Under the Spotlight with Charlie Chang

From mainland China to Hong Kong, Charlie Chang shares his insights on navigating evolving insurance markets, leading IFRS 17 projects and embracing AI-driven innovation for the future of actuarial science.

For those who don’t know you, could you share a bit about your journey into the actuarial profession and your career in general insurance?

I am delighted to have this opportunity to introduce myself! My name is Charlie and I currently work in financial management for China Pacific Insurance Company Limited in Hong Kong.

After graduating from university in Australia, I returned to mainland China and begun working for China Pacific Insurance Company, holding positions related to actuarial science and finance.

The past ten years that I have been working have coincided with the rapid development of the actuarial industry in China. During this period, I have taken on various roles, including actuarial reserving, solvency management, auto insurance pricing and the implementation of IFRS 17, all while witnessing the rapid growth and professionalisation of the property and casualty insurance market in mainland China.

What prompted your recent move from mainland China to Hong Kong?

Compared to the mainland China, I believe that Hong Kong market is a mature market, serving as a haven for property insurance actuaries. By referring to it as a “haven,” I mean that it offers more opportunities and is a more mature environment for exchange and numerous potential prospects.

Hong Kong also stands as a pivotal gateway for companies to access the global market, acting as a reliable window for mainland insurance companies. For example, with the progress of the Belt and Road Initiative, mainland insurance companies can leverage Hong Kong to further expand into the international insurance market, enhancing their risk diversification capabilities and global influence. That’s why I consider the Hong Kong market as a valuable opportunity for personal growth.

Coming to Hong Kong also marks a transition towards becoming a leader within the China Pacific Insurance Company as it presents a chance to be closer to business. As actuarial work can often perceived as disconnected from reality, I am eager to become closer to frontline business teams and gain a deeper understanding of practical business operations. This will help make actuarial work more grounded and provide a clearer direction and more tangible benefits of our efforts.

Lastly, as regulatory requirements for property insurance actuaries in Hong Kong continue to rise, I foresee more challenges and opportunities for the profession in the future, allowing more opportunities for property insurance actuaries to work in Hong Kong.

How has this transition influenced your perspective on general insurance in Asia? Are there any differences in how actuaries approach Asian markets compared to Australia?

Compared to many places in the world, the Asian market, especially the China mainland, has a certain advantage: data and digitisation.

With a vast population and more risk exposures, the Asian market collects mountains of data which presents numerous opportunities as they have immense potential for further exploration.

Of course, there is a greater need for the application of IT technology as actuaries are required to do more data analysis and modeling to uncover more opportunities and growth for companies.

Meanwhile rapid changes in the market mean that traditional actuarial techniques used in more developed markets like Australia are often ineffective. That’s why Asia-based actuaries need to apply more flexible technologies and innovative actuarial techniques as the value of actuarial science in these markets is still being explored.

I am pleased to discover that actuaries in mainland China and Hong Kong are trusted and placed in various positions, including business development, risk management and financial management. This is a stage full of opportunities, waiting for the full participation of more actuaries.

What advice would you offer to actuaries considering a career move to a different country, especially to regions with rapidly evolving insurance markets like Asia?

Making changes and facing challenges is always very difficult. However, one should not abandon excellent opportunities just because of that.

As the Asian market is rapidly growing, there is room for improvement. Regulations are gradually improving, technology is strengthening and actuarial capabilities are enhancing.

As a young actuary, one can learn a lot in and have more opportunities to communicate and learn from people with non-actuarial backgrounds. Additionally, in such a market, there are fewer ingrained mindsets, more opportunities for innovation, and more chances to embrace digitisation and AI. This provides a larger stage for young actuaries to showcase themselves and grow faster.

Building a solid foundation is crucial as having a comprehensive understanding of various aspects of work is the best way to demonstrate of one’s abilities. As a property insurance actuary, I have served as a Business Analyst (BA) for system development, developed pricing programs on my own and worked on various tasks related to reserves, pricing and accounting standards. Rich experience and diverse capabilities are my best weapons as it allows me to become a jack-of-all-trades and show our talents in various fields.

In the AI era, insurance work will be closely connected with AI and there are still many things waiting for us. Once again, I welcome actuaries from around the world to come to mainland China and Hong Kong to join this transformation!

What would you consider your most challenging project in general insurance thus far and what did you learn from it?

From 2018 to 2023, I led the implementation of the property insurance section under IFRS 17. This project was extremely challenging as we found that IFRS 17 was not only highly complex in methodology, but also demanded exceptionally high-quality data and an unprecedented understanding of systems.

I learned a lot from this project like how crucial leadership and communication skills are for actuaries. Most of the problems encountered in the project were not purely actuarial but required comprehensive solutions from finance, business and IT departments. As one person’s abilities can be limited, it is essential in a project like this to integrate talents from different professions to help maximise effectiveness which is why  personal leadership and communication skills is a needed skill for actuaries.

Secondly, this project highlighted that digitisation is the future of the insurance industry. Insurance companies possess immense digital wealth, yet historically, mainland insurance companies have faced the issue of data islands, failing to fully leverage the value of their data.

IFRS 17 presents a great opportunity to bridge the gap between financial and actuarial data more deeply and streamline data utilisation so actuaries should actively embrace become comprehensive in a digital toolkit.

As a qualified Fellow, what advice would you offer to students who are currently in the process of completing the fellowship program?

Never give up. The path to becoming a Fellow is definitely rugged and difficult, but the achievements are immense.

I strongly advocate for studying while working, especially for Part III of the exams as much of the content is highly practical and studying while working can be very beneficial to one’s outputs. I am also delighted to see the changes made by the Institute to the exam system as believe these are excellent adjustments that allow students to embrace newer market changes.

Furthermore, it is necessary to invest a certain amount of time to study. Juggling work with exams can be very stressful but as the saying goes, “no pain, no gain.” Time invested will ultimately become a stepping stone on the road to success.

How do you see the actuarial profession evolving in the next decade?

Ten years is a long time but I believe in the next decade, AI will become unstoppable with many jobs being replaced by AI.

Of course, actuarial science will continue to play a crucial role in insurance companies and the financial industry however, we must still maintain a sense of awareness to these changes.

The application of actuarial techniques will evolve and will be taken over by AI, freeing up more time for us to think about solutions to problems. Learning to coexist with AI will be an important topic in the future and I believe actuaries can deliver a perfect answer.

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