MONEY: The actuarial profession in the country is on a steady growth, and has recently recorded increased number of qualified actuaries, a top industry official has said. 

Zamara Group CEO Sandeep Raichura attributed the growth to increased growth in the appetite for actuaries in many of the local institutions. 

“The total number of actuaries in Kenya is now estimated at about 68, signalling an ever-increasing demand inspired by new opportunities in various sectors,” he said.

Raichura identified the sectors as healthcare, banking and other financial institutions, adding that this is an emerging development away from the previous concentration of demand in the insurance sector.

“In the past 10 years, we have witnessed significant growth in our actuarial practice area as the breadth of our services and market needs have continued to increase.” he said. 

The increase, he added have been notable in general insurance consulting, healthcare consulting, enterprise risk management, reinsurance optimisation and, most recently, services to the banking industry and data analytics.

Raichura spoke when the financial services firm announced the appointment of two new actuaries, a move he said will shore up the firm’s capacity to expand its actuarial service offering both locally and across the continent.

Actuaries are business and financial professionals who use mathematical skills in predicting the future risks and events. 

Insurance sector

They can work in various fields including the insurance sector, capital market, pension firms, risk management institutions, gambling, actuarial consulting firms and banking among others. 

They are among the best professionals in the world because of the work they do and the professionalism skills they hold.

An Actuary in Kenya typically earns around Sh195,000 per month with salaries ranging from Sh95,800, being the lowest to Sh305,000 or more being the highest.

Long study years have previously hindered the growth in the number of professionals. Most students take more than 10 years to become an actuary, but the minimum is eight years.

The founding of The Actuarial Society of Kenya in 1993 is believed to have  fast-tracked the growth of the actuarial profession, in the market.