Welcome Booklet

Welcome Message
Welcome to the 2012 ASNA Convention, “ASNA at the Falls”! The Convention Committee from the
University of Western Ontario are very proud to be hosting this event, which always promises to be a
great meeting place for actuarial students from across the country.
This year’s theme reflects a departure from the norm of previous ASNA conventions. Most notably in
the choice of Niagara Falls as our venue, and the use of locations at both The Hilton Niagara Falls, and
The Scotiabank Convention Centre (SCC) in this year’s convention weekend.
This year you’ll be able to sit in on Seminars representing a wide range of topics in the actuarial field, but
with the backdrop of one of Canada’s most inspiring tourist attractions.
We hope that the seminars will give you a deeper insight into our profession, and that the other
activities will provide an opportunity to connect with your future colleagues. The actuarial community is
small, and the ASNA Conference is always a fantastic way to start getting to know everyone!
An immense thank you goes out to our corporate sponsors, whose unprecedented and continued
financial support is greatly appreciated, and to the speakers who have been generous enough to donate
their time and ideas.
We hope you have a wonderful stay with us in Niagara Falls and that you leave with some new ideas to
think about and new contacts in the actuarial field.
Best,
2012 ASNA Convention Committee
Schedule
Thursday, January 5th
Registration
12-16:30
TD Rink at the Brink
17:00 - 22:00
Friday, January 6th
Breakfast Buffet
6:30 – 9:00
Registration
12:00 – 15:30
Mingling Party
12:00 – 15:00
Opening Ceremony
15:30 – 16:30
Career Fair Session 1 17:30 – 19:15
Career Fair Session 2 19:30 – 21:30
Clubbing
21:00 – 1:00
Saturday, January 7th
Breakfast Buffet
6:30 – 9:00
Seminar Block # 1
10:00 – 10:50
Seminar Block # 2
11:00 – 11:50
Lunch
12:00 – 13:30
Seminar Block # 3
14:00 – 14:50
Seminar Block # 4
15:00 – 15:50
Gala Dinner
17:00 – 19:30
Evening Social Activities 20:30 – 23:00
The Hilton: Grand Café
The Hilton Foyer
The Hilton: Angel Falls and Niagara Falls Rooms
The SCC: Fallsview Theater
The Hilton: Great Falls Ballroom
The Hilton: Great Falls Ballroom
Club Dragonfly
The Hilton: Grand Café.
The SCC: Rooms 201 to 204
The SCC: Rooms 203 to 206
The SCC: Peller Estates Ballroom C
The SCC: Rooms 205 to 208
The SCC: Rooms 206 to 208
The SCC: Peller Estates Ballroom C
The SCC: Rooms 201 to 204 – Xbox Kinect Emporium
Peller Estates Ballroom D – Line Dancing
** Please see pages xx & xx for seminar schedule
Sunday, January 9th
Breakfast Buffet
6:30 – 9:00
The Hilton: Grand Café.
No Closing Ceremony due to early check out time.
Check-out
11:00 am
Shuttle Service to The Scotiabank Convention Centre
Due to the distance between The Hilton Niagara Falls and The Scotiabank Convention Centre, a shuttle
service has been arranged between these two venues.
This service is available to any attendee any time that there is a transition of events from one location to
the other.
Friday January 5th
3:00 pm: Coaches leave The Hilton to The SCC.
4:30 pm: Coaches leave The SCC to The Hilton.
Saturday January 6th
9:00 am to 10:00 am: Coaches leave The Hilton to The SCC and back every half hour.
10:00 am to 4:00 pm: A shuttle from The Hilton to The SCC and back every hour is available.
4:00 pm: Coaches leave The SCC to The Hilton.
5:30 pm: Coaches leave The Hilton to The SCC.
12:00 am: Coaches leave The SCC to The Hilton.
