Actuarial Manager

Discovery Limited; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Discovery Insure seeks an Actuarial Manager to lead the Geotab Vitality product roadmap and drive pricing strategy across international markets. You will work with the Vitality Drive teams to translate behavioural science into measurable product mechanics and commercial outcomes.

Role requires strong pricing, data analysis and stakeholder management skills, with experience in short-term insurance and international markets advantageous.

Qualifications

• Matric and actuarial degree required with ACTUARIAL Society membership (ESS).
• 5–8 years of actuarial pricing/product development experience.
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in partner or joint ventures.

Responsibilities

• Own the Geotab Vitality product roadmap, delivery timelines and commercial outcomes.
• Design and calibrate fleet driving behaviour score and telematics event definitions.
• Quantify relationship between driving behaviour and claims experience.
• Price and fund rewards structures and monitor margin, uptake and engagement.
• Translate behavioural science into product mechanics for fleet managers and drivers.
• Build the commercial case with Geotab resellers and insurance partners.
• Support operations and provide analytical backbone for reporting to fleet customers.

Skills

Pricing models

GLM modelling

SQL

Python

Excel advanced

PowerPoint

Stakeholder management

Communication

Data analysis

Behavioural economics

Education

Matric (Essential)

Actuarial degree (Essential)

AMASSA / FASSA (Essential)

5-8 years actuarial experience

R&D in Insurance (Adv)

Short-term insurance exp (Adv)

Tools

SQL

Python / R

Job description

Actuarial Manager

Business Unit: Discovery Insure

Function: Actuarial Sciences

Discovery – Insure

Actuarial Manager (Product Development) – Geotab Vitality (Vitality Drive International)

About Geotab Vitality

Geotab Vitality is a joint venture between Geotab, a global telematics company, and Vitality, the world leader in behaviour change. The venture applies the Vitality shared-value model to commercial fleets: telematics data from Geotab devices measures how safely fleet's drivers drive, and Vitality incentive and rewards mechanics are used to change that behaviour, so that fleets record fewer accidents, lower claims and lower operating costs. The Actuarial and Product capability supporting the venture is anchored within the wider Vitality Drive team, so that the role carries dedicated accountability for Geotab Vitality outcomes while drawing on the product research, behavioural science, data analysis and rewards management expertise that already exists in Vitality Drive.

About Discovery Insure

Discovery Insure is committed to creating a nation of great drivers through our innovative Shared-value Insurance model. Discovery Insure is South Africa’s fastest growing short-term insurance company with comprehensive products that provide protection against current and emerging risks facing clients in the motor and home insurance sectors. Vitality Drive, an internationally-recognised and award-winning programme, is a key differentiator in the market that incentivises and rewards clients for driving well. The Vitality Drive programme has been scaled to local and international markets which now include Europe and the Middle East. The company employs over 1 000 people who are committed to putting our customers and financial advisers first by providing unique and innovative solutions and cover.

Key Purpose

The Actuarial Manager is accountable for the Geotab Vitality product roadmap, its delivery timelines and its commercial outcomes and represents the venture at the relevant Geotab product forums so that Vitality shared-value mechanics are progressively embedded across the Geotab ecosystem.

Areas of responsibility may include but are not limited to:

• Own the Geotab Vitality product roadmap, delivery timelines and commercial outcomes, and hold a permanent seat at the relevant Geotab product and governance forums.
• Design and calibrate the fleet driving behaviour score and the underlying telematics event definitions, including how harsh braking, acceleration, cornering, speeding, phone distraction and driving hours translate into a defensible measure of risk.
• Quantify the relationship between driving behaviour and claims experience, and build and maintain the models that demonstrate the accident frequency and claims cost reduction the programme delivers to fleets and their insurers.
• Price and cost the rewards and incentive structures so that the value returned to fleets and drivers is funded by the improvement in risk, and monitor the resulting margin, uptake and engagement against plan.
• Translate behavioural science into product mechanics that fleet managers and professional drivers actually respond to, working with the Vitality Drive behavioural science, data analysis and rewards management teams rather than relying on actuarial judgement alone.
• Build the commercial case for the programme with Geotab resellers, fleet customers and insurance partners, including pricing of the proposition, funding of rewards partners and the value case presented to each fleet.
• Support the operational and relational running of the venture alongside the operations team, providing the analytical backbone for reporting to fleet customers, and contribute to the strategic agenda with the venture leadership.
• Influence and align stakeholders across both parent organisations, bridging a telematics engineering culture and an insurance and behaviour change culture, and manage the data privacy, driver consent and regulatory considerations that come with monitoring driving behaviour in multiple markets.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Advanced pricing and risk modelling, including generalised linear models and frequency-severity modelling applied to motor claims.
• Working with large, high-frequency behavioural data and translating raw telematics events into scores and pricing factors.
• Programming: SQL and Python (or R).
• Microsoft Office, with an advanced level of Excel and strong PowerPoint.
• Building and defending business cases and product profitability models.
• Ability to simplify ambiguous and technical information for non-actuarial audiences, including engineers, fleet operators and commercial partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Project management and the ability to drive a roadmap across teams the incumbent does not manage.
• Knowledge of telematics data structures, IoT device data or fleet management systems (advantageous)
• Understanding of behavioural economics and incentive design (advantageous)
• Familiarity with data privacy and driver consent requirements across multiple jurisdictions (advantageous)

Education and Experience

Education:

• Matric (Essential).
• Bachelor's or Honours degree in Actuarial Science, Mathematical Statistics or a closely related discipline (Essential).
• Qualified Actuary and current member of the Actuarial Society of South Africa: AMASSA (Associate Member) or FASSA (Fellow Member) (Essential).
• At least 5-8 years' experience in an Actuarial role, with a substantial portion in pricing, product development or research and development
• At least 1 year Research and Development experience within an Insurance industry (advantageous)
• At least 1 years’ experience in short-term insurance (advantageous)
• Experience influencing senior stakeholders in a partner, joint venture or client organisation.
• Experience in commercial or fleet insurance (advantageous)
• Experience of shared-value or incentive-based product design (advantageous)
• Exposure to international markets outside South Africa (advantageous)

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.