OVERVIEW:

An ambitious & enthusiastic individual looking for the opportunity to work with market leading
professionals in the field of customer insight, pricing or marketing analytics. Available Oct 2008 for
contracts in Yorkshire or London area.

Meticulous & conscientious team player with excellent communication skills.

Experience of Profit based pricing, Customer Segmentation, Risk Modelling, Retention and Demand
Modelling, Cash Flow Modelling, Profit and Loss. Effective problem solving skills, extensive statistical
and actuarial knowledge coupled with real hands on experience now seeking an opportunity to apply
skills and knowledge in a high start up environment.

CAREER HISTORY:

May 2007 to date: Senior Pricing Analyst: HBOS General Insurance Ltd

Technical expert in a department responsible for pricing general insurance products sold to protect
personal loans (UPLRC) credit cards (CCRC) and mortgages (MRC).

• Developed and built an in-depth knowledge of price optimisation techniques on both Household
& Creditor Insurance. Demonstrated business acumen during commercial negotiations with
external software providers and gained valuable experience during the procurement process
for the acquisition of the price optimisation software.
• Lead a small team of junior analysts and an external contractor in the analysis and
development of the risk costs model and customer prices, maintaining colleague enthusiasm
and buy-in, which resulted in the successful and timely delivery of the re-prices.
• Created a statistical Demand model using logistic regression, which represented a step change
in sophistication, and enabled the creation of a price optimisation approach to pricing. Use of
advanced Excel modelling and VBA skills, to combine Demand and Profit models to optimise
the total profitability curve at a customer segment level.
• Supervised the creation of a model to predict accident & sickness and unemployment claim
frequencies and durations. Creatively applied generalised linear models with Poisson
(frequency) and Gamma (duration) error structure, resulting in a segmented view of profitability.
• Produced a critical appraisal of the Negative Binomial distribution and Poisson distribution for
modelling of catastrophe events. Communicated results to senior management through a
written report and face to face meetings, resulting in a change to the existing process.
• Worked independently to assess the commercial viability of the proposed changes to the
UPLRC Refresh project- Combined data taken from the office of national statistics with Group
experience to project frequency of proposed insured events. Created cash flow models and
performed profit runs to perform a financial appraisal of the opportunities and risks. Presented
pricing recommendations to PL-GI board.
• Responsible for timely production of monthly MI and commentary. Created an ‘action-group’ to
enable effective contribution from junior analysts and ensure buy in. Provided coaching in
report writing skills, delivering a noticeable improvement in standard of commentary.
• Project managed the development of the new UPLRC Profit model to sign-off which required
the reconciliation of differences between the GI Pricing and HIIL Actuarial Profit models.
Allowed me to develop knowledge of actuarial and accounting based practices, cash flow
modelling, statutory and regulatory requirements

December 2004 to May 2007: Pricing Analyst: HBOS General Insurance Ltd

• Experience of building & testing risk models (Frequency & Severity) in Emblem & SAS, on a
variety of Creditor Products (UPLRC, MRC & CCRC) for first and third party business.
• Experience of building Demand models using Logistic Regression (UPLRC).
• Analysis of new and potential rating factors, customer segmentation, and experience of
converting results into customer premiums.
• Identified key competitors using market data combined with historic sale to quote information.
Quantified the importance of competitive position, using a generalised linear model with binary
response.
• Presented findings to senior management at wider team meetings and on a day to day basis.
• Created monthly MI reports using advanced SAS base, macro and Excel.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

MSc Dissertation: Demand and Retention Modelling of Loan and Insurance customers
• Objectives: To understand key drivers behind customer propensity to purchase for both a
single product offering and 3 vertically differentiated products. To forecast churn and
cancellation rates at a customer level.
• Developed a granular understanding of price elasticity of demand, using Logistic Regression
and Multinomial Regression models built and tested in SAS.
• Identified key drivers behind customer retention and forecasted drop off rates and expected
lifetimes, using Survival Models built and tested in SAS.
• Outcome: Models utilised in live pricing and marketing delivering uplifts in Gross Written Premium
of £7m and Net Present Value of £3m.

SportEx Journel: An observational study to determine the relationship between hip rotation range
of motion measures and low back pain in amateur golfers. (August 2008)
• Worked with Sports Injury MSC student to understand and formulate problem, Performed
statistical analysis and communicated back results verbally and via email. Statistical report
included in the literature review due for publishing August 2008.

APPLICATIONS , METHODOLOGIES & PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

• Emblem, SAS (Base, Macro, Stat), R, SPLUS, Excel (VBA), Decision Tools, Word.
• Logistic Regression, Multiple Regression, Generalised Linear Modelling, Time Series analysis
including Dynamic Linear Modelling, Cluster Analysis, Discriminant analysis, Neural Networks,
Experiment Design, Survival Analysis, Bayesian Methods & Monte Carlo Simulation.
• Confident presenting and communicating to a wide range of audiences
• Ability to work to tight timescales whilst maintaining high quality output
• Mentoring and coaching skills
• Good time management and project management skills

QUALIFICATIONS:

• MSc Statistics University of Sheffield, Sept 2008

• BSc Mathematics, University of Durham June 2004 (2:1 classification achieved)
• A-Levels in Mathematics (A) Further Mathematics(A) Physics(A) Computing (A)
• Advanced SAS Programming Certificate.
• SAS Survival Analysis with Business Applications, Sept 2008
• Advanced Emblem Training Certificate.
• Prophet Training Certificate.
• Essential Financial Skills for Insurance Professionals
• Internal Influencing Course