Social Events
Friday, January 7th
Mingling Party 12:00 – 15:00
Sponsored by Sun Life Financial
Please join us at the Sun Life Financial Mingling Party as we launch the 2012 ASNA Convention. You will
have the opportunity to meet several actuaries from Sun Life Financial and mingle with your fellow
ASNA participants. Sun Life will entertain you with various game kiosks. Prizes will be drawn at the end
of the Opening Ceremony.
Career Fair 17:30 – 21:30
Come and meet employers from all over the country. It is a great opportunity to find the internships or
the job you are looking for! The following companies will be on location to welcome you:
Come and meet employers from all over the country. It is a great opportunity to find the internships or
the job you are looking for! The following companies will be on location to welcome you:
• Canadian Institute of Actuaries
• Manulife Financial**
• Sun Life Financial**
• Great-West Life, London Life, Canada
Life
• Towers Watson
• The Co-Operators
• Desjardins General Insurance
• D.W. Simpson
• Society of Actuaries
• Intact Financial Corporation
• Farifax Financial Holdings Limited**
• Casualty Actuarial Society
• Aon Hewitt
• Buck Consultants
• GGY Axis
• Foresters
• Munich RE**
Companies whose name is followed by ** will
hold interview sessions
Clubbing 21:00 – 1:00
Sponsored by Towers Watson.
Do you want to have some fun at Niagara’s hottest night spot? Come to the Dragonfly Nightclub with us
tonight! Located at 6380 Fallsview Boulevard Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 7X5,
Canada, it’s just across the street from The Hilton Niagara Falls.
IMPORTANT: No cover charge for ladies before 12am, and the similarly for guys before 11pm.
Dress code in effect and you MUST BE 19 or older and SHOW VALID GOVERNMENT ID.
Saturday, January 8th
Evening Social Activities 20:30 – 23:00
Sponsored by Manulife Financial
Looking to some fun? Join us for an evening of fun filled activities. There is something for everyone
during the evening social activities sponsored by Manulife Financial. Whether you’d like to show off
your line dancing skills or be the controller on Xbox 360 Kinect, there will be plenty of activities for you
to enjoy. Join us after dinner for an evening of fun, refreshments and some exciting prizes.
Seminar Schedule
All seminars are located at The Scotiabank Convention Centre.
Seminar Block #1: 10:00 am to 10:50 am
Room 201: Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Room 202: Manulife Financial
Room 203: Intact
Room 204: Intact (French)
Seminar Block #2: 11:00 am to 11:50 am
Room 203: Society of Actuaries
Room 204: Casualty Actuarial Society
Room 205: Intact (French)
Room 206: Intact
Lunch Buffet 12:00 to 1:30pm - Sponsored by Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life
Peller Estates Ballroom C
Seminar Block #3: 2:00 pm to 2:50 pm
Room 205: Professor Curtis Huntington (University of Michigan)
Room 206: Manulife Financial (French)
Room 207: Sun Life Financial
Room 208: Sun Life Financial (French)
Seminar Block #4: 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm
Room 205: Casualty Actuarial Society
Room 206: Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Room 207 & 208: D.W. Simpson
Gala Dinner 6:00pm to 8:30pm - Sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Peller Estates Ballroom C
Seminar Block #1: 10:00 am to 10:50 am
Room 201: Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Topic: Important Updates
Presenters: Jason Vary and Rob Stapleford
Join CIA volunteers Jason Vary, vice chair of the Eligibility and Education Council and Rob Stapleford,
chair of the Accreditation Committee and others, for this information session on important
developments at the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
Learn about the exciting changes at the Institute such as the introduction of the ACIA designation and
voting rights for Associates, and the implementation of Canada’s first actuarial science university
accreditation program.
This session will be presented in English, but participants may ask questions in either English or French.
Room 202: Manulife Financial
Topic: Actuarial roles in Life Insurance
Presenters: Laura Anders and Yi Lynn Lin
If your guidance consoler in high school did not mistake Actuarial Science as Actual Science, then
congratulations, you are one of the lucky few! Now you study Actuarial Science at University and are
committed to becoming an actuary, but how much do you know about the roles and responsibilities of
actuaries in a life insurance company? This presentation will take a detailed view of the actuarial
profession in a life insurance company, particularly Manulife. In this presentation, we will take you
through the process of pricing a new product as a pricing actuary, as well as explain the analysis involved
in calculating actuarial reserve as a valuation actuary.
