funds set aside and invested.

Based on this beginning, actuaries have traditionally found work at insurance companies. They worked at life insurance companies, and then health and general insurance, as the need to assess vital events moved beyond life and death. In addition, actuaries have traditionally worked in the areas of pensions and social security, determining benefits payable to former employees and beneficiaries on retirement, termination from active employment, sickness and death.

where we are nOw

Nowadays, actuaries can be found just about everywhere. They work in enterprises where risk needs to be assessed, scenarios need to be tested, sensitivity analysis conducted, and the costs associated with events quantified. Actuaries work as analytical problem solvers, developing creative business solutions, and communicating their ideas to a wide variety of audiences. Their unique skill sets often lead them to the heart of cross-disciplinary teams, where they collaborate on challenging and complex tasks. These areas include, but are not limited to, banking, marketing, advertising, data analytics, business analytics, data visualisations, big data, predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics,

academia, development economics, future science, energy and logistics.

Actuaries possess unique skillsets that are forged through the arduous qualifying examination process, and work projects assigned. These skills are transferrable to fields where mathematicalstatistical models can be evaluated and applied.

Actuaries are taught complex formulae, and apply the underlying theory to occurrences through modelling, reverse engineering and probabilistic models. Those with actuarial backgrounds tend to be excellent project managers, approaching each project in steps and working judiciously towards an ultimate goal. As actuaries, we are instructed to assess the problem, model and implement potential solutions with adjustments and pivots as necessary. This training compels us to think logically, and map the logistics; often thinking many steps ahead and modeling for what happens at each of those steps.

That rigorous exam process gives actuaries time management skills beyond compare, and enforces a strict adherence to deadlines. These characteristics place actuaries in high demand in organizations beyond the traditional, as they are known to make sound decisions and provide solid leadership. There are remarks from older professionals that colleagues with mathematical training always stand out, and are extraordinary in any project or assignment. This reputation leads to actuaries being actively sought out to work in new and emerging industries; whereas some actuaries follow paths based on their individual interests and proclivities.

To meet new demands of actuarial work, examining bodies evolve and tailor curriculums to suit. For example, bodies such as the Society of Actuaries, Casualty Actuarial Society and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries have added testing on Enterprise Risk Management, Investment and Financial Markets and Predictive Analytics. The Dutch Royal Actuarial Society is an award signatory for the Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary designation. The Actuarial Society of South Africa offers a Fellowship Track on Banking with examinations in Banking Principles and Banking Applications.

This qualification is timely, with banking regulation requirements and international financial reporting standards becoming more complex, and actuaries being co-opted to work out the complexities. In addition to the formal exam process, actuaries enhance skills through continuing professional development. Key on calendars are annual meetings of global actuarial organizations and societies, at which actuaries network and discuss developments

in the actuarial profession and the fields in which they work. The annually held conference of the Caribbean Actuarial Association is one such conference.

The actuarial profession continues to be ranked as one of the best in terms of compensation, work environment and stress level. The actuarial profession can be considered one with a certain future; in the traditional fields as well as new areas of work. As industries incorporate more data analytics, emerging needs will coincide with the actuary’s growing skillset. Courses such as predictive analytics and data science enhance skills in data analysis, and can facilitate actuaries working in crucial areas such as climate change, disaster related statistics and rural and urban planning.

In the post-pandemic era, mortality and morbidity analysis can offer insight into the impact of pandemics on excess mortality, health care and public health policy.

As part of the Industry Growth Initiative of the Regional Issues Sub-Committee, the task force will feature an actuary with experience in an area beyond the traditional scope. We will highlight an actuarialist or person with an academic background in actuarial science, working in a new or emerging area and give information on the path they took, the certifications obtained and the professional development pursued. These actuaries come from government, academia, business, banking, investments and software development, and we hope their stories inspire.

RIsC SPECIAL EDITION:

WHAT IS AN ACTUARIAL REVIEW?

An NIS actuarial review involves a determination of its projected income and expenses and assesses whether the current and projected assets will be sufficient to ensure the continuous payment of the promised benefits and if the Scheme provides an adequate level of income protection. One of the key components to fulfilling the overall goal of the review is by inputting assumptions and data into a valuation model, such as:

CAA and ICAB On the BarbadOs NatiOnal Insurance Scheme

WHAT IS SOCIAL SECURITY?

Social Security is a form of insurance which pools contributions from workers and employers and pays out various benefits, primarily Old Age Pension, to persons who are eligible to receive the benefit. The Barbados National Insurance Scheme “NIS” was established on the 5th of June 1967 and has evolved into the system we know today. The five main social security benefits are managed and administered by the National Insurance Scheme, “NIS”, paying benefits from 3 funds:

the National Insurance Fund (NIF pays short-term, long-term pensions and employment injury benefits), The NIF accounts for about 97% of NIS’s assets. the Unemployment Fund (UF) pays unemployment benefits) and the Severance Fund (SF) pays severance benefits.

For more information, visit https://www.nis. gov.bb/

demographic data (e.g., population values, growth, mortality, birth and mortality rates) macroeconomic data (e.g., inflation, GDP, wages & salaries) labour Force data (e.g., employment and participation rates) scheme data (e.g., who is contributing and how much, and who is receiving benefits, how much and type of benefit)

WHAT ARE ACTUARIES MOST CONCERNED ABOUT IN SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES?

Long-term financial sustainability of the system - contributions, investment income, and other sources of income, being adequate to cover the promised benefits

As needed, pension reforms and other applicable changes to the scheme are promulgated and adopted in a timely manner.

Maintaining adequate coverage of formal and informal sectors, and that benefits retain their value over time.

A contribution rate that is relatively stable for an extended period, affordable and considered reasonable for the benefits offered.

High level of governance and transparency of the administration, prudent investment of the assets and ensuring that liquidity needs are met.

WHAT IS THE FUND’S CURRENT STATUS?

Under a pay-as-you-go SS system there will always be a projected exhaustion date. Projected exhaustion over 25 years is not concerning. The 17th Annual Actuarial Review, which was released in 2022, outlined that given the current trajectory of the National Insurance Fund or the Fund, and based on the expected conditions in the future, the NIF is expected to be depleted as early as 2036 (Best Estimate) – this is fifteen (15) years earlier than what was projected in the 16th Actuarial Review (released in 2019). What has happened in three (3) years to cause the projected year of the NIF’s depletion to decrease from 2051 to 2036?

RECENT CHALLENGES FACED BY THE NIS

Debt Restructuring

The Government of Barbados completed a debt restructuring exercise in 2018 which resulted in a $1.32billion loss in investments for the NIS. While it has received considerable focus in the NIS debates, due to the design of the restructuring, the time to depletion was only shortened by 3 years.

Lack of Diversification of the NIF’s Investments

At the time of the debt restructuring, 74% were invested in government-related debt.

About 87% of investments were located in Barbados.

About 70% invested in fixed income assets.

Unfavourable Demographic and Economic Experience

Declining and Ageing of the population: Relatively fewer young persons to provide financial support to a growing elderly population.

Unemployment increased to exceptionally high levels and there was negative

GDP growth, both exacerbated by the pandemic – consequently, a decline in the contribution income

COVID-19

Pandemic

The Pandemic has caused global disruptions from markets to manufacturing, transport, and of course pension and retirement schemes. During the pandemic, the Government of Barbados: had unprecedented increased benefit pay-outs due to job losses - severance and unemployment benefits paid relief payments to self-employed persons, which was a new benefit to the scheme

Economic Growth

Prior to the pandemic, Barbados’ economy was on a downward trend with low to negative growth being reported, a trend which had been observed for several years. During the first phase of the pandemic, the economy was hard hit by high unemployment rates and increased government expenditure to provide relief to individuals and businesses while balancing the capital projects set to attract and retain investments to the island.

Need for Improved Governance and Transparency

The NIS has experienced delays in benefit payments, filing of statutory reports and the presentation of audited financials. These deficiencies in the operations and reporting of the NIS erode public confidence and credibility of the NIS.

HOW CAN WE FIX IT?

The Report suggests a number of critical areas for fixing the problem, including but not limited to: appropriate design; healthy and growing economy; effective and efficient administration systems;

good and transparent governance.

The views expressed below are for discussion purposes only and do not represent any one solution or professional advice from either body.

