ACAS - September 2008
Candidate Information
Education:
Bachelors in Biology from University of Montana, Missoula
Masters in Pure Mathematics from University of Wisconsin, Madison
Current Employment:
USAA, Vice President of Pricing & Product Analytics
CAS Activities and Publications:
Syllabus & Exam Committee 2011- 2012
RPM Seminar Speaker 2023
Race & Insurance Pricing Research Group 2023
Other Actuarial Organizations:
Non-actuarial but industry board participation:
IIHS/HLDI Board Rep 2018 – present
Chair of HLDI Executive Board 2020 - 2021
Employment History - Prior Employers:
COUNTRY Financial 2016-2018
- Vice President, Personal Lines
- Director, Auto Product Management
American Family Insurance – 2005-2016
- Manager, Auto Product Management
- Manager, Auto Predictive Analytics
- Personal Lines Staff Actuary
- Property Actuarial Student
Linked In Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-ores-walsh-fcas-590b138/
Membership and Activities in Other Organizations:
Member of the American Academy of Actuaries
I have been working in the insurance industry as a leader and as an Actuary in various traditional and non-traditional roles for nearly 20 years and have been a Fellow for 13. Throughout those years as a CAS member, I have volunteered on various seminar committees, by grading exams, speaking at seminars, and am currently participating in the race and insurance pricing research group. Each role has afforded me a deeper understanding of how the CAS serves and advances our profession. We are navigating one of the most challenging economic periods of change in most of our lifetimes and I believe Actuaries should come through this period as sought-after talent to lead in the insurance industry and beyond given our acumen, analytical skills, and our ability to solve problems. I want to ensure that the CAS continues to execute on the strategic plan to strengthen our position.
If elected, my focus will be twofold. First, I intend to work with CAS to further create a more purposeful collaboration with the industries in which we serve. Not only do we need to understand the position of our membership and candidates, but also gain insight from our employers. How are Actuaries valued and how have they helped companies navigate such historic economic change? What more can we bring? And how can the CAS help us? The keys to our successful growth need to be focused both internally and externally.
Second, I intend to work with the CAS to ensure that as we evolve our education and talent pipeline process, we not only keep the core fundamentals as a focus, but we also teach new methods and skills that allow for deeper understanding ensuring our credentials are seen as the standard of excellence in our industry.
I am truly honored to be nominated, and look forward to serving you, the Actuarial community, to help us achieve the potential we have inherent in those that seek out our profession. And as such, I am asking for your vote in the elections this upcoming August.
Bias & AI in the Insurance Industry -
Broad usage of data and advanced analytics, including AI, to assess risk for pricing and underwriting are critical to the availability and affordability of the insurance industry. As AI evolves the actuarial profession needs to ensure that we stay at the leading edge of knowledge and understanding.
To do so, we need to ensure that our education evolves in a way that develops actuaries as industry experts in the topics of bias and AI. We need to make sure that we understand where bias can be created – in the choices made in the algorithms and data used in model development and deployment. We also need to understand bias mitigation techniques and how to enable model governance and utilization practices in line with our own standards.
This should be nothing “new” to the Actuary in terms of the outcomes we strive for but, given the onset of the next horizon of generative AI, there is more urgency for us to truly stay at the forefront of technology to enable the health of our industry and our profession.
