The Chief Risk Officer

Many actuaries are now working as Chief Risk Officers (CROs) in the wider risk field. As the name would suggest, the Chief Risk Officer is an executive tasked with ensuring an efficient and effective governance of significant risks across the organisation. These risks are often categorised into financial, operational, hazard and strategic risks and the CRO is expected to take a holistic overview of the various risks and how they affect the organisation in aggregate.

As the world continues to become more complex, interconnected and disruptive and as insurance evolves the role of the Chief Risk Officer is also evolving in both challenging and exciting ways.

As well as managing downside risks, Chief Risk Officers are also focused on opportunities the organisation may be exposed to, in an effort to optimise the organisation’s risk-return position.

The Chief Risk Officer of an insurer or of a pension fund will have, at the least, the following functions:

Identification of the significant risks described below:

  • The significant insurance and financial risks to the insurer’s financial strength or to those insured by a pension fund, whichever is relevant, and which can impact on the liability to the insureds.

  • The significant risks for the insurer’s financial strength or to those insured by a pension fund, which are involved in the assets held against an insurer’s insurance liabilities or against a pension fund’s liabilities, whichever is relevant, or which relate to investment strategy regarding the said assets;

  • The significant risks facing insureds that are involved in assets held against the yield dependent liabilities of the insurance company and that are involved in investment strategy.  The above applies separately to each investment track.

  • The significant financial risks for the financial strength of an insurance company which is a managing company of a pension fund.

Assessment of the manner in which each risk that is identified as described above is managed, at least in the following respect:

The chief risk officer will examine whether the insurer’s or the pension fund’s existing controls, means and resources:

  • Are sufficient for measuring the risk and for monitoring it;
  • Enable the spreading of the risk, the limitation of the risk to a level that has been determined in advance, the set-off or transfer of the risk to a different party;

  • Are appropriate for the insurer or the pension fund, whichever is relevant

  • Are consistent and coordinated with the controls relating to other significant risks.

Immediate reports and updates, and supervision of the correction of deficiencies

A)

If it has been proven to the chief risk officer that the said controls, means and resources do not meet each of the criteria mentioned above, the chief risk officer will take the following steps:

  • The chief risk officer will report immediately and in writing to the insurer’s CEO and board of directors. Such report shall include a detailed description of the significant deficiencies and recommendations for their correction.

  • The chief risk officer will report immediately and in writing to the insurer’s CEO and board of directors. Such report shall include a detailed description of the significant deficiencies and recommendations for their correction.

  • The chief risk officer will update the CEO and the board of directors in writing regarding the completion of the correction of the deficiencies. A chief risk officer may integrate the report required by this paragraph into the report required pursuant to (B) below.

B)

If the chief risk officer of an insurer or the pension fund, whichever is relevant, is made aware of information regarding any matter which he believes can have a negative and significant impact on the financial condition of the insurer or of the pension fund and which requires correction, the chief risk officer will report regarding such information immediately and in writing to the insurer’s CEO and to its CFO. A copy of such report will be delivered to the insurer’s or pension fund’s (whichever is relevant) board of directors, internal auditor, chief actuary, and auditor.

More information on the responsibilities of a Chief Risk Officer can be found here.

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