Appropriate Design

There are multiple options to redesigning the NIS, from small tweaks to a complete overhaul. Before any such design should be implemented, an assessment of the psychological, cultural and economic progression of the country and its people should be done to ascertain where we are now and where do we think we will be in years to come. Questions such as, what will the next generation need from such a scheme, will be critical in its design as they will be most impacted. Sound and effective policies are fundamental to the design options considered. For example, policies related to minimum reserve levels, risk tolerance of the Fund, the suite of benefit offerings and level of benefits.

Complete Overhaul of the System?

Stakeholders over the years and in recent public consultations have suggested a whole new system, but this will be a significant departure from the norm as we have known it since 1967 and would require deeper understanding and examination of these proposed changes and this may take years. Examples of such proposals are:

An Opt-Out System

The ability to opt out of benefits and pay contributions proportionate to the benefits selected, while maintaining a social contribution. For persons to opt out of a benefit, they must show proof of the ability to independently provide the benefit for themselves.

For example, persons who can provide proof that they have an individual pension plan which is funded annually and is

projected to pay-out a pension equal to the minimum NIS pension. This option would require the NIS to be given authority by the individual to enquire and accept information from the private pension plan administrator on an annual basis. This allows the NIS to confirm that the individual opting out of the benefit, will not later be a burden to the state. The same applies to other benefits such as funeral grants, individuals may opt out if they provide proof of having a peace assured insurance plan with a private carrier.

Change the NIS from a Defined Benefit Plan to a Defined Contribution Plan (DB to DC)

Individuals would be required to contribute into a personal fund, the employer would match those contributions and the individual may be given some control as to the investment strategy of their funds.

Increase Revenue (in existing design)

Increasing revenue for the NIS can happen in more than one way. The NIS generates the majority of its revenue from contribution income and investment income. Here are a few considerations to increase revenue: Contribution income - consider increasing the contribution rate above the current average rate of 18%. But there will be a rate above which stakeholders will be unwilling to pay for a fixed set of benefits.

Investment income – the NIS should seek to invest above the current return of 5%. The NIS has engaged an independent investment manager for part of its international equity portfolio, but should consider (as an option) acquiring the necessary expertise for investment advice for its full regional and international portfolio.

Diversify Investments- by location and type of asset.

Increase the pensionable age from 67this allows persons to contribute more into the fund and would delay their pay-outs.

Increase the number of jobs in an effort to increase the NIS contribution pool. There are two (2) main ways to achieve this, (1) increase the birth rate by providing incentives to having a family. This should be matched with reducing the cost of living i.e., the cost of raising family. For this to work, Barbados must retain a high number of the new population, this is, reduce the desire to emigrate and (2) attract new companies to start businesses in Barbados. This increases the number of jobs for the existing population but also attracts migration if there are suitable opportunities available for regional and international migrants.

Decrease Expenses (in existing design)

Decreasing expenses for the NIS can also happen in a combination of ways. The NIS expenses are predominantly the benefits which are paid out. These benefits include Contributory Old-age Benefit (Pension), Non- Contributory Old-age Benefit (Pension), Sickness Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Maternity Grant, Funeral Benefit, Invalidity Benefit, Survivor’s Benefit, Disablement Grant, Travelling Expenses, Medical Expenses, Injury Benefit, Disablement Benefit and a Death Benefit

Reduce Number of Benefits - reduce the number of benefits paid by the scheme. An assessment of the social needs of the current and future population should be completed to determine if any benefits can be removed. It is key to note that although the financial literacy on the island needs improving, the literacy of the population since the inception of the scheme in 1967 has vastly improved and should be taken into consideration. A greater portion of the population now has life insurance and private pension plans compared to 1967. Reduce the amount of benefit received – reduce the benefit accrual rate. The non-contributory pension is one example of a benefit which should be reduced. For example, persons contributing 10 years

into the fund, receive a benefit greater than their total contributions. The benefit is currently set to BBD $230 per week.

Healthy and growing economy continue the plans for increasing foreign direct investment into the country by attracting external investors improve on the ease of doing business for all users - individual customers to businesses

focus on medium-and long-term projects which will generate revenue for the country

Effective and efficient administration systems

Upgrade the administration system to be integrated into a national database which seamlessly allows for government offices, including the NIS to identify when a company and/or individual is in good standing with their statutory obligations - NIS, PAYE, Income Tax, Corporate Tax, Annual Corporate Filings, Land tax, VAT. The system should allow the various offices to institute penalties or withhold services until the account is in good standing or an agreement has been met to reach a status of good-standing within a reasonable amount of time.

Good Governance Institute and follow through on good governance practices from the Government to Board to Employees. Emanate a culture of sound governance and transparency.

Re-enforce the investment policies within the NIS, such as maintaining the maximum investment allowed in Government or any other investments. This would reduce concentration risk and exposure from “holding all your eggs in one basket”.

Greater transparency and timely submission of statutory reports and audited financial statements – among other benefits, this will allow stakeholders to have greater

confidence in the NIS and improve their understanding and knowledge of how the NIS works and its achievements and challenges.

CONCLUSION

How we got here is important to know so we can a learn from our mistakes, but what is critical is how do we fix it, for now and the future. NIS is a national problem, and it impacts every individual in Barbados. We must hold ourselves as individuals, businesses (self-employed persons and corporations), boards and governments accountable as we all play a role and we all must play one now.

A viable national campaign to increase the number of active insured persons, especially from the informal sector and self-employed persons, as eligible participants in the NIS Social Security framework.

In closing, the associations would like to encourage the following: actuarial department/team be employed by the NIS NIS audited financials be updated to the present financial periods NIS to move from the cash accounting method to an accrual method of accounting, with the adoption of IFRS standards

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The Barbados NIS fund is currently expected to be exhausted by 2036, 3 years ago this was estimated at 2051.

All of us will pay a price for this potential social security crisis, if we do nothing. Our values are being tested by both greater economic vulnerability and mistrust that could threaten the strength of our families especially for those who need the system the most. There is no easy solution, but all of us will pay an even steeper price if we do not fix this impending crisis head-on, and if we don’t improve the transparency in the process to reverse the mistrust.

AUGUST 19, 2022

STATEMENT ON THE BARBADOS NATIONAL INSURANCE SCHEME

More importantly, it should be understood that most alternative benefit design structures or funding plans are not free from risk. Plans will still be based on plausible assumptions and scenarios on the future economic growth, employment, investment returns, contribution rates, salary increases, and actuarial assumptions etc.

We may all have a part to play in exceeding some of these expectations but for reasons out of our control, the actual future experience could still vary significantly from expected, as is the nature of everything.

As such, we must adapt when and if needed while holding on to our core values to ensure that we maintain adequate and affordable levels of income protection.

SIMONE BRATHWAITE President, Caribbean Actuarial Association

This statement does not necessarily reflect the views of the entire CAA membership.

WHAT DOES THE NEW ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE LEGISLATION MEAN FOR BARBADIAN ACTUARIES?

Regulatory, Governmental & Compliance Initiative

ecOnOmic substance: barbadOs

The Companies (Economic Substance) Act, 2019 (Act 2019-43) (“ESA”) was approved by Barbados Parliament on 27 November 2019.

ESA introduces requirements for companies in Barbados in response to the work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OCD”) as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Action 5 and the European Union (“EU”) Criterion 2.2 initiatives.

It replaces the Business Companies (Economic Substance) Act, 2018 (Act 2018-41) and applies to all Barbados resident companies which derive income from conducting relevant activities. According to the Act, relevant activities are defined as a business in banking, insurance, fund management, finance and leasing, headquarters, shipping, holding company, intellectual property and distribution and service centre.

The most important element of the ESA is compliance with the Economic Substance Test by either insourcing or outsourcing the conduct of its Core Income Generating Activities (“CIGA”) to a person in Barbados The Act and respective guidance outlines for each relevant activity, the CIGAs which are evaluated in determining compliance.

For the sector-specific guidance on insurance, the ESA states that “insurance encompasses companies which undertake insurance business in or from Barbados as an insurer, in both the life and non-life sectors, including reinsurance.” The guidance for the ES test for insurers is still under review, however

THE

OECD IS RECOMMENDING THAT THE CIGAS FOR INSURANCE

BUSINESS INCLUDE: predicting and calculating risk, which includes oversight of the determination of the quantification and likelihood of the insured event occurring; insuring or reinsuring against risk, which includes the providing of contracts of insurance and reinsurance under the Insurance Act; or providing client services, which includes taking strategic decisions regarding the commissioning of client services related to insurance and ensuring oversight of systems and processes put in place for the provision of support services.

