Some important dates in our short history

January - February 1994 First Actuarial Diploma Course – Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics – was held in Slovakia in the Faculty of Economic Informatics of the Economics University (FEI EU) in Bratislava.  The Course was run, in co-operation with the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, thanks to financial support from the Know-How-Fund of the United Kingdom Government.

28 March 1995 Participants of the above course set up a Club of Insurance Mathematicians under the auspices of the Slovak Association of Insurance Companies.

28 June 1995 The Club’s members decided to set up an independent body: the Slovak Society of Actuaries (SSA).

27 March 1996 The membership approved the final version of the SSA Statutes.

2 April 1996 The SSA was officially registered with 32 founding members.

August 2004 Membership of the SSA exceeds 100.

21 October 2005 The SSA became a Member of the Groupe Consultatif Actuariel Européen (GC).

19 November 2005 The SSA became a Full Member of the International Actuarial Association (IAA).

Education

The first Diploma Course was followed from April 1995 to September 1996 by a second diploma course – Actuarial Mathematics and Insurance.  The UK Know-How-Fund again provided funded and the British actuarial profession provided many of the lecturers.

In respect of both these Courses, Society members played a role not just as participants, but also as organisers and lecturers.

From May to June 1997 there was a further Postgraduate Diploma Course – Actuarial Mathematics and Pension Insurance.  This was again organised by the FEI EU, but this time in conjunction with the UK Government Actuary’s Department.  Funding was provided through an EU PHARE Project.

All these Courses were aimed at those who had already graduated from University and were in the main already doing actuarial work.  They enabled them to gain valuable theoretical and also practical knowledge.

The already established contacts with the British actuarial profession led to visits during 1996 and 1997 being made to the Institute of Actuaries in London and in Oxford.

The year 1997 also saw the start of a series of biannual seminars – Insurance Mathematics in Theory and in Practice – organised jointly by the Department of Mathematics of the FEI EU and the SSA.

Since the start of 2004 the SSA has been organising a series of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities on an almost monthly basis.  These take the form of seminars on current topics of interest to members and the presenters have also included guest speakers from outside of Slovakia.

The SSA has initiated a formal structure for initial actuarial education, the main plank of which is a set of detailed syllabuses.  This has helped not only visibly to improve the professional status of actuaries, but also allowed the SSA to become a Full Member of the IAA and a Member of the GC.

Status and recognition of the profession

Up until 1999 the SSA’s main concerns had been in the areas of education and international contacts.  From 1999 onwards most effort has been put into trying to improve the status of the profession, in terms of getting the SSA recognised as a fully professional body representing actuaries in Slovakia and getting the term “actuary” accepted in the legislation.

The first step was the approval on 16 April 1999 of a Code of Conduct for SSA members.  Then the term “Actuary” was inserted, thanks to an amending law aimed at bringing Slovak legislation more into line with that in the EU, into the then existing law on insurance.  SSA members helped in drafting the role, status and responsibilities of the Actuary.

Following this success in getting actuaries recognised in the insurance legislation, the SSA worked at improving its relations with the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Market Authority.  At the same time it worked at increasing the acceptance of the SSA by employers of actuaries, who in the main are insurance companies.

The improved co-operation with the Ministry of Finance bore fruit during the preparation of an entirely new law on insurance in 2001.  This new law was needed not just because of economic and legal changes, but also by the need to align Slovak legislation with that of the EU in the run-up to EU membership.

The new Insurance Law came into effect on 1 March 2002.  It significantly extended the rights and duties of the Actuary in insurance companies and in particular introduced the role of Responsible Actuary.

The Law and its supporting Regulations set out the requirements for someone to become a Responsible Actuary.  These include the passing of an examination which aims to test the applicants knowledge of actuarial science, the law relating to insurance, and insurance practice in Slovakia.  Membership of the SSA is not a requirement.

International activities

Since its formation members of the SSA have played an active role in international actuarial meetings.  In particular the SSA has been represented at all the Meetings of the Leaders of the Actuarial Profession in Central and Eastern Europe, organised by the IAA.  A member of the SSA attended the International Congress of Actuaries in Birmingham, UK, in June 1998.

Representatives of the SSA involved in education have attended a number of meetings organised jointly by the Education Committees of the IAA and the GC.  These related in the main to the introduction of Core Education Syllabuses for actuaries and have allowed the SSA to keep up-to-date with developments in this area.

In September 2001 the SSA organised a meeting in Bratislava of leaders of the actuarial professions in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, at which matters of common interest were fruitfully discussed.

The SSA became an Associate Member of the IAA in 1997 and a Full Member in 2005, in which year it also became a Member of the GC.

The future

Due to the increased volume of activities and duties relating to actuaries, the SSA decided early in 2004 to set up a number of Committees to deal with specific areas.

To date there exist Committees dealing with actuarial standards of practice and education.

A Committee to deal with pensions is in the process of being formed.