- AFIR/ERMFinancial Risks and ERM
- ASTINNon-Life Insurance
- AWBActuaries Without Borders®
- IAALSLife Insurance
- PBSSPensions, Benefits and Social Security
AFIR/ERM was founded in 1986 as a Section of the IAA. The original Section name was AFIR, which stands for Actuarial Approach for FInancial Risks and set as its objective the promotion of actuarial research in financial risks and problems.
Effective from 2011, the Section mandate was extended to formally include Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). The purpose of this change was to expand the discussion beyond market risk issues and provide a strong home for international discussion and research on ERM topics. It is a reflection of the expanding and developing role of ERM in actuarial practice and the IAA efforts to provide support for this growing area of actuarial practice. It is a natural extension and many ERM papers and topics have been presented at past AFIR colloquia.
AFIR/ERM has as its primary objective the promotion of actuarial research in enterprise risk management and particularly financial risk fields, to push forward the boundaries of actuarial knowledge and to promote and facilitate an international exchange of views, advice, research and practical information among actuaries and other experts involved in these fields. AFIR/ERM’s most important function is the organization of annual colloquia, the first of which was held in Paris in 1990. Bringing together actuaries of different countries and different disciplines, the colloquia provide a valuable forum for academics and practitioners to learn of and keep current with the fast changes occurring in the disciplines of financial economics, financial risk management and enterprise risk management, focusing on applications to insurance and pension funds. As well as being professionally stimulating, AFIR/ERM colloquia have social benefits as well, as they usually take place in attractive and interesting venues that contribute to a friendly and collaborative atmosphere.
To further the growth of the actuarial profession, AFIR/ERM also offers financial support to young researchers from actuarially developing countries to attend AFIR/ERM colloquia and the International Congress of Actuaries (held every four years).
As an added benefit, members receive a copy of the ASTIN Bulletin — The Journal of the IAA three times per year.
In 2002, AFIR/ERM established The Bob Alting von Geusau Memorial Prize, in honour of its late and longserving treasurer. The prize was awarded for the first time in 2003 in von Geusau’s home country at the 13th AFIR Colloquium in Maastricht (The Netherlands). The prize is awarded annually for the best paper on an AFIR/ERM topic published in the ASTIN Bulletin. The list of recipients is available on the AFIR/ERM Website.