This new legislation could provide opportunities for actuaries in Barbados (and other territories which have newly enacted Economic Substance legislations) as resident companies may soon be required by law to have a local actuary perform specified activities within the business to be compliant with economic substance.

HERE ARE ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION POINTS TO CONSIDER

Could this lead to a rising need for more qualified actuaries?

Could this increase CARICOM movement for actuaries?

Could this lead to a re-tooling of actuaries?

Could this lead to business process outsourcing (“BPOs”) for actuarial services?

SPEAKER Wendy John

MODERATOR Mark Longman WATCH IT NOW

miko yuk KeynOte Speaker

Chief Data Evangelist at Count.co

TV News Data Commentator Host, Analytics on Fire Community & Podcast BI Data Storytelling Framework Creator Trained 10K+ on Data Storytelling

Author Advisor Keynote Speaker

Mico Yuk is the Chief Data Evangelist at Count.co, Co-founder of BI Brainz, Host of the Analytics on Fire Podcast, and the mastermind behind the BI/Analytics Data Storytelling Framework (BIDS), where she has trained thousands globally on how to strategically use the power of data visualization to enhance the decision-making process. Her proprietary methodology fuses the art of data storytelling and visualization to drive users to take action. Mico’s ability to help companies gain ROI from their business intelligence investments has been sought out by Fortune 500 companies such as Shell, FedEx, Nestle, Qatargas, Ericsson, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, and more. Rated as the #7 most influential entrepreneur in BI, she has also authored the “Data Visualization for Dummies” (Wiley 2014) book.

Mico has also appeared on CNN Headline News and other news stations as a data commentator and is a former Microsoft Data Platform MVP and RD. Her ‘blunt’ twitter comments and blogs have been mentioned on numerous tech websites and blogs globally. Over the last decade, she continues to be a sought-after global keynote speaker and trainer. Some of her top-rated keynotes include AnitaB.Org Hopperx London, Real Business Intelligence Conference at MIT, Google Blacktech Mecca, Facebook Women in Analytics, Booz Allen Inspiration Series, Big Data World in London, ITWeb in South Africa, the Microsoft PASS Business Analytics Conference, and South Summit in Madrid, to name a few.

In her spare time, she enjoys returning to the Caribbean to enjoy the ocean. To learn more please visit micoyuk.com.

SimOne Brathwaite

Simone Brathwaite is a Senior Principal with the Actuarial practice of Oliver Wyman. She has over 20 years of life insurance consulting experience spanning valuation, solvency and pricing in the European, North American and Caribbean insurance markets. Simone has been involved in actuarial committees with the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

She currently serves as President of the Caribbean Actuarial association and is a member of the Board of the Life Section and Accounting Section of the International Actuarial Association. Simone also serves as a Board member of a bank and served in the past as a Board member of a Canadian reinsurance company. Simone also a member Oliver Wyman Actuarial’s steering committee on Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging. After living as an immigrant herself, she is passionate about helping organizations become workplaces where members feel welcomed, valued, respected. Simone speaks two languages, enjoys reading, listening to educational podcasts, and spending quality time with her three teenagers.

Simone is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. She holds an Honors Bachelor of Mathematics (minor in Economics) from the University of Waterloo.

Sylvain GOulet

Sylvain began consulting in the field of life and health insurance and financial services in 1984 and in the Caribbean since 1986. He specializes in start-ups, strategic planning and enterprise risk management, financial reporting (Canadian, Caribbean, US, IFRS), financial condition testing, product design and pricing in the area of traditional and non-traditional life, health, annuity, disability and pandemic products, actuarial appraisals, demutualization, asset-liability management (ALM), embedded values (EV), external peer review, and reinsurance negotiations. A key expertise Sylvain provides is strategic and tactical planning in the context of mergers & acquisitions to achieve full value.

Over the past 30 years, Sylvain has acted as Appointed Actuary for dozens of life and health insurers, and still does, in Canada, the United States, Bermuda, throughout the Caribbean (in particular Barbados, Jamaica, the OECS, Trinidad and Tobago) and Panama. Through these assignments and hundreds of presentations, Sylvain has acquired extensive experience in presenting complex financial matters to Boards of Directors and Regulators alike.

Sylvain has further expanded his reach in providing consulting in web-based insurance software, cloud computing, and modern technology. This includes the area of his presentation, machine learning and neural network techniques to construct mortality tables.

Derek is a Partner and senior actuary in the international practice of LifeWorks. LifeWorks is the largest company in Canada offering human resources consulting and outsourcing services. Derek holds a Bachelors degree in Mathematics, major in actuarial science and a minor in economics, from the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a past president of the Caribbean Actuarial Association. He has over 25 years’ experience in social security and pensions in the Caribbean and has advised most of the social security funds in the English- speaking Caribbean. He currently serves as actuary to the Barbados National Insurance Board and several other Caribbean social security schemes.

NicOla Barrett

Nicola is a life insurance actuary with over 25 years’ experience working with and advising US and Bermuda based insurers. She has consulted for the last seven years specialising in leading actuarial technology initiatives including actuarial transformation projects, end-to-end actuarial solutions, bespoke modelling functionality, and more typical actuarial projects such as M&A for variable annuities.

Ms. Barrett has also led small to large scale model migrations from various legacy modelling systems onto modern modelling platforms involving various application components and professional service levels.

Nicola is an expert in cash flow modelling for various actuarial applications such as LDTI, VM20, IFRS-17, asset adequacy testing, reinsurance MCEV, EC. She started her career in IT as a programmer and systems analyst, and has extensive experience in creating business requirements, technical specifications, UAT and model governance.

Ms. Barrett has been an avid volunteer for the last two decades. She works on many initiatives such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), recruitment, mentoring, scholarships and employee resource groups (ERGs) both at work and through other organizations. Nicola is passionate about providing opportunities and pathways to education and employment for underrepresented groups. She has also devoted time to the Society of Actuaries, the Actuarial Foundation, and the Caribbean Actuarial Association of which she is currently a board member. She is a mother, wife, and an avid yogi who travels frequently, especially home to Jamaica to spend time with family and friends.

GeOffrey MelbOurne

Geoffrey Melbourne is a seasoned pension actuary and client relationship manager, with vast experience leading strategic initiatives, growing relationships and articulating complex subject matter to various stakeholder groups.

Geoffrey is a Partner and the Wealth Canada Growth Leader at Mercer, and has over 30 years of consulting experience spanning Canada and the Caribbean. He was born in Jamaica, educated at UWI where, after graduating became the first lecturer (parttime) in actuarial science, and started his actuarial career with the firm which is now Duggan Consulting.

Geoffrey was appointed to the Ontario Pension Board in December 2021, where he chairs the Pensions Committee. He completed a 5-year term on the Actuarial Standards Board in 2020, where he lead the introduction of risk disclosures for pension plan funding reporting, and has served on multiple Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario committees. He is currently Chair of the Project Oversight Group for the update of Canadian Pensioners’ Mortality, a member of the Actuarial Profession Oversight Board and also leads the newly constituted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. Geoffrey is passionate about supporting colleagues and clients in optimizing their potential.

Ceasar BalOna

Caesar is a qualified actuary through ASSA, specialising in shortterm insurance. In his current role as the Head of Data Science at QED Actuaries and Consultants, Caesar aims to modernise the actuarial toolkit and explore the actuarial applications of data science within the insurance industry.

Complementary to this, he hosts a website and blog at www. modernactuary.co.za, where he shares thoughts and practical examples of how modern-day technology can be applied to actuarial and insurance work.

michael tichareva

Michael Tichareva is a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa and a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries who also holds a BCom (Hons.) degree in Actuarial Science and an MBA. Michael leads a team of banking actuarial professionals at Claxon Actuaries International in delivering banking consulting assignments that include IFRS 9 expected credit loss modelling, as well as insurance assignments on IFRS 17. He also specialises in impact investing within agriculture, real estate and infrastructure. Michael currently leads at a global level in developing banking practice for actuaries and continues to present at various international platforms on the involvement of actuaries in banking. Michael is the Chairperson of the Banking Virtual Forum of the International Actuarial Association and a member of the ASSA Banking Committee. Michael is also a member of Council of ASSA.

