Challenge

The actuaries at a major insurer historically relied on spreadsheets for their reserve analysis. It was a cumbersome task. Each of their more than 40 analysts spent approximately two days preparing their spreadsheets before they could begin each quarter’s analysis. The process typically included adding new diagonals, preserving historical information and factors for future reference, updating files with the new period’s data, reconciling totals, and checking all links and connections. This effort totaled close to 800 hours each quarter before analysis could even begin.

Approach

We implemented Arius Enterprise® as part of helping re-engineer their reserve analysis process.

We replicated their Excel exhibits and reports in Arius so that most new-period setup is now performed with scripts. All links and exposed formulas are eliminated, and all prior ultimates and factors are automatically retained for easy reference.

Arius Enterprise provides a repository of all data the actuaries might need for their review. More than 2 billion records of granular data support aggregation at any level of detail. Analysts can easily build queries for regular and ad-hoc projects, and data is quickly provided to them as Arius analysis files.

One insurer saved 700+ hours per quarter — and that’s before actuarial analysis even started.

Impact

With Arius Enterprise, the reserving department reduced its quarterly file preparation to less than 80 hours, down from 800.

These time and cost savings came before analysis had even begun, without regard to the significant Arius-related efficiencies from automating many other subsequent steps. The client also enjoys more powerful rollups, allocation, and reporting, together with more efficient review and governance-related processes.