CAA Weekly News Update – 2nd September
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL ACTUARIES’ DAY!
On 2nd September 1895 the first International Congress of Actuaries opened in Brussels, Belgium. We now celebrate that day as the birthday of the profession as we now know it.
The 2023 International Congress of Actuaries: Bridge to Tomorrow will take place next year in Sydney, Australia.
Watch as the International Actuarial Association kicks off the day’s celebrations with The Big Risk Conversation – Why International Matters Matter to Actuaries?
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100 years of Caribbean Actuaries’ contributing to the Regional & Global Actuarial Space
The Caribbean Actuarial Association is young We’ll be 31 this December, but Caribbean actuaries were making strides long before the CAA was born.
Edmund M. McConney (1891-1977) was born in St. Kitts. He graduated with honours from Harrison College in Barbados and then emigrated to Canada where he worked with Manufacturers Life until enlisting in the Canadian army at the outbreak of World War I. He served for the duration and, after the War, went to live in Iowa, in the United States, where he joined Bankers Life Company and went from assistant actuary in 1920 to being that company’s president in 1946. After retirement in 1956 he continued to serve on their Board of Directors. He was a Vice President of the Actuarial Society of America and, upon their merger with the American Society of Actuaries, became the very first President of the new Society of Actuaries in 1949. You may read Mac McConney’s address as first President of the Society of Actuaries here.
Muriel M. P. Mudie (1897-1993) was born in Jamaica. In 1925, upon the death of her father, she moved to Canada and started working as an actuarial student in the insurance industry, while supporting her mother and three brothers. She gained her associateship in 1929 and her fellowship in 1937, earning the distinction of being the first woman in Canada to qualify as a fellow. She was admitted to the newly created Society of Actuaries when the American Institute of Actuaries and the Actuarial Society of America merged in 1949, and was present at the creation of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries in 1965. During her 40+ year career she gained recognition as a specialist in annual statements and life company taxation.
Our own story began when four Caribbean actuaries attending the 1988 International Congress of Actuaries in Helsinki noticed that several countries with only a few actuaries had formed actuarial associations. Daisy Coke (Jamaica), Denise Radix (Trinidad), Franz Alcindor (Haiti) and Stephen Smit (Suriname) were all from different countries, so the idea of a regional actuarial association was born, with the aim of creating an actuarial body with issues of concern to the region as its primary focus.
The Caribbean Actuarial Association was launched in December 1991 at our first Conference in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We became an Associate Member of the IAA in June 1998 and a Full Member in December 2008. In the years since, our membership has grown to 297 in twenty-one countries.
The CAA is also committed to the next generation of actuaries and offers mentorship, exam refunds and an annual scholarship to assist students on their path forward. At the secondary level, we sponsor both the Jamaica Mathematical Olympiad and the Trinidad & Tobago Mathematical Olympiad annually.
Most of our members live and work in the Caribbean but we have members from as far away as South Africa. While many practice in traditional areas like pensions and insurance, others are entering news fields such as banking, big data and technology. Check out our social media pages to see what the Regional Issues Subcommittee has been doing.
CAA members have contributed and continue to contribute to the profession internationally. Sons and daughters of the Caribbean continue to make their mark, making us all proud and building the platform for the next generation.
Watch this space: future editions of our Newsletter will highlight our contributions home and abroad.
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Readers among us may want to go through this very comprehensive The documentary history of insurance, 1000 B. C. – 1875 A. D. published by Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1915. The Actuary (IFoA) presents a more concise history if you have less time.
The profession has come a long way, with actuarial expertise being called upon in an ever-increasing range of industries.
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Your News Team: Mike, Betty, Lindsay Pedro & Shubhash
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