Actuarial Services
Many large insurers employ a number of actuaries. Although small insurers may have a few actuaries on staff, most tend to rely on actuarial consultants. Some actuaries are concentrated in specialized departments, such as reserving. Insurers may also use actuaries within regional offices or in other functional areas, such as underwriting.
Insurers that employ staff actuaries may also retain actuarial consultants. Outside actuaries can supplement staff knowledge with specialized expertise, provide independent opinion when needed, and ease workload peaks. Regulatory authorities and reinsurers sometimes require insurers to provide a consulting actuary's opinion verifying the accuracy and reasonableness of the staff actuaries' work.
Insurers with limited data for ratemaking rely on rates or loss costs prepared by actuaries at advisory organizations, such as Insurance Services Office ( ISO ), American Association of Insurance Services ( AAIS ), or the National Council on Compensation Insurance ( NCCI ). The actuaries at these organizations collect premium and loss data from many insurers to use in calculating expected loss costs for various types of insurance. Advisory organizations also maintain contact with regulatory authorities to facilitate approval of rate filing. Advisory organizations also provide some services that are not actuarial, such as drafting insurance policies.