Guy Carpenter's Bo Jiang to present on the evolving role of actuaries at RISC

If you’ve ever wondered about the story behind the numbers in reinsurance, you’ve come to the right place.

That will be the focus of a presentation by Bo Jiang, Senior Vice President, Treaty Broking at Guy Carpenter Australia at ANZIIF’s Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC).

Jiang will bring his expertise and insight to the topic, which he describes as increasingly relevant as actuaries continue to transition from traditional statutory reserving and pricing roles to capital management, underwriting and client management functions. 

Jiang says his presentation will focus on the emergence of actuaries in reinsurance, the broad scope of their work and their transition from placement-oriented to advisory-oriented roles. 

“There are certainly more actuaries working in the reinsurance industry now than there were 20 years ago,” says Jiang. “I think this trend will continue, and more and more actuaries will join the industry in an even wider range of roles.”

Looking beyond the numbers

 In his presentation, Jiang also aims to highlight the benefits actuaries bring to these diverse reinsurance roles.

“The challenge is to not pigeonhole actuaries as just the numbers people because actuarial training can be applied to many disciplines — it should be considered a skill set, not just a profession,” he explains.

Jiang points to the increasing involvement of actuaries in reinsurance purchase decisions — representing a significant change in the industry's capabilities.  

“As actuaries are now also working in reinsurance buying and decision-making roles, brokers need to adapt their approach,” he says. 

“Brokers need to be able to match the analytical mindset that actuaries bring to effectively assist them in supporting well-informed reinsurance purchase decisions for clients.”

A sense of achievement

The first time Bo Jiang signed up for RISC in 2010, he was overwhelmed by the program. “I remember thinking, how are we going to be able to do all this in just under four days?” 

But Jiang, who joined Guy Carpenter in 2022 as a Senior Vice President in Treaty Broking for the Australasia market, sailed through.

“By the end, I had a great sense of achievement, because collectively, we had all learned so much by the time it was complete.”   

Jiang adds that because he found it so valuable, he has since returned as an organising committee member, presenter and Syndicate Advisor guiding participants through the theories and practice of reinsurance. 

Building trust and relationships

Jiang’s discovered his interest in reinsurance while studying a Master of Commerce at Macquarie University.

Like many students, as the end of his graduate degree drew near, he found himself unsure of the direction he would take. 

Jiang considered his natural progression would be a career in banking and finance. However, a case study about the Tokyo Disney Catastrophe Bond presented by his banking and finance lecturer in actuarial studies gave him a new perspective. 

The case study outlined how Oriental Land Co, which owned and operated Tokyo Disneyland, sold US$200 million in bonds in 1999 to help insure the company against the risk of an earthquake damaging the theme park.  

“Learning how CAT Bonds can protect not only property but also earnings in the event of natural disasters, revealed the possibilities that reinsurance presented,” Jiang says.

“It showed that reinsurance is an industry that deals with extreme uncertainty, with imperfect data, and requires a lot of lateral thinking, as well as building trust and relationships.

“That helped steer me towards my 15-year career across underwriting, broking and analytics, servicing clients from Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and Greater China.”

Providing strategic advice

Jiang’s first role in reinsurance with Willis Re Australia as a pricing actuary, involved working on clients’ renewal and pricing. He later held several senior roles at the company.

In his current role with Guy Carpenter, Jiang focuses on providing strategic reinsurance advice to clients and business partners in reinsurance structure, pricing and capital management. 

“It is a solution-oriented role that ultimately helps clients to achieve their business goals,” he says. “I am a people person and enjoy working with a wide group of stakeholders.”

Continuous learning

Jiang says the evolving role of actuaries is just one of the areas to be covered during this year's RISC. The course includes a range of presentations from leading industry experts, as well as team-building exercises and hands-on activities.

Participants are grouped into teams, or syndicates, and guided by two advisors through real-life scenarios. This includes designing and testing the optimal reinsurance program, which Jiang describes as an invaluable learning tool.

At the end of the course, participants will be able to demonstrate proficiency in four key areas: strategic, technical, financial, and legal or regulatory.

This includes an ability to choose the appropriate forms of reinsurance and to demonstrate an understanding of catastrophe modelling.

Participants will also learn to analyse and interpret the impact of reinsurance on a company’s financial position and to explain the regulatory minimum standard requirements for reinsurance.

Jiang explains that working as a team with expert guidance on hand makes the course a dynamic and interactive experience that prepares participants for a successful career in the industry. 

“The teams work together over the entire course, attending presentations and tutorials, and are then given the opportunity to work on a case study,” he says. “The two syndicate advisors assigned to each group help with any questions.”

Jiang also encourages people who want to become syndicate advisors to put their hands up, because “you learn new things when you're teaching.”

“It was my positive experience with the course that inspired me to sign up as an advisor,” he says.

A network for life

Along with an opportunity to learn, Jiang describes the course as a fun experience and a great way to meet people.

“You're away for three-and-a-half days with a group of people who you don't know at the beginning, but you become well acquainted by the end,” he says. 

“You may even end up working with them over the course of your career in reinsurance, so signing up for this course is a critical networking step to take.

“The course is very hands-on and that's what makes its rapid pace work. It is without a doubt the best way to learn about and understand reinsurance.”

Closing date for RISC registrations is 28 July

Find out about ANZIIF's upcoming casualty market reinsurance webinar