Allianz Life Promotes Renee West to Senior Vice President of Actuarial

February 21, 2014 by Business Wire

Recognition reflects innovative, industry-leading product development efforts

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) promoted Renee West to senior vice president of the Actuarial division. West is responsible for building competitive new products while ensuring the company’s profitability targets are met and risks are understood. Her promotion reflects the significant results she has brought to Allianz Life. West pioneered the company’s use of dynamic hedging, leading to the creation of the Allianz Life internal hedging platform. She also led the development of the company’s most successful fixed index annuity, which was also an industry-leader for nearly 10 years.

“This is a well-deserved promotion for Renee, as she brings considerable strength and passion to her work,” said Chief Actuary Neil McKay. “Her visionary leadership inspires a talented team of actuaries who support numerous key projects. She has been instrumental in setting the direction of the company’s product development efforts and creating cutting-edge products. Her creativity spans across all our company’s product lines, from three different types of annuities to life insurance. Many of the product features we are known for and that are in high demand from customers today, like innovative crediting methods and indices, are a result of her work.”

The Dynamic Hedging Platform

West brought together a team of talented traders, quantitative analysts and actuaries and together they built the company’s first dynamic hedging platform in 2006. Today, Allianz Life is the only fixed index annuity carrier that uses in-house dynamic hedging, which eliminates the expensive costs associated with purchasing derivatives and options from a bank. Dynamic hedging also allows Allianz Life to more closely align its specific liabilities, which helps the company be more consistent in the features it offers its policyholders and more options when developing new products.

West’s Actuarial Career

West began her 31-year actuarial career with Allianz Life as a senior actuarial assistant in 1983. In 1986, she joined Fortis Financial Group and spent more than 12 years rising through its product development ranks. West also spent more than a year at Ameriprise Financial before returning to Allianz Life in 2000 as vice president of product development.

West has a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics from the University of the Philippines – Quezon City and a Master of Actuarial Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She’s a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2014, has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees worldwide. More than 78 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities.

Originally Posted at BusinessWire on February 21, 2014 by Business Wire.