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India should aspire to have atleast 1,000-1,200 actuaries as quickly as possible given the huge requirement of such professionals in the country, IRDAI Chairman Subash Chandra Khuntia said on Wednesday.
“This is the minimum we should target because the present number of 458 is not adequate for a large country like India. Also, the addition in the number of actuaries between 2019 and 2020 is only 19, which is too small”, he said at a virtual Actuarial Conclave 2021 organised by the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI).
Khuntia highlighted that there are nearly 60,000 actuaries in the world and India has 458 such professionals. “Given the large number of insurance companies that we have and size of global insurance industry, our number of actuaries is inadequate”, he said.
He urged IAI to increase the number of actuaries in the country by persuading students in the undergraduate programme to take up actuarial profession. “There is not much awareness among college and university students about this profession. Awareness campaign should be started by the Institute to bring talented students to the actuarial profession”, he said.
Khuntia highlighted that actuarial profession is remunerative and there is tremendous possibility for growth with some even reaching the level of Chief Executive Officer in organisations.
IFRS adoption
IRDAI Chairman urged insurance companies to champion the cause of adoption of IFRS 17 (international accounting standard on insurance contracts).
Subhendu Kumar Bal, President, Institute of Actuaries of India and Chief Actuary & Chief Risk Officer, SBI Life Insurance Company Limited later told BusinessLine that the institute is taking efforts to expand the number of actuaries in the system while ensuring the quality of profession is not affected.
On IFRS 17 adoption, Bal said that IAI has approached the Accounting Standards Board of CA Institute seeking deferment in the implementation date to April 1, 2024.
Transition
The Effective date of implementation of IFRS 17 as decided by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) is January 1, 2023. This may mean that comparative balance sheets are to be prepared effective January 1, 2022.
“In Indian context, an implementation date of April 1, 2023 would mean that we have to prepare comparative balance sheet for April 1, 2022 leaving insurers little more than a year to complete the implementation process, which is quite challenging. We have shared our comments with Accounting Standards Board highlighting this and have requested for a delay, say to implement from April 1, 2024”, he said.
In China, unlisted insurers will transition in 2026 and in Indonesia and Philippines the transition is slated for 2025, he added.
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