Actuarial Analyst

Company Details

Berkley Agribusiness works with ambitious agribusiness clients to help them own their futures. Our culture is built on the belief that everyone has the power to create the future they deserve.  Every Berkley Agribusiness team member must have the courage to challenge the status quo, collaboratively working with our clients to find creative property and casualty insurance solutions that drive them to succeed. We depend on our ability to listen to our clients — and our experience to help them make fact-based decisions that help their businesses thrive.

Berkley Agribusiness is part of the W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRBC). Founded in 1967, WRBC is one of the nation’s premier commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. WRBC’s international business operates in selected regions throughout the world, including Europe, South America, Australia, and Asia.

This position is based in our Urbandale, IA office which offers a hybrid work schedule with 4 days in the office; and 1 day remote where it makes sense to do so.  

The Company is an equal employment opportunity employer.  #LI-hybrid, #LI-LD1

Responsibilities

As an Actuarial Analyst for Berkley Agribusiness, you will be involved with completing rate reviews, actuarial indications, predictive modeling, completing regular estimates of adequate loss and expense reserves, participating in company’s planning processes, and providing tools and analysis in support of pricing large accounts. These activities are to be completed with more independence, proactively, and demonstrate a working knowledge of the core principles and standard actuarial techniques.

What you can expect:

• Culture of innovation, teamwork, supportive colleagues and leaders willing to invest in talent.
• Internal mobility opportunities - be a key part of the succession plan.
• Visibility to senior leaders and partnership with cross functional teams.
• Opportunity to impact change.
• Benefits – competitive compensation, paid time off, comprehensive wellness benefits and programs, employer funded health savings account, profit sharing, 401k, paid parental leave, employee stock purchase plan, tuition assistance and professional continuing education.
• For the Actuarial Organization, we also offer an actuarial study program.

We'll count on you to:

• Proactively seek out situations where the acquisition of Competitive Market Analytics and other competitive position reviews would have a material impact on business decisions and their outcomes.

• Adapt and develop rating methodologies for both existing and new company products paying particular attention to opportunities to developing a competitive advantage through consideration and use of new variables, etc.

• Identify, retrieve, and prepare data in support of actuarial analysis through R, SQL, Essbase, Databricks, and other data sources. This includes internal data (exposure, premium, loss, claims, price, etc.) and various forms of external data (bureau loss costs, bureau trends, macroeconomic data, market share, market pricing, etc.).

• Ensure the accuracy and suitability of data for the business need at hand. Manipulates data, performs preliminary analysis and interprets data through Excel or other analytics platforms and presents recommendations.

• Complete Rate Reviews, Ratemaking, and Actuarial Indications including support of forecasting investment rates of return, underwriting expense provisions, frequency/severity and exposure trends. Gain management support for recommended changes.

• Complete regular estimates of adequate loss and expense reserves, including any financial information pertaining to reserves needed by the Financial Department, company management, or corporate including but not limited to Schedule P.

• Identify segments with profitable growth potential; identify underperforming segments and propose corrective actions to improve profitability.

• Perform advanced analytics and modeling techniques including but not limited to generalized linear modeling and other forms of multivariate analysis. 

• Participate in enterprise risk management initiatives, including support for catastrophe management, economic capital modeling, internal rate of return studies, etc.

• Provide tools and analysis in support of Underwriting’s pricing decisions with respect to large accounts as well as small commercial portfolio price adequacy analyses.

• Perform other related duties as assigned by management.

Qualifications

What you need to have:

• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2+ years of actuarial experience specifically within an insurance organization preferred. 
• Experience with data visualization tools, with a strong preference for Power BI.
• Commitment to continuing education demonstrated by progression through the Casualty Actuarial Society exam program or other insurance professional designations, including more traditional forms of continuing education related to university work or other technical designations.

• Ability to examine and break information into parts by identifying motives or causes. Make inferences and find evidence to support generalizations.

• Ability to organize, prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment; respond promptly and professionally to inquiries from customers; and communicate effectively with all levels of the organization.

• Should possess strong customer orientation and problem analysis and problem resolution skills. Regularly and consistently demonstrates commitment to company values and guiding principles. 

• Proficient in and have knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite as well as demonstrated ability to learn other software as needed.  In particular, a more extensive working knowledge of Excel and a basic understanding of PowerBI, SQL or other data management software packages is expected.  

Additional Company Details

Sponsorship Details