The Actuaries Institute has named Australian actuaries Rade Musulin and Sharanjit Paddam the recipients of the 2023 Actuary of the Year Award.
The award recognises and celebrates actuaries who make outstanding contributions to business, society, government, and the profession.
Musulin and Paddam received the 2023 Actuary of the Year Award for developing solutions for climate change and sustainability.
Musulin is an actuary with over 40 years of experience specialising in natural disasters, catastrophe risk modelling, public policy development, and sustainability. He has worked closely with the industry and the government to improve their resilience and understanding of climate change.
Musulin is the lead spokesperson for the Australian Actuaries Climate Index and was the lead author of the Actuaries Institute research paper “Property Insurance Affordability: Challenges and Potential Solutions.” He was a chair of the Actuaries Institute’s Climate and Sustainability Working Group, during which time the group published a technical paper to support actuaries working in climate risk-related roles.
Paddam is an actuary with 30 years of experience as a leading climate risk expert. He was named ANZIIF Insurance Leader of the Year (2022) and Climate Alliance Risk Manager of the Year (2020) and represented the Actuaries Institute as an expert witness at the Royal Commission into National Arrangements for Natural Disasters.
Paddam was the inaugural convener of the Actuaries Institute’s Climate Change Working Group and has authored several Institute publications. He was also a contributing author to the IPCC AR6 Working Group II Report, has advised the Insurance Council of Australia on evaluating adaptation and resilience measures (2022), and presented a TEDx talk on climate change and banks and insurers (2022).
Actuaries Institute president Naomi Edwards said the institute deems climate change a significant public policy issue, and this year’s winners have been at the forefront of helping solve the impacts of climate change.
“Both Rade and Sharanjit’s contributions have spanned policy development, resilient community building, and disaster recovery funding and have benefited developed and developing nations. They have exemplified how actuaries can use data for good to lead, innovate, and influence change on a global scale and shown the professional commitment actuaries bring to helping solve complex issues,” Edwards said.
Both winners have volunteered with the Actuaries Institute for many years and contributed to numerous submissions to governments, regulatory bodies, and independent inquiries on climate-related matters.
Commenting on receiving the award, Musulin said: “No individual profession is going to solve the climate challenge alone, but what actuaries add is an understanding of uncertainty and risk. We are trained in thinking about complex systems, and our unique skillset means we have a responsibility to help people understand how these challenges are going to impact their lives.”
Paddam added: “Climate change is a here and now problem, but it is going to manifest over time and affect people in different ways. As actuaries, we look at different groups of people and how they weather those stresses. Our job is to provide long-term thinking to make practical decisions that will build a more sustainable and resilient future for all.”
