CERA Education.
Over the last decade, the concept of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has gained significant momentum in the insurance industry and beyond. This came with the recognition of risk as being something not per se to be avoided, but to be optimally exploited in the frame of a company’s risk appetite. ERM is going beyond traditional risk management in that it is holistic, and encompasses strategic risk management as well as risk culture.
Many of these developments are reflected in regulatory changes, such as Solvency II (although these focus on policyholder protection and less on opportunities). Solvency II requires an actuarial and a risk management function in all (re-)insurance undertakings. Actuaries should see this as an opportunity to broaden their role, and to show that they are ideally equipped to carry out these tasks.
Against this backdrop, in November 2009, several actuarial associations launched the CERA credential as a global risk management designation for actuaries. CERA pursues the following goals:
- Strengthen international recognition of the actuarial profession’s enterprise risk management (ERM) expertise
- Promote the development of more actuaries internationally with training in ERM
- Present new opportunities for actuaries worldwide to use their expertise in an expanding range of areas
- Send a strong message to employers and candidates that the skill set of actuaries offers significant risk management expertise
Based on the 2011-implemented education und examination system of the German Actuarial Association, the EAA offers a series of training courses and exams (through DAV) to study for the CERA designation to all actuaries who want to deepen their knowledge in Enterprise Risk Management.
By passing this training and examination course, members of the German Actuarial Association gain their CERA designation. Members of other national actuarial associations have to get in touch with their association to check the possibilities to use the EAA route.
The Seminar ‘Taxonomy, Modelling and Mitigation of Risks’
The seminar focuses on quantitative analyses of financial and non-financial risks of an insurance company and the effect and possible applications of risk mitigation techniques. After an introduction to the economic valuation of an insurance company, including stochastic valuation models and approximation techniques for life companies, and the building blocks of its economic balance sheet, the risk measure as well as the relevant regulatory requirements of Solvency II will be discussed. Different concepts of risk modelling covering from standard formula to fully internal models will be presented.
After a deep-dive into the risk classification, strategic, reputation and operational risks are dealt with. Afterwards methods for modelling market, credit and underwriting risks will be presented in detail. The discussion of each risk starts with its definition, how it can be identified and distinguished from other risks, and its classification according to SII. The taxonomy is followed by qualitative and quantitative valuation approaches - including scenario analyses, stress tests, deterministic and stochastic assessments, and quantifications according to the standard formula and an internal model. Furthermore, crucial aspects of any model such as assumptions, distributions, calibration and validation are discussed, as well as limitations and criteria for the adequacy of a model for solving a given problem.
Having introduced and discussed the risk modelling, tools and techniques will be discussed that are available in the insurance business to mitigate these risks. That includes the discussion around the implications of reinsurance and securitisation as well as portfolio managemetn. We will also present what life insurance companies subject to traditional with profit business can do to hedge their main risks.
Both elements, risk modelling and measurement as well as risk mitigation, are closely related and interact with each other, what will be reflected in the topics presented and the structure of the seminar.
The consolidated view on risks in a company and an outlook on Group models close the course.
The course has been designed for experienced practitioners who use model results in practice and seek guidance for management decisions. Therefore, the focus is not on technical details but on the understanding of risk models and their results, and on the derivation of management actions. Consequently, examples and case studies are a core component of the seminar.