Presenter Biography:
Laura Anders is an Actuary in the Canadian Individual Insurance Pricing area, focusing on Whole Life and
Term products and new business embedded value reporting. Laura is a graduate from Queen's
University and received her FSA in 2008 after joining the actuarial development program at Manulife in
2006 in the Group Retirement Solutions department. Prior to her current role, Laura gained significant
valuation experience working on Universal Life insurance products. Along with chairing a finance
networking committee, Laura is actively involved with Manulife's full time actuarial hiring process.
Yi (Lynn) Lin is a Senior Actuarial Associate in the Canadian Segregated Fund Valuation area. Lynn’s
responsibilities include monthly and quarterly unhedged reserve and capital reporting, embedded
value reporting, and dynamic capital adequacy testing. Lynn started her full time employment with
Manulife in 2008, after graduating from University of Waterloo’s Actuarial Science Program and multiple
co-op work terms with Manulife. Lynn is an active member of Manulife’s actuarial co-op committee and
involved in Manulife’s actuarial co-op hiring process.
Room 203: Intact
Topic: Introduction to P&C Insurance
Presenters: Alena Kharkavets and Diana Zaidlin
Room 204: Intact (Presented in French)
Topic: Assurance automobile: un survol par province,
Presenters: Stéphane McGee et Charles Robitaille
Seminar Block #2: 11:00 am to 11:50 am
Room 203: Society of Actuaries
Topic: The S.O.A’s education system
Room 204: Casualty Actuarial Society
Topic: The Actuarial Skill Set
Presenter: Ms. Patricia A. Teufel
What knowledge and skills are employers looking for when hiring a casualty actuary? What skills can be
learned through the basic examination process and what are best demonstrated in other ways?
The Casualty Actuarial Society takes these questions seriously, as it determines how best to train
casualty actuaries for exciting and fruitful careers. This session will highlight the core competencies
expected of a casualty actuary and will provide examples of how these skills can be used to bring value
to users of actuarial services. It will provide an update of the CAS Board's direction for basic education
and will highlight changes that can be expected for the examination process over the next several years.
The session will also address the new CERA designation and the CAS program for awarding CERA.
Room 205: Intact (Presented in French)
Topic: Introduction à l'assurance I.A.R.D.
Presenters: Mathieu Bellemare et Charles Robitaille
Room 206: Intact
Topic: Automobile Insurance: An overview by province
Presenters: Stéphane McGee and Obaid Rahman
Seminar Block #3: 2:00 pm to 2:50 pm
Room 205: Professor Curtis Huntington of the University of Michigan
Topic: Codes of conduct and their applications to students, with emphasis on the consequences of
noncompliance
Presenter: Professor Curtis Huntington
Room 206: Manulife Financial (Presented in French)
Topic: Concepts Actuariels Fondamentaux de Tarification
Basic Annual Concepts on Pricing
Presenter: Xiao Ling Liu
La tarification est une des fonctions actuarielles de base et une partie très importante du
développement de nouveaux produits. Cette présentation soulignera les différents genres de risques
qu’une compagnie d’assurance-vie pourrait rencontrer et discutera comment la tarification s’intègre
dans le cycle de développement de nouveaux produits. Le présenteur se concentra sur les hypothèses
et les paramètres principaux, les entrées et sorties du modèles de tarification. L’audience aura aussi une
opportunité de participer à un simple exercice de tarification vers la fin de la présentation.
Pricing is one of the core actuarial functions and a very important part of product development. This
presentation will outline different types of risks an insurance company could be facing and discuss how
pricing fits into the product development cycle. The presenter will also focus on key assumptions and
metrics, the inputs into and outputs from pricing models. Audience would also have an opportunity to
put on their pricing hat to participate in a simple pricing exercise.
