Researcher

Professor Bernard Ho Yin Wong

My Expertise

AI/Machine Learning enhanced actuarial analytics for insurance businesses; Optimal Decision making for insurance businesses; Actuarial Studies

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Insurance studies, Investment and risk management, Machine learning, Artificial intelligence, Stochastic analysis and modelling

Biography

Professor Bernard Wong is the Head of the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia, which has grown to be one of the largest and most successful actuarial departments in the world in both its education and research programs. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, a Fulbright Scholar, and obtained his PhD from the Australian National University.

His current research interests span...view more

Professor Bernard Wong is the Head of the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia, which has grown to be one of the largest and most successful actuarial departments in the world in both its education and research programs. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, a Fulbright Scholar, and obtained his PhD from the Australian National University.

His current research interests span two main areas: AI/Machine Learning enhanced actuarial analytics for insurance businesses, optimal decision making and capitalisation policy for risk businesses, as well as the interaction between the aforementioned problems. His research is funded via Australian Research Council Linkage and Discovery Project schemes, and he has been recognised via the award of numerous prizes, including the Hachemeister Prize and the Taylor-Fry Silver Prize.

Bernard has taught most of the courses corresponding to the professional actuarial syllabus, with a particular focus in recent years in the areas of actuarial data analytics and in enterprise risk management.

Prior to his return to academia, Bernard worked in the Sydney office of Actuarial Consultants Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, and his contributions to the profession during this period were recognized by the Institute of Actuaries of Australia by the award of the Melville Practitioner's Prize.

Bernard is currently on the Board of ASTIN, the non-life insurance section of the International Actuarial Association, and previously also served on the Australian Actuaries Institute Data Analytics Practice Committee


My Grants

  • 2020-2022: Tang, Q., Avanzi, B., and B. Wong. Extreme Value Theory Approaches to Insurance in a Catastrophic Environment, ARC Discovery Grant, AUD310,000.
  • 2013-2016: Avanzi, B., Wong, B., Taylor, G., Britt, S., Cakan, Y., Koob, D., Modelling claim dependencies for the general insurance industry with economic capital in view: An innovative approach with stochastic processes. ARC Linkage Grant, with Partner Organisations Allianz Australia, Insurance Australia Group, and Suncorp. AUD 320,861
  • 2014-15: Avanzi, B., Taylor, G., and B. Wong. General Forms of Dependency in Chain Ladder Structures. Actuaries Institute, Australian Actuarial Research Grant, AUD 10,000.
  • 2012-13: Chief Investigator (with Benjamin Avanzi and Greg Taylor) Australian Actuarial Research GrantAn innovative approach to stochastic claims reserving with dependence, AUD 35,000 
  • 2011: Chief Investigator (with Benjamin Avanzi) UNSW Business School Research Grant, Optimal dividend problems in surplus models with stochastic firm prospect, AUD 25,000 
  • 2010: Chief Investigator (with Benjamin Avanzi) Australian Actuarial Research Grant, Institute of Actuaries of Australia, AUD 20,000 On the economic value of aggregating dependent portfolios 
  • 2010: Chief Investigator (with John Evans) Australian Actuarial Research Grant, Institute of Actuaries of Australia, AUD 26,000 Adequacy of the SGL & Age Pension System to fund the retirement needs of Australians 
  • 2010: Chief Investigator UNSW Business School Special Research Grant, AUD 9,724 Asset Liability Management for Equity-linked Insurance Products by Benchmarking​

My Qualifications

PhD (ANU)

Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia

BCOM(Hons) in Actuarial Studies (Macq)


My Awards

  • Taylor Fry General Insurance Silver Prize, 2018, awarded by the Actuaries Institute for How to proxy the unmodellable: Analysing granular insurance claims in the presence of unobservable or complex drivers
  • Hachemeister Prize, 2017 awarded by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) for the paper Correlations between insurance lines of business: An illusion or a real phenomenon? Some methodological considerations (2016, ASTIN Bulletin, 46:2)
  • Fulbright Award, 2001-2002. (Australian-American Fulbright Commission)
  • H M Jackson Price, 2005 (Institute of Actuaries of Australia).
  • A M Parker Prize, 2003 (Institute of Actuaries of Australia).
  • Melville Practitioner Prize, 2000 (Institute of Actuaries of Australia

My Research Supervision


Areas of supervision

AI/ML enhanced actuarial analytics for risk businesses

Optimal decision analytics for risk and capital modelling


My Engagement

Current

Member of the Board - ASTIN; Co-Chair of Scientific Committee

Member of Management Board, ASTIN Bulletin

 

Previous

Member, Actuaries Institute Data Analytics Practice Committee

Member, Actuaries Institute Exemptions Sub-Committee

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Location

Room 647, Business School Building

Contact

51883

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