Today, Wednesday 13 November, at 12 in the Blue Room of the Nuova Fiera di Roma, during the Salone dello Studente event, the institutional presentation of the Order of Actuaries is scheduled, chaired by Giampaolo Crenca, entitled "The profession of Actuary”, the presentation will be held by Antonello Rocco, councilor of the Order.
The Order of Actuaries also contributes to the initiative through an information stand – in pavilion D5 – which will be active from 13 to 15 November. During the event, which is expected to be attended by around 70.000 people, some members of the Order will be available to students to raise awareness of the actuary's profession and the decisive role it has in society and in the Italian economy.
WHO THEY ARE – There are 80.000 actuaries worldwide, 22.000 in Europe and 900 in Italy. They hold high-level positions in insurance companies, banks, pension funds, social security institutions, supervisory bodies and companies. The unemployment rate is almost zero. According to the authoritative research The best Jobs conducted by the American specialized company Career Cast, the actuary is the best profession of 2012.
WHAT THEY DO - The essential purpose of the actuary profession is to determine, with the highest possible probability, the future trend of demographic and economic variables, outlining what the reality will be in the short, medium and long term.
WHERE THEY WORK – The actuary has ample opportunity to carry out their activity both as a freelancer (approx. 150 actuaries in Italy today) and as an employee with insurance and reinsurance companies (approx. 400), in the social security sector (approx. 150), in Universities, in IVASS and COVIP supervisory institutes, in banks, etc..
THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION – The development of the insurance market, the strong growth of the pension sector and the ever-increasing need for risk management in companies and financial activities make the role of actuaries even more important and central, to whom the law reserves exclusive tasks among the most delicate. In particular, the following activities are reserved by law to actuaries:
- appointed actuary for Life companies
- appointed actuary for the companies exercising the RCA branch
- activity of certification of reserves of all insurance companies
- certification activity of the technical financial statements of defined benefit pension funds.
Employment opportunities are numerous and unemployment for the actuary is almost nil; after graduation, the transition to the world of work is almost immediate. It is certainly more than enough to attend an Italian university, even if it may be useful to have a specialization experience abroad. The prospects for the future are good considering that there are still sectors in which actuarial activity can be extended (e.g. risk management) and also taking into account that the role of the actuary is still underdeveloped in Italy, especially when compared to other countries , such as England, France, Germany but also Spain, where there is a longer and more rooted actuarial tradition. The average salaries-compensation are very respectable, even at the beginning of the activity, precisely because professional roles established by law are often covered.
HOW TO BECOME AN ACTUARY – To practice the profession of actuary, registration in the Register is required. Pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 328/2001, sections A and section B have been established in the Register of actuaries:
– those enrolled in section A are entitled to the professional title of actuary;
– those enrolled in section B are entitled to the professional title of junior actuary.
Enrollment in the Register, section A or B, is subject to passing a special state exam. For the purposes of admission to the State exam for the qualification to practice the actuary profession, the possession of a specialist degree in one of the following classes is required:
1st class LM16 – Finance
2. class LM83 – Statistics, Actuarial and Financial Sciences
3. class LM82 – Statistical Sciences
For the purposes of admission to the state exam for qualification to the profession of junior actuary, possession of the three-year degree in class L41 – Statistics is required. The state exams for the qualification to the profession of actuary and junior actuary are divided into two written tests, a practical test and an oral test. In Italy the faculties where the degree courses of the aforementioned classes are activated are scattered throughout the country, for example Rome, Trieste, Florence, Milan, Turin, Benevento, Cosenza and others (for details see the website www.ordineattuari.it).