Danish Chaudhry

Danish is currently CEO and Founder of a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, FMFW.io (previously named The Bitcoin.com Exchange). He launched the exchange in 2019 as part of the Bitcoin.com family and under three years has grown it to over 1.5 million registered users, $2.5B in daily volume and close to $500m in custody assets. Danish is a serial entrepreneur, active venture investor, startup advisor and mentor and with a background in Asset Management, M&A, Venture Capital and Fintech. Having worked at Ernst & Young, Blackrock amongst others, Danish has had success in the fintech and insurtech space whilst being active in the digital assets industry since 2010. Danish has a BSc from University of California, Berkeley and an MSc from The London School of Economics.

nancy watkins

Nancy P. Watkins is a principal and consulting actuary in Milliman’s San Francisco office who leads a consulting practice that specializes in climate resilience, insurtech and catastrophic property risk. At the forefront of innovation in these areas, Nancy and her team provide state- of-the-art tools, technology, and analysis to insurers, reinsurers, financial institutions, government entities and trade groups. Their engagements include use of complex models and new data sources for insurance innovation, independent evaluation of catastrophe models, estimation of mitigation credits for ratemaking, and exploring ways to communicate risk to consumers to promote climate resilience and long-term insurance access.

Widely known as a thought leader in the areas of property insurance availability and affordability, Nancy leads the global Milliman Climate Resilience Initiative. She represents the insurance industry on the California Office of the State Fire Marshal Risk Modeling Advisory Workgroup of the Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee. She serves on the United Nations Capital Development Fund’s Climate Insurance Linked Resilient Infrastructure Finance Working Group to pilot climate adaptation financing for emerging markets and least developed countries. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Wharton Risk Center Policy Incubator, advising on innovative risk transfer instruments from coastal disasters. She was awarded the American Academy of Actuaries Outstanding Volunteerism Award for her participation on the Flood Insurance Work Group.

LOuise PryOr

In the course of a varied career as an actuary, software engineer and academic, Louise was Director, Actuarial Standards at the Financial Reporting Council, where she led the development of the Technical Actuarial Standards. She has practised as an independent consultant in the areas of software risk and sustainability and has worked on financial modelling for social security and pensions reform in a number of emerging economies.

Louise is Chair of the London Climate Change Partnership and non-executive director at the Ecology Building Society and the Chair of the Ecology Board.She became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1987 and a Fellow of IEMA in 2019. She has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from Northwestern University.

adrienne d’arcy

Adrienne D’Arcy is a Partner in EY’s Assurance Service Line in the Trinidad and Tobago office. She has more than twentyfive years of audit and accounting experience serving large domestic, regional, and international clients in the financial services industry.

Adrienne’s strengths lie in her extensive knowledge of the financial services industry, including insurance, banking, asset management and pension funds. She is knowledgeable about current and emerging international and local technical accounting requirements inclusive of International Financial Reporting Standards and has assisted her clients with technical accounting position papers within the financial services industry.

Adrienne is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) of the UK and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT). She is currently a council member of ICATT and is chair of the Accounting and Auditing Standards Committee of ICATT. She is also a former national athlete and gives her time to worthy causes including serving on the Board of one of Trinidad’s leading private schools.

patrick nOlan

Patrick Nolan is a Senior Experience Studies Actuary at the SOA who has been the staff liaison to the Retirement Plans Experience Committee since 2014. He has worked with RPEC to produce the Pub- 2010 Mortality Tables, Pri-2012 Mortality Tables, and the “MP” series of mortality improvement scales.

Hélène POuliOt

With over 30 years of experience in the life insurance industry in Canada and the Caribbean, Hélène specializes in financial reporting, capital & risk management, reinsurance and mergers & acquisitions:

Hélène has been the Appointed Actuary for a number of life insurance companies and has fulfilled the role of External Peer Reviewer for a wide range of companies, including some of the largest Canadian life insurance and reinsurance companies.

After developing IFRS 17 intellectual capital and implemented the new standard with her clients, she then developed creative solutions to help pension plan sponsors manage their pension liabilities and use the pension surplus through insurance solutions.

Hélène has provided opinions on embedded value reporting, prepared a number of appraisals of life insurance portfolios and assisted clients with due diligence work.

She has led ERM benchmarking exercises and developed economic capital framework, including the implementation of economic capital software and she regularly consults on reinsurance strategies.

Helene is bilingual in French and English and holds a B.S. in actuarial sciences from Laval University in Quebec city. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Certified Enterprise Risk Analyst.

She started her mandate as President of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries on July 1, 2022. She has served on the CIA Board of Directors, the CIA Committee on Life Financial Reporting, the Committee on Risk Management and Capital, and the CIA Practice Council. cOnstance hall

Constance Hall is an Actuary and a Principal of Eckler Jamaica Limited. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Conference of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and the Caribbean Actuarial Association an a director of the Pension Industry Association of Jamaica.

Constance has over 35 years of professional experience throughout the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Her work encompasses social security, employee health and welfare benefits, retirement plans and general insurance. She consults in both the public and private sectors to a clientele that spans all business sectors.

Constance is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and Kingston Technical High School. She is married, with two children. She enjoys travelling, walking and reading.

daniel teetz

Daniel is a Manager at Oliver Wyman Actuarial Services in Germany, specializing in climate risk management for insurers. He is advising insurers globally on various aspects of quantitative and qualitative climate change risk assessment, climate risk scenario analysis and risk management integration.

He has extensive hands-on experience in practical implementation of quantitative frameworks for climate risk assessment and stress testing. Daniel holds degrees in Physics and in Mathematics from RWTH Aachen and LMU Munich. He is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder, and also holds the Sustainability and Climate Risk Certificate (SCR) from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

Idelia HOberg

Idelia is a Partner at EY based in Johannesburg and leads the Africa Actuarial practice across five locations. She is an experienced actuary (FIA, CERA) with technical expertise ranging from Life Reserving, Risk Capital Modelling, Enterprise Risk Management, Capital Management and Optimisation, and Risk Governance. She started her career off in continental Europe where she worked in consulting and within the industry and has been back in South Africa since 2018.She is a member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa’s ERM Committee and SAM Phase II Sub-Committee, and she is an active member of the actuarial profession through working group initiatives. She has been part of the AWC since 2018, and prior to becoming Chair she was leading the Mentorship sub-committee.

rOOsevelt mOsley

Roosevelt C. Mosley Jr., FCAS, MAAA, CSPA, is a principal and consulting actuary at Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc. Roosevelt assists companies in applying predictive analytics to personal and commercial lines rating, underwriting and product development. He also applies predictive analytics to develop claim applications. Roosevelt provides actuarial support including rate indication development, rate filing and regulatory support and monitoring of program experience. Also, he assists with issues related to potential bias in insurance ratemaking, marketing, claims and underwriting processes, including testifying before regulators and legislators. Roosevelt performs extensive competitive analyses and completes external peer reviews of insurance companies’ internal model development processes. He also conducts reviews of company strategy.

He has worked to evaluate the impact of proposed insurance legislation on claim costs and future rates, and also provides and supports expert testimony on personal and commercial insurance matters. Roosevelt is the current president of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), has served as vice president of marketing and communications and on the board of directors of CAS, and as a member of the board of directors of the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) Foundation. He has also served on the board of trustees of the Actuarial Foundation.

catherine sun

Catherine is a Senior Manager in the Toronto office of Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting, Inc. She has over six years of experience in the life insurance industry.

Catherine provides consulting services to the life insurance industry in many areas of insurer financial management. These include financial reporting, valuation, mergers and acquisitions, capital planning, and risk management.

In the past two years, Catherine was heavily involved in the IFRS 17 implementation for clients with life, disability, annuity and segregated fund insurance portfolios.

Relevant experience

Currently playing a pivotal role in the implementation of IFRS 17 for mid-size Canadian and Caribbean insurer. Responsibilities include project management, policy decisions drafting, actuarial model adaptation, and financial and capital impact assessment; Familiar with the Corporate actuarial function support for mid-size Canadian insurers, services provided include performing quarterly valuation, LICAT, FCT, ORSA, basis changes (experience studies), and SOE; Merger and Acquisition support, reinsurance transaction support, including development of sell-side appraisals or conducting buy-side due diligence on life insurance businesses in Canada

Speaking Engagements and Professional Activities

Catherine is active member of the CIA’s IFRS 17 Contractual Service Margin (CSM) working group.

