Jobs / Data and analytics / 15-2011.00

Actuaries

Analyze statistical data, such as mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates and construct probability tables to forecast risk and liability for payment of future benefits. May ascertain insurance rates required and cash reserves necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.

US jobs
26,670
Median wage
$130,000 a year
Job family
Data and analytics

Can agents do the work of actuaries?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Data and analytics:

  • Task levelPartialOne direct benchmark, near its ceiling. On Spider 2.0-Snow, which asks for multi-step SQL against large business databases, the top agent reaches 96.7% execution accuracy, but the entry names no model. Adjacent spreadsheet tasks agree (83.1% on SpreadsheetBench). No benchmark in our collection tests open-ended analysis, where the right question is itself unclear.
  • Project levelPartialMixed, adjacent evidence. On MLE-bench, 75 offline Kaggle competitions, the best agent wins a medal in 64.4% of competitions. The Remote Labor Index includes data analysis projects; across all its projects, the best agent completed 15.8% to a standard a client would accept.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in data and analytics, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Analyze data to determine premium rates required and cash reserves and liabilities necessary to ensure payment of future benefits.
  • Analyze statistical information to estimate mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates.
  • Design, review, and help administer insurance, annuity and pension plans, determining financial soundness and calculating premiums.
  • Collaborate with programmers, underwriters, accounts, claims experts, and senior management to help companies develop plans for new lines of business or improvements to existing business.
  • Provide advice to clients on a contract basis, working as a consultant.
  • Determine, or help determine, company policy, and explain complex technical matters to company executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders, or the public.
  • Construct probability tables for events such as fires, natural disasters, and unemployment, based on analysis of statistical data and other pertinent information.
  • Determine equitable basis for distributing surplus earnings under participating insurance and annuity contracts in mutual companies.
  • Determine policy contract provisions for each type of insurance.
  • Provide expertise to help financial institutions manage risks and maximize returns associated with investment products or credit offerings.
  • Negotiate terms and conditions of reinsurance with other companies.
  • Testify before public agencies on proposed legislation affecting businesses.
Other job titles for this occupation (16)

Actuarial Analyst · Actuarial Associate · Actuarial Consultant · Actuary · Consulting Actuary · Health Actuary · Life Actuary · Pricing Actuary · Product Development Actuary · Reserving Actuary · Actuarial Mathematician · Actuarial Specialist · Annuity Analyst · Enrolled Actuary · Insurance Actuary · Retirement Actuarial Analyst