Insurance
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Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.
An advertisement for a fire insurance company Norwich Union, showing the amount of assets in coverage and paid insurance (1910)
Merchants have sought methods to minimize risks since early times. Pictured, Governors of the Wine Merchant's Guild by Ferdinand Bol, c. 1680.
Leaflet promoting the National Insurance Act 1911
A wrecked vehicle in Copenhagen
Actuary
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An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science which covers rigorous mathematical calculations in areas of life expectancy and life insurance. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset management, liability management, and valuation skills. Actuaries provide assessments of financial security systems, with a focus on their complexity, their mathematics, and their mechanisms.
Damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Actuaries need to estimate long-term levels of such damage in order to accurately price property insurance, set appropriate reserves, and design appropriate reinsurance and capital management strategies.
Mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch was one of America's first insurance actuaries.
2003 U.S. mortality (life) table, Table 1, Page 1