"Math also powers life insurance!" was the topic of the presentation by Matthias Breckner, Timo Geßner and Tobias Weber from VPV Lebensversicherungs-AG on April 17, 2023. After a brief presentation of the insurance portfolio, the participants were given a detailed insight into product development. Here, particular attention was paid to the use of mathematical algorithms in the design and calculation of insurance products during the definition and implementation phase. Subsequently, actuarial tasks in the context of reinsurance and corporate planning were presented and the concrete activities and issues were highlighted using examples. Within the various fields of work, there is a broad field for the application of mathematical knowledge and specialization is possible in many areas.
Following the lecture, questions regarding the career, education and perspectives of an actuary as well as previous knowledge in financial mathematics were discussed. The students were able to get a good idea of what the transition to professional life might look like, especially since some of the speakers had only started their careers themselves in recent years and Mr. Breckner earned his master's degree at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Stuttgart.
