Financial Disasters and the Creation of Risk Pools
Risk pools contribute to the stability of modern society by providing ways for individuals to deal with many types of financial disaster. The numbers and statistical distributions that actuaries work with represent real people. Participants in the public and private risk pools that we help to design and manage are often unaware of our presence behind the scenes. (In fact, their eyes glaze over when we try to tell them what we do.) But whether they know it or not, they depend on us. Once in a while, we should find a quiet corner and reflect on how important our programs are to society and to its many constituents. We should feel proud of what we do.
