Demand for actuaries surges as insurance sector shifts to IFRS, RBC norms

Insurers preparing for IFRS and risk-based capital frameworks are stepping up actuarial hiring, but limited supply, high turnover and rising reporting complexity pose challenges

As the insurance industry prepares to transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and a risk-based capital (RBC) framework, demand for actuaries has surged, even as supply remains constrained, industry insiders said.

 

Currently, Indian insurance companies follow the Indian Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (Indian GAAP) framework. Going ahead, the industry is looking to gradually transition to Ind AS 117 or IFRS 17, with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) mandating all companies to implement IFRS by 2026-27 (FY27). The regulator is also preparing to shift the industry towards the RBC framework from the current factor-based solvency framework.

 

These transitions will require integrating core actuarial skills in finance and audit departments with some actuaries transitioning to financial officer roles. Auditors may also have to collaborate with or hire actuaries, as the proforma needs a review by both accountants and actuaries.

 

As a result, insurance companies are making efforts to hire additional actuaries as they prepare for the transition. However, the industry faces supply limitations for actuaries and is also affected by attrition in the segment, experts said.

 

Girija Subramanian, chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of New India Assurance, said: “There is a lot of demand and it is far more important now than ever before because of the changing financial regime. We are moving to the RBC and IFRS financial regimes, and actuaries need to get more involved in all aspects of insurance — service selection, accounting, reserving, and finally how the balance sheet shapes up. They have a role in every part of insurance.”

 

She added, “The demand is very high while supply is okay, but I think people should learn to be stable in one place for more time. Generally, there is very high turnover among actuaries moving from one place to another.”

 

The company which presently has around 17 actuaries is also planning to hire more and will also put in efforts to retain them. The company has also started doing both IFRS and Indian GAAP simultaneously.

 

According to industry experts, a larger life insurer would have a team of about 50-60 actuarial people, including students, associates and fellows, with about 15 per cent being fully qualified. A smaller life insurer would have about 10-12 actuarial people with about two fully qualified actuaries. The number in general insurance and health insurance would be lesser than others.

 

Institute of Actuaries in India said it currently has 880 fellow actuaries, and in the last three years, there has been 15-16 per cent increase in the number of fellows passing out from the institute.

 

To become an actuarial fellow of the institute, the candidate must clear 13-15 papers and have a minimum of three years of relevant actuarial work experience. A candidate can join the actuarial team of a life insurance company by clearing around 3-6 papers based on company's requirements.

 

“Both IFRS and RBC imply greater financial transparency and better risk management. This would require actuaries to move beyond traditional roles and technical expertise to support strategic decisions. There would be a greater need to collaborate with other functions like finance, audit, risk, compliance, and analytics functions,” said Preeti Chandrashekhar, president, Institute of Actuaries in India.

 

Recently, Irdai Chairman Ajay Seth said India needs a significantly larger pool of qualified actuaries to strengthen financial protection, particularly as the country prepares to adopt RBC norms and converge with IFRS. He emphasised that there is an acute shortage of actuarial professionals in the country.

 

Seth said, “India has less than one fellow actuary per million people, compared with more than 40 per million in the US and over 250 per million in the UK. The total membership of the Institute of Actuaries of India has declined to nearly 9,700 in 2025 from around 12,000 in 2011, underscoring the widening talent gap.”