Tom

Corporate Actuary - Actuarial

1. What do you do?

The corporate area of the Actuarial department works on projects or analyses that apply to the company as a whole. 

Currently we are building a simplified model for determining how much capital Groupama Insurances needs to hold to protect against extreme scenarios.  One of my responsibilities is to ensure that the model maintains practical relevance in the real world – often it is more difficult to explain and make practical use of a complex model than it is to build it.  

I am also responsible for producing a number of the Actuarial reports and analysis that we provide to our parent company in France.  This has enhanced my understanding of the Group, including how we fit into the bigger picture.  I find it is also a good way to test my understanding of our business and the UK insurance environment – this is hugely important when explaining our results and strategies and why they may differ from other entities within the Group.

2. What do you need to be successful?

I joined the company after graduating from the University of Warwick with a first class honours degree in accounting and finance. Since joining, I have been studying towards a professional qualification. I have now successfully completed all of the examinations required by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and I am waiting for them to confirm my status as a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. These qualifications have enabled me to deal with some of the more technical aspects of my role. They also demonstrate my ability to carry out technical analysis where this is required. As time has gone on, I have learnt that the importance of soft skills, such as pragmatism and communication, alongside these technical skills cannot be overstated, especially within a mainly technical area like ours.

3. What's the Groupama difference?

The main advantage of working at Groupama is its size.  I was given responsibility for entire pieces of work from day one.  Almost instantly, you find yourself producing analysis or reports for the Executive team or other members of the Senior Management Team. This is motivational and shows how valuable your role is.  With a relatively small team, people are given the opportunity to lead or take responsibility for whole projects or pieces of work, rather than only being involved in a single element or task. This enables people to develop an understanding of various classes of business and also to quickly understand leadership and teamwork.  

I was promoted early in my career and I see this as one of many examples of career progression opportunities that exist at the company.  Groupama fills many important roles internally, across a range of departments and locations.