* * * THE 32ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CARIBBEAN ACTUARIAL ASSOCIATION @caribbeanactuarialassociation

kristianna ScOOn

Kristianna Scoon is a Senior Manager in EY’s Assurance Service Line (Financial Accounting Advisory Services) in the Trinidad and Tobago office. She has ten years of audit and accounting experience serving large domestic and regional clients in the insurance, banking, retail, manufacturing, distribution and telecommunications industries.

Marcus BOsland

A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Marcus Bosland graduated with distinction from the University of Waterloo with a joint honours degree in Actuarial Science/Economics. Marcus also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School.

Marcus is a long-serving Caribbean Actuarial Association volunteer and is currently the Chair of the Governance Committee. Marcus is a Director on the Bahamas’ National Health Insurance Authority and is an active member of the Bahamas Insurance Association.

He is a youth football coach and a master’s swim coach.

sebastian jaimungal

Dr. Prof. Sebastian Jaimungal is a full Professor of Mathematical Finance at the University of Toronto. He is the former Chair of SIAM’s Financial Mathematics and Engineering group, a managing editor of Quantitative Finance, and an associate editor for the SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics, Frontiers of Mathematical Finance, and the Journal of Dynamics and Games, among others. He is the author of numerous academic and practitioner articles and the graduate textbook titled “Algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading” published by Cambridge University Press. Dr. Jaimungal is a Fellow of the Fields Institute for Mathematical Sciences and a member of the Oxford- Man Institute and his research interests include reinforcement learning, stochastic control and games, and algorithmic trading.

JOhn W. RObinsOn

John W. Robinson FSA 1994, FCA, MAAA is the 74th president Of the Society of Actuaries. John retired from the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the state’s regulator for insurance, on July 30, 2021. He was responsible for reviewing the actuarial components of the annual statements of the life insurance companies domiciled in Minnesota, provided actuarial support for various product filings. ando represented Minnesota on various NAIC Committees.

His prior roles were OPEB valuations (6 years), life insurance (23 years) and pensions (3 years). John served as president (2010 to 2013) of the International Association of Black Actuaries, and (2013-2016) on the SOA Board of Directors. He currently serves on the SOA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Research Advisory Committee (DEIRAC) and the DEI Task Force, a subgroup of the Life Practice Council of the American Academy of Actuaries. His hobbies are music (plays a synthesizer and composes), sports and travel.

A committed family man, he has hosted the Robinson Family Reunion triennially (except 2020) since 1996. John holds a B.Sc. (Special) in Mathematics from the UWI, Jamaica, an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Delaware and an M.S. in Statistics from the Florida State University.

Matthieu BOussetta

Matthieu has more than 10 years of experience in the insurance sector in providing expertise different areas including the regulatory compliance and the ESG spaces.

He has worked on the implementation of a number of regulatory frameworks particularly Solvency 2 in Europe, IFRS 9 and CECL, and he is now focused on IFRS 17 and LDTI.

Prior to joining Moody’s, he started his career working at AXA France developing life & saving products. Matthieu holds an MSc in Statistics from the University of Paris-Est.

In addition to his mother tongue of French, he is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Wendy E. JOhn

Wendy E. John is the Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Fidelity Investments. In this role, she leads and executes an enterprise-wide strategy to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace—one that will deliver the best outcomes for the firm’s 65,000+ associates, its customers and the communities Fidelity serves. During her 25-year tenure, Wendy has held multiple senior leadership roles with increasing responsibility. Prior to her current role, she served as the Chief Administrative Officer of Fidelity Charitable, where she advanced programming to make philanthropic giving more accessible, simple and effective. She has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a double major in Actuarial Science & Economics from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in Investment Management from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

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Ryan Ali

Ryan Ali is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Senior Manager of the actuarial valuation team at Sagicor Life Insurance (SLI). In his current role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the IFRS 17 models on the SLI IFRS 17 project.

His involvement over the course of the project has spanned many areas, including discount rate methodology, risk adjustment assessment and onerousness testing.

Anquin C. COOper

Anquin C. Cooper is the Group Analytics Manager at Bahamas First Holdings with experience in analytics, p&c insurance pricing, retirement actuarial consulting, and reserving. In his current role, he is responsible for executing the group’s data and analytics strategies as well as developing and mentoring an analytics talent pipeline for the business in The Bahamas and Cayman Islands. Additionally, he serves as the group’s IFRS 17 implementation co-lead and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion champion. He is a thoughtful leader who believes in the power of collaboration, diversity, and inclusion in breaking the mold and driving business growth.

Shadrack Kwasa

Shadrack is responsible for building and managing relationships with UK and European institutions as well as developing investment solutions to meet their technical requirements be they driven by regulation, economics or idiosyncrasies of an insurer’s business.

Shadrack is a Fellow of the United Kingdom Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and began his career working as an actuarial consultant at Mazars LLP and Willis Towers Watson where he provided advice to large and small insurers and UK pension funds. Shadrack has also worked as an investment consultant at River and Mercantile and an Investment Solutions Specialist at Lombard Odier Asset Management.

Shadrack is a published academic researcher with a focus on applying machine learning techniques into an actuarial context. Shadrack holds an MSc in Mathematical Finance from the University of Oxford.

Avinash Persaud

Avinash Persaud’s career unusually spreads across finance, academia and public policy.

He was a former senior executive of J. P. Morgan, UBS, State Street and GAM London Ltd. and former Chairman of Elara Capital PLC and RBC Barbados. He is a non-exec director of Proven Investments Limited.

He is a former Governor, London School of Economics and 2010 President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected Trustee of the Global Association of Risk Professionals and the Royal Economics Society. He won the Jacques de Larosiere Award in Global Finance from the Institute of International Finance and was voted one of the top three public intellectuals in the world on the financial crisis by an expert panel. He is Emeritus Professor of Gresham College in the UK.

He was chairman, regulatory sub-committee of the UN Commission on Financial Reform; Chairman, Warwick Commission on Financial Reform; Chairman, Financial Services Commission of Barbados; Member of the UK Treasury’s Audit and Risk Committee and the Pew Task Force to the US Senate Banking Committee; Visiting Scholar at the IMF; Distinguished Advisor, Financial Sector Law Reform Commission of India; and Chairman, CARICOM Commission on the Economy.

Michele RObinsOn

Michele Robinson is an independent consultant with over 35 years’ experience in public debt management. She has worked in over 25 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Eastern Europe. She works with several international institutions and development partners including the Commonwealth, the IDB, the IMF, and the World Bank to provide technical assistance in debt management.

Before becoming a debt management consultant in 2003, Michele headed the Debt Management Unit at the Bank of Jamaica for 10 years before she oversaw its transfer to the Ministry of Finance. She also worked at the Commonwealth Secretariat as Chief Economics Officer providing technical assistance to member countries in public debt management. Currently Michele is an active member of the Public Debt Management Committee in Jamaica.

Michele has authored several publications on public debt management including in, “Debt and Development in Small States.” Her most recent published work is “Debt Transparency and Data Quality in the Caribbean.” She also shares information on Caribbean debt on her website and through social media platforms.

Michele holds an MA in Economics from Queens University, Canada, and a BSc in Economics (Honours) from the University of the West Indies, Mona.

JOy St. jOhn

Dr St John rose in the ranks of Public Health in Barbados from 1994 to become the first Barbadian Chief Medical Officer of Barbados in 2005.

Dr St John also represented Barbados on the Executive Board of WHO and then became the first Caribbean person to Chair the Executive Board from 2012 to 2013.

Dr St John finally left the post of CMO in 2017 when she became the Assistant Director General at the WHO HQ in Switzerland. There she held the Portfolio of Climate and Other Determinants of Health and successfully completed the first phase of the Climate Change and Health SIDS Initiative.

In July 2019 Dr St John became the Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency. There she has steered CARPHA through a CARICOM Evaluation, selected new Directors, improved the governance and accountability frameworks of CARPHA, as well as focused on strengthening CARPHA’s resource mobilization and partnership portfolios.

CARPHA has led the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Dr St John’s leadership has seen her have over 300 speaking engagements about COVID-19 as she engages with multiple sectors, and the Health leaders and Heads of Government in CARICOM and organizations around the world.

