Pinnacle University (Pinnacle U) is a complex program to pull off. Designing, planning and executing an event like Pinnacle U, usually requires a lot of flexibility in the process. This year, however, required a higher level of flexibility than we might have ever expected. Pinnacle U is an immersive, in-person symposium at which students, professionals, panelists and participants meet and spend the day discovering and debating important actuarial issues of the day. 

I will be a senior at Indiana University (IU) next year. I am double majoring in accounting and finance, with minors in economics and mathematics. I will also serve as the vice president of IU’s Actuarial Club next year, and I currently serve on the Kelley School of Business Equity and Inclusion Committee. The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on my summer plans, as I am sure it did for every single person around the world. What stood out about the entire situation was how quickly everything moved. There was seemingly new information every single day, and the majority of it wasn’t good. Everyone at IU went on spring break, and two days later we were notified that classes for the remainder of the semester would be conducted online. 

Last year I wrote about a concept called the Modeling Lifecycle (Modeling Lifecycle). In that blog, I spent time addressing the many steps that are necessary for a predictive modeling project to be a success. Obviously, one of those critical steps is actual implementation of the model itself. Without that, you only have a fancy formula that doesn’t do much of anything for you. While insurers continue to devote more and more time and resources to predictive analytics, it would also benefit them to make sure they are devoting sufficient attention to model implementation.

On the May 2020 Pinnacle APEX Webinar, “The Importance of Data Management and Data Quality,” we addressed a critical business issue:  the costs of poor data, reasons for data management, and ways to improve how data is managed in an organization. The webinar also took a deep dive into methods to address the major challenge of missing data.

In 2020, the Minority High School Scholars Analytics Academy, or MHSSAA, will mark its 25th year. The time is right once again to pause and honor this program and all that it represents to the insurance industry, the actuarial profession and the students it serves. Through the MHSSAA, participating students from around the country learn about how insurance works, the requirements of the actuarial profession and the role of analytical skills in solving real-world business problems.