Presenter Biography:
Xiao Ling Liu est un associé actuariel senior de l’équipe d’évaluation en réassurance et projets
corporatifs à la Financière Manuvie. Il participe aux évaluations de produits de fonds distincts durant les
fins de trimestre et d’autres projets corporatifs incluant la vérification de modèles et les testes de
sensibilité. Xiao est diplômé d’Université de Waterloo avec une majeure en actuariat et une mineure en
statique. Avant de se joindre à la Financière Manuvie, il a travaillé en tarification et en évaluation de
produits d’assurance-vie individuelle chez un autre assureur.
Xiao Ling Liu is a senior actuarial associate on the Reinsurance Valuation and Corporate Projects team at
Manulife Financials. He participates in the quarter end valuation of seg fund products and other
corporate projects that include model vetting and sensitivity testing. Xiao graduated from University of
waterloo with a major in actuarial science and a minor in statistics. Prior to joining Manulife, he has had
experience in pricing and valuation of individual life products with another insurer.
Room 207: Sun Life Financial
Topic: Sun Life Financial - Q&A Panel - Transition from School Life to Sun Life
Presenters: Nitin Bansal, Chloe Huang, Mahvish Javed, Christine Romano
Come and meet representatives from Sun Life Financial who are pleased to answer questions you may
have about leaving school and entering the workplace. Find out what to expect when starting your
career, how to balance your work/study life, and how to become successful at your company. Panel
members bring a wide range of work experiences and vary in roles from a Director and FSA to a recent
graduate.
Presenter Biographies:
Nitin Bansal graduated in 2010 from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics in
Actuarial Science with a Finance Option. He began his career at Sun Life Financial in August 2010 and is
currently an actuarial analyst working in Canadian Asset Liability Management. His previous experiences
include pricing various products such as life annuities, segregated funds, and auto insurance. He is
currently pursuing his Associateship of the Society of Actuaries.
Chloe Huang is a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Mathematics in
Actuarial Science with Finance option. She started at Sun Life in July 2011 as an actuarial analyst in
Canadian Asset Liability Management. Her previous work experience includes group pension pricing and
reinsurance pricing.
Mahvish Javed graduated from the University of Toronto in 2009 with an Actuarial Science and
Economics degree, after which she joined Sun Life Financial. Her first role was in Canadian Asset Liability
Management where she gained experience working with datasets in AXIS and learned about various
CALM procedures. She recently went through the actuarial rotation program and moved to Individual
Life Pricing, where she continues to expand on her AXIS skills and develop product pricing knowledge.
Christine Romano FSA, Director, Group Retirement Services (GRS) Payout Annuity Pricing, leads the team
responsible for creating pricing quotations for Pensurance™ and payout annuities. She also plays an
important role in new Defined Benefit Solution product research and development and was
instrumental in the creation of our new longevity insurance solution. Christine has worked at Sun Life
since graduating from the University of Waterloo in December 2004 with a Bachelor of Mathematics in
Actuarial Science. She has experience in a wide variety of actuarial roles including consulting, valuation
and pricing.
Room 208: Sun Life Financial (Presented in French)
Topic: Financière Sun Life – Séance de questions et réponses – Faire la transition entre les études et la
vie professionnelle à la Financière Sun Life
Presenters : Bruno Montiminy, Alesandre Genois
Venez rencontrer des représentants de la Financière Sun Life qui seront heureux de répondre aux
questions que vous pourriez avoir sur la fin de vos études et votre entrée sur le marché du travail.
Apprenez à quoi vous en tenir au début de votre carrière, comment trouver un équilibre entre le travail
et vos examens et comment réussir au sein de la compagnie pour laquelle vous travaillez. Les membres
du groupe qui occupent divers postes (de directeur, FSA à jeune diplômé) vous feront profiter d'une
vaste gamme d'expériences de travail.
