From consulting to in-house: An Actuarial Manager’s perspective at L&G

Moving from actuarial consulting into an insurer can shift how actuaries experience the full lifecycle of a transaction, particularly in the Pension Risk Transfer (PRT) and bulk annuity market.

Charlotte, Actuarial Manager in Collateral and (Re)Insurance Management (CRIM) at L&G, made that move five years ago. After starting her career in consulting, she now works in a growing area of the UK insurance market.

Her role offers a useful view of what working in-house looks like, and how actuarial work changes when you move from advising on transactions to managing them over the long term.

What does an actuarial role in CRIM involve?

“Our team focuses on the ongoing management of reinsurance transactions, as well as calculating the final premium pricing for PRT deals,” Charlotte explains.

In practice, that means picking up responsibility once a deal has been agreed and making sure everything behind the scenes works as expected.

“We work closely with a range of teams to ensure the reinsurance arrangement is successfully implemented and transitioned to live.”

Her role combines technical actuarial work with broader commercial oversight across actuarial pricing, reinsurance structuring and collateral management:

• Owning specific reinsurance arrangements
  
  
• Reviewing and validating premium pricing calculations
  
  
• Managing reinsurer relationships
  
  
• Coordinating collateral agreements

“What I enjoy most is how varied the work is. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in different areas of actuarial and finance careers at L&G, and you’re not limited to one narrow specialism.”

Why move from consulting into an insurer?

Charlotte spent nearly four years in actuarial consulting before joining L&G. For many actuaries, consulting provides a strong technical foundation, but the insurer side offers something different: ownership of outcomes in in-house actuarial roles in insurance companies.

“The PRT market always felt like an exciting space to move into,” she says. “For many of the pension schemes I worked with, buy-out with an insurer was the natural next step, so it felt like a logical progression for my career.”

Consulting gave her a strong technical base and exposure to different clients, but she was looking for something more focused.

“I wanted a new challenge and the opportunity to specialise further. L&G stood out because of its leading position in the bulk annuity market.”

The move also opened up areas she hadn’t previously worked in, particularly reinsurance pricing and capital management in life insurance.

“I’ve particularly enjoyed learning more about the reinsurance side of the business, which I had very little exposure to previously.”

How is in-house different from consulting?

One of the biggest shifts is where your time and attention go.

“In consulting, you’re focused on external clients. In-house, you work much more closely with internal stakeholders across different teams.”

There’s also a practical difference many actuaries will recognise straight away.

“Not having timesheets has been a welcome change.”

More importantly, the working environment can support deeper development.

“I’ve found senior colleagues are very willing to spend time answering questions and supporting you. That’s been particularly valuable for career development in actuarial roles at insurers like L&G.”

Stepping into management: what actually changes?

Since joining L&G, Charlotte has progressed from Senior Actuarial Analyst to Actuarial Manager.

“Becoming a scheme owner was a key part of my development. It gave me ownership of the work and accountability for outcomes.”

“It’s helped build my confidence in my technical ability, but also my judgement and how I communicate with stakeholders.”

Moving into management also requires a mindset shift.

“You go from delivering work yourself to enabling others to do it. Supporting and developing more junior team members has been one of the most rewarding parts of my role.”

Like many actuaries stepping into leadership for the first time, it’s an ongoing process.

“You don’t have all the answers immediately. A lot of it comes from learning from others.”

What’s happening in the PRT and bulk annuity market?

For experienced actuaries, the wider market context is often a key factor in career decisions.

“The PRT market continues to grow, driven by demand from pension schemes and insurer appetite,” Charlotte says.

That growth translates directly into more demand for expertise in actuarial pricing, reinsurance management and insurance capital strategy.

“As more deals are written, there’s a natural increase in the work needed to manage the reinsurance contracts behind them.”

The focus is also evolving.

“There’s now more emphasis on supporting existing business over the long term, not just winning new deals. That makes process efficiency really important.”

She also points to ongoing changes in reinsurance structures.

“Funded reinsurance has been used to achieve more attractive pricing, but with the recent PRA announcement, that may become less favourable. It will be interesting to see how the market responds.”

Advice for actuaries considering their next move

For actuaries thinking about moving from consulting or stepping into management, clarity of intent is key in actuarial career progression in insurance.

“Be clear on what you want from the move. Within L&G, there are lots of smaller, specialised teams, so it’s worth understanding what genuinely interests you.”

She also highlights the importance of commercial awareness.

“Decisions are made in a broader strategic context, so understanding that side of the business really helps.”

For those moving into management:

“It’s important to accept the shift in focus. Success becomes more about enabling others than individual output.”

And like any transition:

“Give yourself time to develop. You don’t need to have everything figured out straight away.”

Actuarial opportunities at L&G

Charlotte’s experience reflects how actuarial roles can evolve when you move closer to the insurer side of the market. With greater ownership of work and deeper exposure to how PRT and bulk annuity transactions are managed over time, in-house actuarial roles offer both variety and long-term technical development.

Explore current actuarial opportunities at L&G.