PAUL A. GRAY

With over 25 years of experience in the financial industry including Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, Paul brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his current role as Group Chief Executive, Special Projects Office of CEO, where he has responsibility to lead and or oversee specific projects of key strategic importance.

Paul served in the capacity of Group Chief Investment & Treasury Officer until May 2017 when he was seconded to serve as Interim Country Chief Executive Officer for JMMB Dominican Republic May 2017 to June 2019 as well as Interim Chief Executive Officer of JMMB Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Inversiones S.A May 2017 to September 2018.

Paul is a member of the Board of Directors of JMMB Insurance Brokers as well as vice-President of the Board of Directors for JMMB Sociedad Administradora de Fondos de Inversiones S.A.

He holds a Master’s degree in Finance from the Manchester Business School UK, Certification in Merger & Acquisition Integration from PRICHETT & Institute of Mergers, Acquisitions & Alliances as well as receiving various professional training in Treasury, Asset/Liability and Risk management, both locally and overseas.

Lisa Wade

Lisa Wade is a Principal and Consulting Actuary with Eckler Ltd. and is based in its Barbados office. At Eckler her work is focused on its employee benefits practice and she provides private and public sector clients in the Caribbean with advice regarding regulation, technical issues and professional standards.

Lisa is an active member of the actuarial profession having served as President of the Caribbean Actuarial Association. She is currently the CAA’s representative on the Council of the International Actuarial Association and is a member of its Actuarial Standards Committee.

In January 2021 Lisa joined the Executive Committee of the International Actuarial Association which is responsible for overseeing its activities.

Mitch MOrin

Mitch Morin is a consulting actuary for Milliman’s Financial Risk Practice. Before moving into actuarial consulting for life insurers with variable annuity liabilities in 2016, Mitch focused on volatility control fund operation and reporting for pension plans. During his tenure at Milliman, his areas of focus have included financial modeling, financial reporting, constructing hedge programs, and validation of M&A transactions.

Mitch is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and graduated in 2013 from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance.

Silvana Pesenti

Silvana Pesenti is an Assistant Professor in Insurance Risk Management at the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Silvana was named the 2022 Rising Star in Quant Finance by Risk. net for the paper Portfolio Optimisation within a Wasserstein Ball received the 2020 Peter Clark Best Paper Prize for her research paper “Reverse Sensitivity Testing: what does it take to break the model?” from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).

In 2019, Silvana was awarded the Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty Science Award of Excellence.

Silvana Pesenti received her PhD in Actuarial Science and Insurance from Bayes Business School (formerly Cass Business Scohol), London, UK. Her PhD thesis was awarded the Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize 2018 from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Further, Silvana holds a MSc and a BSc in Mathematics from ETH Zurich.

David Oakden

David Oakden is a retired insurance and actuarial professional in Toronto. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Financial Services Commission of the Turks and Caicos Islands and on the Board of the Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation (Canada). His last full- time position was at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada.

From 2007 until January 2012, he served as the primary Canadian representative at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors serving as a member of the Executive Committee and Vice-Chair of the Technical and Budget Committees. During that period, he was involved in international discussions of the regulatory response to the global financial crisis.

He has over 45 years of industry experience split between consulting, insurance comp any management, regulation, and teaching. Mr. Oakden has been active in the actuarial profession, and he has served as the President of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, as a member of the Board of the Casualty Actuarial Society and as a member of the (Canadian) Actuarial Standards Board.

Srini Iyer

Srini Iyer is a Senior Director in the Insurance Strategy team at Moody’s Analytics. In this capacity, he helps insurers across the globe interpret and implement solutions for emerging risks such as Climate, ESG and Cyber.

More broadly, Srini has over fifteen years of experience working in risk management, asset modelling and financial reporting.

NOrbert FullertOn

Norbert is a Jamaican, an actuary and a Partner at LCP (a global consultancy in London). He has had a diverse 25-year career in Consulting, Fiduciary Management and Asset Management. Currently, Norbert gives investment advice to global sovereign investors, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and central banks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Prior to LCP, Norbert was Chief Institutional Client Strategist EMEA at Janus Henderson Investors where he was responsible for thought leadership and strategic investment solutions to institutional clients.

Previous roles included being a Partner at Mercer, providing investment advice to UK pension funds, and led the growth of the joint Investment and Retirement business in London. Prior to Mercer, he was Director of Pensions Solutions at Russell Investments where he held a few leadership, Advisory and Fiduciary Management roles. He also held various positions at Willis Towers Watson, including scheme actuary and lead investment strategist. Nearly 25 years ago, Norbert started his career at Mercer where he advised UK pension funds on all major areas of pensions strategy. He is also a writer, media commentator and regular speaker on topical investment matters.

Edward Villars

Mr. Villars is the Founder of EVC Africa with close to 20 years of working experience in Advisory, Banking, Financial Services and Tech industries across the U.S., Middle East and Africa. His profound multidisciplinary knowledge across various sectors underpins his Advisory leadership in both commercial and developmental contexts. With EVC, Ed has championed several programs into and across Africa with various Think-tanks, multi-national and private clients within the Banking/Financial/ Insurance Services , Extractives/Natural Resources, Energy and Public Utilities Industries.

Ed holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) from Anna Maria College (Massachusetts) and an advanced engineering education in Cryptography and Data Security

Karthik YadatOre

Karthik has expertise in areas of financial reporting, product pricing, M&A, and expert witness testimony for annuities and life insurance products. Karthik has published several research papers and articles, presented at Society of Actuaries meetings and other actuarial forums, and he is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries’ Annuity Reserve Working Group. Prior to Milliman, Karthik worked at ING in its Retail Life and Retail Annuity business divisions.

Stewart Haynes

Mr. Stewart Haynes currently serves as the Director of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Insurance Services, a position he has held since February 2017. He is a Fellow of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries (FIA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) by profession.

In 2018, Mr. Haynes was elected to the Bureau of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) based in Geneva Switzerland. Further, in 2020, he was appointed as ISSA’s Vice- Chairperson of the Technical Commission on Investment of Social Security Funds and also appointed as a member of ISSA’s Finance Committee for the Triennium 2023-2025.

In addition to his capacity as Director of the NIS, Mr. Haynes is currently serving as a Director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the East Caribbean Financial Holding Company (ECFH) and the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB).

Mr. Stewart Haynes holds a BSc in Actuarial Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a MSc in Actuarial Management from CASS Business School London, with a specialty in Investment Management.

GregOry WinstOn

Greg is a Partner and Consulting Actuary in KPMG Canada’s Life & Pensions Actuarial Practice, based in Toronto. He leads the area of the practice that provides advisory services related to pensions and non-pension post-employment benefits, to both external clients and to areas of KPMG internally as a subject matter expert.

Greg has over 17 years of experience providing consulting services in the following primary areas of focus: 1) Financial statement audit and internal audit for pension and non-pension post-retirement benefit plans; 2) Funding and accounting valuations of pension and benefit liabilities of companysponsored plans; 3) Consulting and advisory services for the maintenance and operation of retirement and healthcare benefit plans; 4) Transaction due diligence for compensation and employee benefits programs.

Greg shares his extensive experience related to financial audits and accounting disclosure requirements related to employer-sponsored pension and benefit plans by supporting and advising hundreds KPMG assurance professionals in auditing benefit liabilities disclosed on both corporate financial statements and pension plan financial statements, including the assessment of actuarial assumptions, accounting methodologies, and the accounting for special events.

He has also managed advisory projects related to regulatory compliance, pension administration, and pension de-risking.

subsequently won the Rhodes Scholarship and obtained a D.Phil. in Mathematics (Numerical Analysis) also from Oxford University.

What brOught yOu tO this present career path?

In short, passion for my country and a deep desire to see Jamaica maximise on her potential.

Mathematics led me to finance. My doctoral research focused on solving multi-dimensional partial differential equations that arise in the pricing of financial derivatives when one assumes that volatility, interest rates and the other parameters are non- constant.

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What dOes the emerging actuary and statistician lOOk

in nOn-traditiOnal industries?

Dr. The Honourable Nigel Clarke Minister of Finance, Jamaica

Tell us abOut yOurself

I consider myself privileged to be a husband, father, son and brother among other family roles. I am honoured to serve the people of St. Andrew North Western as Member of Parliament and the people of Jamaica as Minister of Finance and the Public Service.

