The Co-operators announced May 30 that it has made a $500,000 financial contribution which will allow for the creation of The Co-operators Chair in Actuarial Risk Analysis (CARA) at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

“Thanks to this collaboration, the CARA Chair, which will continue to operate until at least 2023, could become an internationally renowned actuarial science research hub specializing in the conceptualization, quantification and estimation of insurance risk,” says the insurer.

UQAM offers one of the largest actuarial programs in the world in terms of enrolment. In addition to carrying out applied research, the Chair will train qualified graduates, preparing them for roles in financial institution and insurance company research departments.

Advanced forecasting models

Jean-Philippe Boucher, the holder of The Co-operators Chair in Actuarial Risk Analysis and Professor at UQAM's Mathematics Department, says that "academic research is compatible with the industry's practical challenges. The insurance world's large databases contain enormous amounts of information that can be used by advanced forecasting models to better segment risk accorded to insured parties or better understand claim incentives. The optimal use of these sources is one of actuarial science's major challenges for the next few years."