​The actuarial skills shortage is being driven by a small global talent pool, long qualification pathways, rising demand across pricing, modelling and regulatory work, and a growing need for commercial judgement alongside technical expertise. In response, specialist actuarial recruitment now has to solve for capability and succession, not simply fill vacancies.

We speak to Matt Waterworth, Head of Actuarial Practice here at IDEX, to understand where actuarial capability gaps create the greatest commercial and regulatory exposure, and how to make workforce decisions that strengthen resilience, performance and future growth.

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Ways Actuarial Shortages Constrain Insurance Growth

When it comes to shortages of key skills, the numbers illustrate how constrained the profession already is. Chartered Accountants Worldwide represents more than two million Chartered Accountants and students, while the CFA Institute has more than 200,000 registered Certified Financial Accountants globally. By comparison, there are only around 80,000 actuaries working worldwide, with much of that talent is unevenly distributed too. One analysis, puts 75% of those actuaries working in North America and Europe.

Scarcity of headcount is only part of the issue. Throughout IDEX’s conversations with the market, specialist capability is just as constrained. Pricing has remained one of the clearest areas of demand, while reserving and capital requirements are becoming busier as carriers grow and new businesses enter the market. MGAs are also increasingly recognising the value actuarial capability can bring to pricing and analytics.

That changes what insurance businesses should be asking of their actuarial recruitment strategy. The conversation cannot stop at whether a vacancy can be filled. It needs to consider where a lack of actuarial capacity is already constraining the business:

• Slowing the development of pricing models

• Limiting underwriting responsiveness

• Increasing pressure on regulatory and capital reporting

• Delaying expansion into new markets or products

• Concentrating too much knowledge in a small number of senior people

Matt has seen the commercial consequences first-hand. “I’ve seen several instances of that being the case,” he explained, “Which is why actuarial capacity needs to be viewed directly as a critical part of the infrastructure of an insurer, protecting revenue, regulatory obligations and the organisation’s ability to operate.”

When expertise is missing, the consequences can reach pricing, regulatory submissions and ultimately the ability of the business to deliver against its commercial plans.

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When Capacity Falls Short, Regulatory Risk Rises

Actuarial capacity is not just a productivity issue. In some functions, the right level of expertise and professional designation is fundamental to meeting regulatory obligations and maintaining business continuity.

The same principle applies within carriers. Capital submissions, Lloyd’s reporting and other regulatory deadlines do not move because a team is under-resourced.

As Matt puts it, “There are legal ramifications of not having enough actuaries within the business doing what you need them to do.”

That means leaders need visibility of where critical knowledge and sign-off authority sit before capacity becomes stretched. An actuarial recruitment strategy should therefore be identifying those points of dependency early, rather than kicking in only when regulatory or operational pressure has already built.

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How Do You Recruit Actuaries For An Insurance Team?

Matt’s starting point is simple; “We define what the business actually needs the person to achieve. That’s because, the strongest briefs as those that connect the role to outcomes.”

Technical requirements matter, but a specification built entirely around qualifications, years of experience and previous employers can quickly narrow an already limited market without addressing the underlying business need.

Does the business need someone who can improve pricing capability, support expansion, strengthen capital management or work more closely with underwriting?

That context also gives an actuarial recruitment strategy more opportunity to advise on where relevant capability may exist outside an obvious competitor set.

Senior actuarial capability takes years to develop, particularly when commercial judgement, board exposure and stakeholder influence are required. So, Matt also encourages leaders to consider succession at the same time as recruitment. As he explains, “That commercial acumen and business knowledge... takes time to learn.”

That longer-term view matters, whether organisations are recruiting for actuarial jobs in insurance or looking to hire pensions actuaries. The immediate appointment should strengthen today’s team without creating tomorrow’s succession gap.

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What Qualifications Do Insurance Actuaries Need?

Insurance actuaries typically require recognised professional actuarial qualifications, alongside relevant experience in areas such as pricing, reserving, capital modelling or risk.

Matt is clear, however, that qualification is rarely the underlying skills problem. “By becoming a qualified actuary you are technically strong enough... because it’s such a rigorous training process. However, real differentiation appears after that technical foundation has been established.”

When hiring, firms must ask:

• Can the candidate explain complex analysis to a non-actuarial audience?

• Can they challenge an underwriter constructively?

• Can they connect capital decisions to wider business strategy?

• Can they translate modelling into a recommendation that senior leadership can act on?

Those questions become particularly important at leadership level, to determine whether someone has the influence and judgement the organisation needs.

When conducting assessments, an actuarial staffing agency must consider how effectively that capability will operate within the wider business.

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Modelling And Pricing Need Commercial Fluency

This is where Matt believes one of the biggest capability gaps now sits. “Technical modeling is not the bottleneck,” he told us, “The issue is finding actuaries who can take that technical expertise and apply it commercially.”

In pricing, that means understanding what underwriters are facing in the market and ensuring models support commercially effective decisions. In capital, it means understanding how structure, risk appetite and future transactions connect. In reserving, it means working effectively across finance, claims, systems and regulatory requirements.

AI is making that distinction more important.

Matt does not see automation reducing the need for actuaries. Instead, he sees it changing where their time can create value. “Sit me in the corner and leave me alone with my spreadsheets... Those days are gone,” he chuckles. [JM1.1]

Work that once took days or weeks can increasingly be accelerated, giving actuaries more time to validate outputs, interpret them and participate in strategic conversations. Technical capability, then, needs to be redeployed, closer to underwriting, strategy and decision-making.

That should also shape what businesses expect from their actuarial recruitment process. The strongest candidate may not only be the person capable of building the model, but the person who can explain what it means for growth, risk and market positioning.

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Attracting and Retaining Actuarial Talent

Scarcity also changes the attraction and retention equation. Salary benchmarking, remains part of attracting and retaining talent. But Matt is seeing more businesses use incentives and restrictions to protect actuarial capability they know will be difficult to replace.

As actuarial roles broaden, strong performers are increasingly able to contribute across underwriting, strategy, technology and leadership. Giving people that exposure can make roles more compelling while simultaneously developing the commercial capability businesses need. Senior actuaries being retained because they are well rewarded for doing the same role, but also because they can see a meaningful path towards greater influence.

The latter also helps succession planning. There is a clear risk of experienced leaders retiring with years of institutional knowledge if their deputies have not been brought into board discussions and strategic decision-making early enough.

Retention and succession should therefore be considered together. Keeping scarce capability is important; deliberately transferring the knowledge around it is what makes that capability resilient.

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Building Actuarial Capability For Growth And Resilience

Closing the actuarial skills gap is ultimately not about having more actuarial desks. It requires insurers to ensure they have the right capability, in the right places, to turn technical expertise into better decisions, sustainable growth and stronger risk management.

That won’t be achieved by treating every vacancy reactively, or as a standalone hiring problem. Instead, it is to plan deliberately for the future actuarial capabilities required.

Specialist actuarial recruitment support can play a useful role in that process. IDEX’s approach is to combine market knowledge with workforce insight, helping insurance businesses understand where talent exists, where supply is constrained and how their requirements compare with the wider market.

Contact IDEX to discuss how to build the actuarial capability your business needs next.