Position Overview

This person will be responsible for leading and managing reinsurance quotation in day-to-day pricing function in ***Japan, covering quantitative and qualitative risk analysis, providing financial quantification and final actuarial recommendation to management related to assigned quote opportunity. He / she is also expected to contribute to improvement of risk understanding in *** Japan through Pricing Basis development, other R&D activities, and risk monitoring. Being associate director, he / she needs to assume more managerial and coaching responsibilities for the development of junior team members. 

Responsibilities

Pricing Process and Compliance

• Lead pricing process from beginning to end on assigned quotes.
• Actively contribute to the design of reinsurance treaty terms by providing actuarial recommendations from pricing and risk perspective.
• Apply judgement to decide on the pricing methodology to be applied and obtain agreement with Head of Pricing where needed.
• Review pricing models (AXIS) used for quotes and ensure compliance with the standard. pricing model template. Where needed, significant changes are to be agreed with the Head of Pricing.
• Review and ensure assumptions to be used are in line with current approved Pricing Bases. This includes deciding on the appropriate granularity, scope and methodology of experience studies (if needed), reviewing and drawing conclusions from the experience study, and decide / propose adjustments and new assumptions.
• Peer and technical review of pricing quotes lead by other pricing actuaries.
• Sign off on the pricing for assigned reinsurance quotes within individual authority, including finalization of pricing memos and signing-off of treaty / treaty amendments.
• Escalate and work with Regional Pricing to obtain approvals as necessary for assigned quotes.
• Understand and act on new Corporate or Regional procedures and guidelines following discussion with the Head of Pricing.
• Ensure proper filing (and backup) of all quotation files, pricing procedures and pricing bases with due respect to internal policies.

Pricing Bases

• Lead Pricing Basis development initiatives from beginning to end.
• Working with Head of Pricing to assess the strengths of weaknesses of current pricing bases and identify areas of improvement and set priority.
• Determine scope of pricing basis with Head of Pricing.
• Assessment of various data sources for development of Pricing Basis.
• Analysis of data required for the derivation of Pricing Bases for each risk to be priced.
• Seek Underwriting, Claims and Medical subject matter expert opinions on these risks and factor in these insights in the assumption setting and risk parameterisation.
• Coordinate with Regional to obtain Pricing Basis approval where needed.

Research and Development

• Undertake and manage the delivery of specific R&D projects as specified by the Head of Pricing.
• Coordinate multi-functional projects where needed.
• Identify, initiate, lead and execute new value-adding initiatives within Pricing team as well as across wider function areas

Pricing Software

• With the assistance of junior members of the pricing team, ensure *** Japan pricing. model (AXIS) compliance with *** best practice and guidelines.
• Design and sign-off of new pricing models for any additional business in *** Japan.

Other

• Prepare management reports as requested.
• Participate in staff training as both trainer and trainee as occasion requires.
• Build and maintaining positive working relationships with *** Japan Business Development, Underwriting, Claims, Valuation, Finance, and Admin teams.
• Build and maintaining positive working relationships with clients where needed.
• Build and maintaining positive working relationships within ***across Asia, Regional and Corporate.
• Support for any special projects for Corporate, Regional and *** Japan.

 Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Actuarial Science or a related field
• Completed Fellowship through IAJ or similar OR sufficient years of directly relevant pricing experience as to be considered as equivalent
• 10-20 years life insurance experience. 
• Advanced Excel Skills. Experience with AXIS is an advantage.
• Knowledge of Japanese life insurance products
• Familiarity with reinsurance or life insurance pricing is an advantage
• Fluency in Japanese language
• English language skills (written and verbal) is a plus or being willing to learn on-job
• Ability to work independently with strong motivation and initiative
• Open, honest and a cooperative mindset; ability to effectively participate in, and help foster, a team-based work environment
• Logical approach to solve commercial problem with numerical analysis
• Ability to derive business implications from numerical analysis in the scope of entire business and communicate not just business implications but also recommended solution / changes to non-technical personnel
• Ability to communicate technical details and business implications in non-technical terms
• Ability to lead a project cross multiple functions and drive timely delivery
• Ability to identify business opportunities and areas of improvement across all business functions in *** Japan.