Jeffrey J. Drzazgowski, FSA, MAAA
Medicare Actuarial
Aetna

As a college student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jeff found the business school too general for him. “The statistics courses didn't involve calculus, and the accounting classes were more arithmetic and less model oriented. But a probability class that I took my sophomore year was riveting. During that course I investigated mathematical careers and thought that the statistical and mathematical modeling involved in the actuarial profession was very attractive.” The rest is, as they say, is history.

Jeff passed one Society of Actuaries exam (Course 100-Calculus) and held two internships with companies in New York City prior to graduating with a degree in Mathematics and Actuarial Science in 2000. Following college, Jeff joined Aetna’s Actuarial Training Program where he was provided with examination support while he participated in 18 month rotations through various actuarial business areas including Contracting Analysis, Underwriting, Pricing for Small & Middle Markets and Reserving. In 2005, Jeff earned his Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries.

Jeff finds his current position with Aetna Medicare, pricing, reserving and forecasting the company’s individual business in the Northeast, extremely rewarding: “The work I do helps to make health care more affordable and accessible. Specifically, I feel the work I do with Medicare helps improve the quality of care that members receive.” He is also currently the head of Aetna’s Actuarial Training Program, a fitting position for an alumnus of the program. In this role, Jeff recruits fulltime and intern candidates to participate in the rotation program designed to develop workplace experience and provide other growth opportunities.

Several years into his career, Jeff has already witnessed many changes in the field of health insurance. With that in mind he notes that young actuaries need to keep up with changes to products and customers’ needs and update the way they model risks accordingly.

Looking to the future, Jeff thinks the profession has great potential to expand beyond its currently defined roles in the insurance industry. “I think that our business and modeling skills make us uniquely qualified to understand the impact that human behavior can have on theoretically expected outcomes. Much of the current economic crisis stems from mathematical models that break down in the real world.”