Presenter Biographies :
Bruno Montiminy FSA FCIA, est directeur, fixation des prix vie à la Financière Sun Life. Il s'est joint à la
Sun Life en 2002 et travaille au siège social canadien de la Compagnie à Waterloo. Il compte parmi ses
diverses expériences de travail la fixation des prix et l'évaluation pour divers produits d'assurance
individuelle ainsi que l'évaluation de la rentabilité des produits. Bruno détient un baccalauréat en
actuariat de l'Université Laval.
Alexandre Genois, FSA a gradué en actuariat à l’Université Laval en 2006 et a depuis travaillé dans
différent départements de la Financière Sun Life. Alexandre a obtenue son titre de Fellow de la SoA
(FSA) en 2009 et est présentement directeur dans le département de Développement Corporatif, où il
est responsable des projets de fusions & acquisitions. Ses expériences antérieures incluent un contrat de
deux ans au Royaume Uni sur le projet de capital économique ainsi que deux ans à Waterloo en Ontario
dans l’équipe d’évaluation des produits vie universelle.
Seminar Block #4: 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm
Room 205: Casualty Actuarial Society
Topic: A Day in the Life of An Actuary
Presenter: Mr. Philip Traicus
An experienced actuary explains how he made the transition from student to employed actuary by
discussing his background, education and work experience, ending with an overview of his daily
activities and with a look at the latest trends in the property & casualty industry.
Room 206: Canadian Institute of Actuaries
Topic: Actuarial Evidence? What's That??
Presenters: Kelley McKeating, FSA, FCIA, Consulting, and Jamie Jocsak, FCIA
You've heard of life insurance actuaries and pension actuaries, but what on earth is an actuarial
evidence actuary? Learn about this small but vibrant practice area. Find out about the skills required
and the opportunities available. Take a stroll through a day in the life of an AE practitioner, and hear
about some typical AE career paths.
Room 207 & 208: D.W. Simpson
Topic: How to Land your first Actuarial Job
Presenters: Margit Vogele (Senior Recruiter) and April Paxton (Entry Level Recruiter)
Presenter Biography:
Margit Vogele joined DW Simpson in 2006. Prior to DW Simpson, Margit was working with a graphic
design firm in Chicago.
For nearly three years Margit worked as a Lead Recruiter on the Entry Level team at D.W Simpson. In
this role, she worked with a wide range of individuals who were looking to move into the actuarial
profession. She has made presentations to hundreds of entry level candidates on such topics as How to
Write a Resume and How to Prepare for an Interview. Additionally, Margit has attended numerous
meetings across the United States and Canada including the Actuarial Students' National Association
(ASNA) meeting. Margit is currently on a team with Kim Skora working with experienced actuaries of all
disciplines and quantitative risk professionals.
Margit attended The University of Iowa in Iowa City where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a
minor in Business & Entrepreneurship. While at Iowa, Margit was a member of the Division I Women’s
soccer team and the BFA Scholarship program.
Margit is originally from Southern California and has lived in Chicago for the past five years. Outside the
office Margit enjoys painting, running, being outdoors and traveling. She is an active volunteer and has
been involved with the Child Life volunteer program at the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago for
the past three years.
April Paxton joined DW Simpson & Company as a Recruiter specializing on the entry-level market. She
also travels nationwide to give presentations to university’s actuarial organizations on the actuarial
industry and market. Prior to DW Simpson, she worked as a College Recruiting Coordinator for OnCampus Resources LLC, which was a former subsidiary of DW Simpson.
April attended the University of Illinois at Chicago where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business
Management focusing in Human Resources and International Business. While at UIC, she was a member
of the University’s dance team where she performed half-time at a Chicago Bears versus Dallas Cowboys
NFL game. She also served as an Events Coordinator of the International Club and remains an active
participant. April spent a summer abroad in Sydney, Australia, where she interned at an automotive
company within their Human Resources department as well as studied Australian history and culture at
a local college.
Outside of the office, April enjoys dancing, traveling the world, playing Scrabble, and four-wheeling. She
has a competitive nature to her, as she raced in the Warrior Dash jumping over cars, army crawling
through mud, and diving through fire.
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