India affected by global actuarial shortage

Concerned over the shortage of actuaries in the region, India’s Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is reported to have instigated a two-year course for training actuaries in collaboration with the Andhra Pradesh government.

“We have set up an Institute of Insurance and Risk Management in Hyderabad that offers a two-year course in actuarial studies to aspiring graduates,” announced D V S Sastry, IRDA’s director general, during a recent seminar on corporate governance.

IRDA, which approves the proposals for new products filed by insurance companies, is also facing a problem in that the clearance of these products is taking longer. Referring to the global shortage of actuaries, Sastry added: “South-east Asia is looking to India to outsource actuaries.”

Sastry’s claims are backed up by global actuarial recruitment firm D W Simpson, which has seen an increase in demand from a range of insurance firms across Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia and elsewhere in the region.