1. Introduction

In this document on 17 April 2001 the Board of the Foundation has defined the Terms of Reference of the Foundation and its acceptable policies. During the definition process, the restrictions of the Articles of Association have been taken into account. Every now and then it is reasonable to verify the document to correspond to the changed circumstances.

The Board is of the opinion that the activities of the Foundation shall promote the development of the insurance industry, because the funds of the Foundation originate remarkably from the support of the industry.

2. Extent of the activities and use of funds

The Foundation aims to finance most of its activities by the yield of its capital. Also fixed capital of the Foundation is used to finance the activities to the extent that the Board regards appropriate. The activities may be financed also in co-operation with other parties.

3. Use of funds of the Foundation

The domain of the Foundation for Promotion of the Actuarial Profession includes activities that interest the insurance industry widely. The main domain of the Foundation includes research and educational activities in the actuarial field.

The following main classification is not intended to exclude fields of interest otherwise considered as appropriate. The limit to the Actuarial Society of Finland is drawn in chapter 4.

3.1 Research and studying

In order to produce new knowledge, the Foundation may supply grants to such research that may be considered to promote the development of insurance industry more widely than only from one company point of view. Research projects may be set up by insurance industry or be projects of universities or research institutes.

The supplies are granted on application. Such interest groups that may be granted supplies related to the domain of the Foundation are informed of the grant application opportunities.

The Foundation may also announce grant applications. The target of the grant may be

  • to finance the research by releasing the grantee from gainful work for a fixed term
  • to give extra finance to big projects of other institutions
  • to finance a congress trip provided that it is related to presentation of the results of own research work
  • to purchase tools and literature or to support the purchase of them
  • to study in Finland or abroad

As a rule it is required that the grantee is a Finn. By strong arguments the grant may be supplied also for a foreigner who shall come to Finland for actuarial studies or related research.

3.2 Education and publishing teaching material in the actuarial field

In general, actuarial education is developed in cooperation between the insurance industry and the authorities. The Foundation may participate in this development for example by performing inquiries and studies related to it.

Universities and other institutions may be granted extra finance. This finance shall anyhow be temporary and be connected to the starting phase of courses or to other corresponding exceptional situation.

The Foundation may finance production of teaching material, primarily material for SHV exam. This can take place in form of financing writer’s fees or printing.

3.3 Lectures and seminars without selection of audience

In order to disseminate existing knowledge, the Foundation may organize different types of educational events.

Lectures can be organized on matters that are purely actuarial or multidisciplinary in a way that there shall be also other participants than actuaries. Of these lectures it will be announced widely and all people in insurance industry have the right to participate in them.

Instead of individual lectures, the form may be a series of lectures or a so-called afternoon seminar. The lectures and lecture series will be organized when needed within the resources of the Foundation. A target is to organize annually at least one big afternoon seminar.

Lectures can be organized in cooperation with organizations in insurance industry or the Finnish Mathematical Society, the Finnish Operation Research Society, the Finnish Society of Financial Analysts and the Finnish Statistical Society or other corresponding society. In general, the lectures shall also in these cases be targeted for a wider audience, and a special aim of them is to diversify the know-how and to empower the cooperation among people in different duties.

3.4 Lectures open for selected audience

Lectures can be organized also on restricted special subjects; for example, the subject may be the international development of some special case. In this case the subject is not typically of actuarial nature but is near actuarial field, and a restricted amount or people selected by different companies, institutions in insurance industry and authorities shall be invited as audience.

3.5 Interactive seminars

The subjects of these seminars will be restricted and the seminars are intended only for the specialists in question. The number of participants is normally small or limited, and also researchers outside the industry and other experts are invited to participate.

A goal is that in these seminars it would be possible to deal with topical problems of the special subject in question and to create mutual experience exchange between researchers and people in insurance industry. Those who represent insurance industry in these seminars have typically actuarial background.

4. The Limit to the Actuarial Society of Finland

The funds of the Foundation are not used in the following purposes that belong to the domain of the Actuarial Society of Finland:

  • matters that deal with the role of the actuaries, for example the Code of Conduct, recommended practices
  • lobbying for the interests of actuaries and trade union politics
  • connections abroad and the organizations in the domain of actuaries
  • participation in the activities of IAA and Groupe Consultatif and their subcommittees
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