Sri Lankan actuaries form professional body to meet growing demand

Oct 20, 2008 (LBO) - Sri Lankan actuaries, business professionals who analyse the financial consequences of risk, have banded together to form a professional body called the Actuarial Association of Sri Lanka (AASL). It aims to popularise the profession to meet growing national demand and help with the development of the local financial services sector, the association said in a statement.

"The lack of qualified actuaries is a key issue for the Sri Lankan insurance industry today," said the AASL’s founder President Amali Seneviratne, a director of Ceylinco Life.

"We need a strategy to increase the number of qualified actuaries in Sri Lanka to meet the national demand."

Seneviratne said there are 16 companies transacting long term insurance business in Sri Lanka today and that new regulations are forthcoming requiring mandatory Actuarial Certification for the General Insurance business as well.

Actuaries use mathematics, statistics, economics, and financial theory to study uncertain future events, especially those of concern to long term insurance and pension programs, the statement said.

Actuaries are most frequently employed in the insurance industry.

They calculate the costs to ass