What is yOur academic backgrOund?

After my ‘A’ levels, I was awarded the Jamaica Independence (Open) Scholarship to pursue undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI). I earned a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the UWI with First Class Honours. I then secured a Commonwealth Scholarship and with this I earned an M.Sc. in Applied Statistics from Oxford University. I

Finance led me to Goldman Sachs where I was a Derivatives Trader in London. At Goldman, public service was held in great esteem, and it was common for leaders of the firm to offer themselves for public service in their home country. This had an impact on me from then.

My career in finance expanded to include private equity, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. I eventually became Deputy Chairman and CFO of a large privately held regional conglomerate having played a leadership role in its expansion from a base in Jamaica to operating in over 30 countries.

I served on the boards of many Jamaican companies operating in a variety of industries over a long period of time, and together with my day to day job these experiences gave me a very broad view and understanding of the Jamaican economy.

In addition, operating internationally gave me a perspective on what worked well in other economies and how Jamaica could improve.

I have always taken a keen interest in Jamaica’s economic affairs and followed developments closely. I served at different times as chairman of the National Housing Trust (NHT), chairman of the HEART Trust and chairman of the Port Authority of Jamaica, which are among the largest public bodies in Jamaica, responsible for the administration and deployment of considerable resources. In addition, I served on the board of directors of the Bank of Jamaica.

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I was appointed to the Senate where I focused on economic and finance matters. At the time, Jamaica was pursuing legislative reform under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and I debated those Bills, provided constructive support to the reform effort, and I engrossed myself in all the details.

These experiences expanded my understanding of the operations of government, and of Jamaica’s challenges and opportunities. On the change of administration in 2016, I accepted the unpaid appointment of Ambassador of Economic Affairs where I represented Jamaica’s interest with the IMF and other multilaterals.

In that context, I played a key role in the transition and in the adaptation of the new administration’s policies to be consistent with the IMF programme. I subsequently led the negotiation that led to the early termination of the EFF and its replacement with a new Precautionary Stand-By arrangement with the IMF.

Things gathered momentum from there, and here I am.

What dOes yOur typical wOrkday lOOk like?

No two days are the same. I have at least two jobs: Minister of Finance and the Public Service and Member of Parliament. They are both tough and challenging. In a nutshell, my days consist of listening, reading, analysing, discussing, approving, communicating and solving problems.

Fundamentally, I serve the public and I serve other ministries, departments and agencies in their delivery of services. And the service required of me manifests itself in many different ways depending on the day.

I spend a lot of time communicating the GOJ’s economic policies to diverse stakeholders and across all media and platforms. I also pilot legislation on economic, financial and fiscal matters in parliament and represent Jamaica in various international fora.

HOw dO yOu use yOur actuarial training in yOur everyday wOrk?

A sound quantitative foundation has been invaluable in my job.

I deal with numbers, figures (big ones) all day, every day. Comfort and ease with numbers is a useful asset and the ability to communicate quantitatively flows from that comfort. More importantly, logical reasoning and problem solving abilities that emanate from rigorous mathematical training are helpful when dealing with complex and sometimes intractable problems.

I had the great fortune of working directly with the Hon. Daisy Coke, OJ for a year after UWI, and before Oxford. Having valued pension liabilities and having passed many actuarial exams during this period, I at least understand the fiscal implications of unfunded pension liabilities especially in the context of non-contributory public pension schemes! As such I was thrilled to have played a role in the historic public pension reform when over 15 separate disparate pieces of pension legislation were consolidated into a uniform contributory public pension system through legislation.

I am now working on a Bill to radically reform private pensions allowing for portability, greater flexibility, and diversity in product options that should lead to significant growth in the numbers of persons desiring and having private pensions.

In addition, working with Mrs. Coke on general insurance matters, three decades ago, gave me an appreciation of natural disaster risk. This early exposure and awareness found expression, decades later, in my pursuit of a policy approach that prioritizes fiscal planning for the financing of disaster risk. As such, with the support of the World Bank, Jamaica became the first small country in the world to independently sponsor a catastrophe bond. This process involved sophisticated mathematical modeling which consultants provided. However, my comfort with this space allowed for quick decisions along the way and a collaborative process. The catastrophe bond fits within the broader disaster risk financing policy framework that I have pursued, alongside other instruments, including a natural disaster fund and credit contingent claims.

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and submerging myself in the history of my ancestors at the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

I am an avid volunteer and believer in giving back to my country and humanity. At any given time, you can find me volunteering in the various projects of the Rotary Club of Barbados or via my personal quest to increase the financial literacy of my fellow Barbadians through my Instagram Page @mytwocents.bb.

I am co-owner of an artisanal dessert company, Sweet Nectar (@sweetnectar. bdos), with my sister, where I manage the marketing, financial and customer engagement elements of the business. I promise, I make none of the decadent treats!

Nikita Gibson AFA ASA VP, Clarity Life Insurance Ltd. Barbados

Tell us abOut yOurself

There are many facets to me but here are a few things that will give some insight into who I am.

I am determined, ambitious, dependable, protective, and passionate about the things and to the people important in my life. I am a partner, daughter, sister, dog parent (Blue and Whiskey), godmother, and friend. I am a foodie, shopaholic and creative who relishes travelling, creating new memories, and having new experiences. To date, some of my most memorable trips have been “swimming” in the Dead Sea in Israel, exploring the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Hassan II Mosque in Morocco,

Professionally, I am pursuing my Fellowship in Banking with the IFOA and ASSA and it has been an amazing experience so far. I selected the programme with weekly lectures and tutorials leading up to the exam and biweekly assignments. My keen interest in banking has led me to this track, in hopes to return to the industry at some point during my career.

I am considering pursuing a DBA after my fellowship or a second Masters in Trade and/or International Business. I am currently the Vice President of Clarity Life Insurance Ltd., an offshore life insurance company in Barbados which focuses solely on life insurance for ultra and high net-worth individuals across the globe for tax planning and asset protection purposes. At Clarity, I manage the day-to-day operations from actuarial and finance to legal and marketing.

Prior to my current role, I was the Senior Manager Risk Analytics at CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank in Barbados.

What dOes the emerging actuary and statistician lOOk like in nOn-traditiOnal industries?

In my role at FCIB, I was the subject matter expert and team lead for the implementation of IFRS 9. My team and I developed the IFRS 9 models still in use by the bank for its entire portfolio across all territories.

I am a Partner at Castalia Consulting Inc., a company which explores new industry developments and facilitates innovative responses to assist clients in quantitative and risk management solutions.

I am a Director of the Boards of the Financial Services Commission, Invest Barbados, Princess Margaret Secondary School (Deputy Chairman), Caribbean Actuarial Association (Student Representative), and a few Barbados registered companies. I am a member of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA), Chair of the BIBA Business Development Committee, member of the BIBA Insurance Committee, member of the BIBA Banking Committee, member of the BIBA Global Business Week Planning Committee and a member of the BIBA Barbados Risk and Insurance Management Conference Committee.

What is yOur academic backgrOund?

I attended Harrison College (Kolij) between age 11-16 and graduated with CXCs in Mathematics, English, French, History, Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Back then I had a keen interest in both Mathematics and the sciences, but Mathematics won when I attended university. At 19, I earned my undergraduate degree, a BSc Mathematics and Economics (First Class Honours) from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. At 20, I earned my postgraduate degree, a MSc Actuarial Science from Heriot Watt University. Since university, I have been awarded the designation of Associate Actuary of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

What brOught yOu tO this present career path?

There are two stories which led me to where I am today.

Story 1: As a child I always grew bored in traffic and what felt like forever to get to school (Primary/Elementary) on mornings. I decided one morning to create a game, much to my younger sister’s annoyance.

In this game, I determined that there was some unknown similarity between people driving cars and there must be a way to identify which drivers are similar. I decided that since people selected their license plate number, that this was how I would determine which people were alike. While commuting, I set out to calculate how many number combinations exist for a given plate. For example, M3369 meant there were 9 combinations which existed – 3x3=9, 3+6=9, 3+6=9, 3+3=6, 9÷3=3, 9÷3=3, 6-3=3, 6-3=3, 9-6=3.

