Around 70 actuarial professionals and senior insurance industry executives recently gathered at the Malta Hilton for the launch the Malta Actuarial Society, the first organisation to represent actuarial professionals based locally.

The number of practising actuaries in Malta has grown in recent years

The actuarial profession is much smaller than the legal or accounting professions and is less known.

Actuaries have a vital role to play within the insurance industry, as their skill set combines mathematical statistics, demography and financial economics, which enables them to quantify the risks insurance companies take.

They play a key role in the premium-setting process and help give insurers comfort that they have set up sufficient reserves to pay claims made.

In recent years, the local insurance industry has grown rapidly in size and sophistication, and so too have the number of practising actuaries on the island.

The MAS has been established to promote the advancement of the actuarial profession, promote the discussion of actuarial matters and the development of the standards for actuarial practice, and assist people preparing to sit their professional actuarial exams.

Guests at the launch event included Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen chairman Gábor Hanák, Malta Financial Services Authority chairman Joe Bannister, and HSBC Bank Malta head of insurance James Hewitson, the society’s first president.

MAS’ executive committee has been supported by MSV Life, HSBC Life, Munich Re of Malta, the MFSA, Bank of Valletta, Finance Malta, KPMG, Oney, Elmo Insurance, Gasan Mamo Insurance, and Citadel Insurance.

Actuarial professionals working in Malta, people considering an actuarial career or those whose day-to-day role involves working on actuarial matters are welcome to join.

Full details and an application form are available at www.maltaactuarialsociety.org.