Steven Armstrong, vice president of pricing analytics & actuarial services, Allstate Insurance Company, and president, Casualty Actuarial Society. (Photo: Courtesy Photo)
Editor's Note: In my February column, I asked insurance professionals to share their stories of how they came into the industry and why they stay. Here is a story one of our readers shared. ― Editor-in-Chief Rosalie Donlon
When I started at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I had never heard the word "actuary." The first time I heard the term was in linear algebra class. The university was offering a discounted actuarial exam (Exam 1), and our professors encouraged us to take the examination. I did and mentioned it in passing to my mom, who told my uncle, who, unbeknownst to me, was an actuary. He offered me a summer job and a chance to learn more about the profession — I gladly accepted. I found that I had passed the actuarial exam and spent a terrific summer working in a property & casualty insurance company. In the fall, I switched my major to actuarial science. I knew that I wanted to become a property & casualty actuary.
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