Actuaries list natural disaster management as a priority this year

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6 February 2012

The Actuaries Institute has elected a new board and announced it will focus on natural disaster management, population ageing and superannuation fund governance this year.

The institute has named David Goodsall as its 2012 President, John Newman as Senior VP, and Daniel Smith as VP.

Mr Goodsall says key policy priorities include offering practical solutions to better manage the social and economic impacts of natural disasters such as floods.

“The natural disasters of recent years aren’t going to stop happening, and while government has made some great initial steps there is more work to do to build a disaster-resilient nation,” he said. “We’ll continue to encourage government to implement fair, practical measures to achieve this vision.”

The institute has shown its independent streak with a call for a temporary pool of funds to subsidise the rising cost of flood insurance – an option that insurers are actively resisting – and believes there should be a national approach to flood mapping.

Mr Goodsall says actuaries can also develop unique insights to the discussion around Australia’s ageing population. The institute will also be contributing to the debate around governance and risk management of the superannuation sector.

As part of its rebranding from the Institute of Actuaries, the organisation has adopted a new tagline – “Calculated Advice” – which Mr Goodsall says reinforces “actuaries' evolution from highly numerate technicians to insightful business advisers”.

Mr Goodsall has worked in the financial services industry for over 30 years and prior to establishing Synge & Noble in 2009 was a senior partner at Ernst & Young.