1. What is actuarial science? Actuarial science has a history of 300 years in the west. It is a discipline that specializes in the quantitative methods and techniques for insurance industry and other financial industries to deal with various risks, and it is the theoretical basis for the development of modern insurance industry, financial investment industry and social security. At present, actuarial science has penetrated into all fields of commercial insurance, playing an increasingly important role in investment institutions, social welfare organizations, government consulting and regulatory agencies.
2. What is an actuary? Actuaries refer to individuals whose qualifications are recognized by financial and insurance regulatory agencies. Actuaries have extensive skills in mathematics, statistics, finance, organization and analysis. They use actuarial knowledge to evaluate underwriting risks, determine insurance rates, set aside reserves, arrange reinsurance amounts, and conduct repayment tests. Traditionally, actuaries are mostly used in insurance companies and participate in the design of social security system, but today actuaries are more widely distributed, such as commercial banks, financial intermediaries, long-term capital projects and so on. Actuaries can play a role in any field that needs to deal with risks. Compared with accountants, lawyers and doctors, actuaries are a smaller and more professional profession. According to Jobs Rated Almanac of Les Krantz (1999), the actuary was rated as the best profession in the United States. It is predicted that there will be at least 60 domestic insurance companies and 20 foreign insurance companies in China by 20 10. At present, the number of actuaries is far from meeting the needs of China's insurance industry development. Therefore, it is urgent to cultivate internationally recognized actuarial talents.