Therefore, any license plate which had 9 combinations meant that those car owners had something in common, maybe a character trait, maybe a preference, a favourite drink but my young mind at the time determined there was a relationship based on their subconscious selection of their license plate number. This was how I first realized just how analytical my mind was and more so how intrigued I was about finding patterns, relationships and understanding how the simplest of things worked. This was the game I developed when I was 8 and to this day at 35, I do the same thing in traffic.

Story 2: At my Secondary/High School, we had a career day when I was in 3rd Form (age 13) and I attended the session with the pediatrician, lawyer, accountant and actuary. I quickly realized that I did not like the sight of blood no matter how much

I loved children, I did not like reading as much as I liked arguing/debating, I did not like the mundanity of accounting, but I was intrigued by the presentation given by the late Stephen Alleyne. In that moment, I decided that I wanted to be just like him! And as they say, the rest is history.

What dOes yOur typical wOrkday lOOk like?

Every day is different for me.

Firstly, I start my weekdays with coffee as I am not typically a morning person. Java is my fuel.

In my current role as VP, Clarity Life Insurance Ltd. in a typical day, I could be meeting with a new client/family office who is looking to use variable universal life insurance as an efficient tax planning tool for their wealth. I would work closely with the legal teams, investment advisors and private wealth banks to create a unique policy structure for their family purposes.

This process generally includes calculating the amount of sum insured and/or premium needed for the policy. This becomes interesting because unlike Barbados where there are no legislative definitions around the amount of premium or sum insured a policy can have, for countries such as USA and Canada, there are clear definitions and guidelines on what constitutes a life insurance policy for tax and other purposes.

In the USA the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines are outlined in Section 7702 for the applicable tests – Guideline Premium Test (GPT) and the Cash Value Accumulation Test (CVAT), whereas, for Canada the Canadian Revenue Authority (CRA) issues the guidelines and rules for the Exempt Testing for life insurance policies.

Many times, I start my workday in another

country meeting with clients and their legal teams to design unique life insurance solutions.

In my previous role, Senior Manager Risk Analytics, CIBC FirstCaribbean, in a typical day, I could be found deep in an econometrics textbook refreshing my memory on the various modelling techniques I could use to develop a model which predicts and forecasts the probability of default and loss given default by using a range of micro and macro-economic variables.

Days roll into months when developing models, but some days I spent developing chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) or regression models for varying product portfolios (mortgages, personal loans etc.) and some days applying logic to conceptualize model and portfolio assumptions which were new to the industry.

Some days were spent presenting our models and results to the Chief Risk Officer, Chief Accountant or to the Central Bank of Barbados or authoring the methodology documents for validation by the Model Validation team. This role allowed me to translate an accounting standard into practical action points, theorize models, build models from the ground up, all while gaining greater knowledge and appreciation for the bank, its products, and the role of each department and individual in enterprise risk management.

HOw dO yOu use yOur actuarial training in yOur everyday wOrk?

This is an interesting question for me as it varies depending on which hat I am wearing. VP,

Clarity Life Insurance

My experience and actuarial training are a direct correlation to this role, as my day to day is with a life insurance company. Our way of reserving, reinsuring and pricing

varies from traditional carriers but the fundamentals from traditional actuarial maths apply.

Partner, Castalia Consulting Inc. In this role, I’ve worked with a few financial institutions and social security schemes, developing IFRS 9 models. Here are some of the key ways in which I use my training in everyday within the banking industry: mortality experience studies can be equated to probability of default studies. My experience and training in the use and assessment of historic loss data was applied in creating PD and LGD models reserves can be equated to provisions/ expected credit loss for financial institutions. My experience and training in reserving and model building has assisted me in creating expected credit loss models for varying institutions my understanding of underwriting has impacted the recommendations made to institutions on how to reduce their risk exposure through refining the underwriting process

These are just a few of the areas where my actuarial training has been used in my day to day. It has allowed me to hone my logic and critical-thinking skills which helps me to efficiently and quickly solve problems in most situations. I think this is an area we take for granted - how our minds work as actuaries.

For example, in running the marketing for a dessert company, I use social media metrics and analyse when I should post, what types of posts receive the most likes and more so what generates income. Social media metrics help with the former but to link this with actual sales, is where an actuary can be used.

At the end of the day, we are the profession which takes random data and transforms it into a work of art that tells a story.

Advice tO yOung actuaries

It’s important to be confident and secure, even in situations when it isn’t the easiest to be in your career and even in life.

One of my mantras is, “Courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”.

Some days can be tough....in my shoes as a young female executive in an industry and career which are dominated by males and older generations, it can be challenging to break barriers and have your voice be heard. My advice is simply not to give up and sometimes it may require you simply try again tomorrow. That’s the beauty in my mantra, there is always a tomorrow.

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that I never truly feel that far away. I’m a mom of two – a 2 year old boy and 7 (going on 27!) year old girl. I work for Hannover Re as their Head of Inforce Management and Client Engagement. When I’m not working or mom’ing, you’ll likely find me either at the gym or curled up with a good book. I’ve recently re-discovered my love for reading (Ken Follett is a master storyteller!) and I’m trying to take more time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

What is yOur academic backgrOund?

I have a first degree in actuarial science from UWI and a masters in Biostatistics from Medical University of South Carolina/UWI. A degree in Biostatics gave me the opportunity to explore areas outside of the traditional actuarial field without veering too far away from the beaten path. It also made me quickly realize that a career in medical research was definitely not for me!

Kadene Gibbs, FSA Business Development Actuary, Hannover Re South Africa Ltd. Jamaica, South Africa

Tell us abOut yOurself

If you were to ask my family and friends about me they would say that I’m kind, caring, silly, free-spirited, easy-going and always up for a good adventure! My story starts in St Elizabeth, Jamaica where I was born and raised. About 10 years ago, I moved to Johannesburg, South Africa after meeting my husband who wasn’t my husband then. While I am far away from home – and I’m reminded of this every time we make our annual trek back to the Caribbean – there’s so much about South Africa that reminds me of Jamaica (the warmth of the people, the love for music and dance, good food)

What brOught yOu tO this present career path?

A lot of left turns! Truth be told, I’ve been at a professional crossroads quite a few times and it was at one of those crossroads that I met a Marketing Actuary who suggested Business Development (BD) as a career option. What is BD exactly? At a high-level, BD is about creating and fostering symmetric partnerships with clients and leveraging these relationships to achieve the goals of both the company and the client. One of my superpowers is my ability to easily connect with people and build lasting relationships, which has served me well when needing to align the views of multiple stakeholders to achieve a particular goal. BD has taken me very far from traditional actuarial work but can’t imagine having it any other way.

What dOes the emerging actuary and statistician lOOk like in nOn-traditiOnal industries?

What dOes yOur typical wOrkday lOOk like?

My days can be quite varied. I look after our client relationships, which involves identifying opportunities – be it a new product, target market or solutions - for clients, overseeing rigorous product development cycles, designing customer journeys etc. My role also involves monitoring the risk in the business that we write and leveraging this information to make decisions about new and existing business. Some days I’m negotiating reinsurance treaty terms/rates with clients either due to change in risk appetite or unsustainable treaty terms. On other days, I’m knee deep in modeling a financial solution for a client who’s concerned about their solvency position. I also look after a team of six persons, which can be challenging but incredibly rewarding!

HOw dO yOu use yOur actuarial training in yOur everyday wOrk?

Our actuarial training allows us to problem solve and having a solid technical background helps to easily navigate client discussions, especially around technical areas. There is always an element of modelling and risk management to the work that we do and our actuarial training provides a solid foundation for this. I recently had to engage with a client whose treaty was on unsustainable terms. We used the results of their experience study to not only pinpoint the drivers of the experience but to create an action plan to improve the business results. Without the analyses, we would not have been able to get buy-in of the key decision makers to change the company’s philosophy.

Advice tO yOung actuaries

Get a mentor and join Toastmasters!

I firmly believe that everyone could benefit greatly from having a mentor. Someone who will offer perspective that’s different from your own. Someone who will challenge you and push you to do more and be more.

I’ve been blessed to have great mentors in different shapes and forms and I am better, both personally and professionally, because of these relationships.

I would also encourage every actuary to find ways to develop softer skills or join Toastmasters. Toastmasters not only provide the opportunity to practice public speaking in a safe place but also the opportunity to lead. Definitely a way to become better versions of ourselves!

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