Student Actuarial Team Takes First Place in Travelers Case Competition

The St. Thomas actuarial team took first place, earning a $1,500 team prize, in the Travelers Fifth Annual Actuarial Case Competition, held Friday, Oct. 5, in St. Paul.

This year’s topic was “U.S. Business Insurance Marketplace Analysis.” The St. Thomas team analyzed the North Central Region, consisting of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and North Dakota, and the judges found their study to be the best among the five universities that had been invited to compete.

Team members

Sophomores

  • Rory Donovan
  • Clement Foltz

Juniors

  • Heather Clayton
  • Samantha Delperdang
  • Christine Kluempke
  • Trevor Rolando

Accompanying the team were faculty advisers Thorsten Moenig, assistant professor of mathematics and actuarial science, and Dr. Heekyung Youn, director of the St. Thomas Mathematics Department's Actuarial Science Program.

Travelers has two main campuses, one in St. Paul and one in Hartford, Conn. Five universities competed, and one winner was chosen at each site. In St. Paul, the five universities were: the University of St. Thomas, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Drake University.

According to the Actuarial Case Competition professor’s guide, Travelers invites schools it believes to be developing “the caliber of student who could be successful at the company.” The competition provides students an opportunity to apply their studies to a real-world problem in a business setting. The winning team is chosen based on quality of research and analysis, understanding and articulation of the case, creativity of the recommendations, and quality of the presentation.