One Conversation at a Time: How Aw Yong Chor Leong and ARECA Are Expanding the Actuarial Profession across Asia

hen Aw Yong Chor Leong, FCAS, known to most as “CL,” talks about volunteerism, he rarely begins with numbers.

Yes, there are impressive statistics. More than 750 attendees participated in Asia Region Casualty Actuaries’ (ARECA’s) 2025 webinar series. More than 40 university teams from 21 institutions competed in the Peak Re–sponsored ARECA Case Competition. CAS leaders have recently visited more universities, regulators, employers, and actuarial organizations across multiple countries. Meanwhile, educational workshops, networking events, and student outreach continued to expand throughout the region.

But Leong prefers to talk about outcomes that are harder to measure: The conversations after an event has officially ended, the student who discovers that general insurance can be a career in actuarial science, the volunteer who reluctantly agrees to organize a seminar only to discover a passion for leadership, and the friendships that form across countries, cultures, and time zones.

Those moments, he believes, are what have transformed ARECA from a regional affiliate into one of the CAS’s most vibrant communities.

Founded in 2015, ARECA was created to support CAS members throughout Asia by providing continuing education, networking opportunities, and a volunteer structure capable of advancing CAS initiatives across the region.

Unlike many CAS volunteer groups concentrated within a single country, ARECA operates across a vast geography encompassing different countries, multiple languages, diverse cultures, varying educational systems, and many insurance markets.

That reality changes how volunteerism works.

“In many ways, we were just continuing what ARECA set out to do from the start — bringing people together, sharing knowledge, and building something that lasts,” Leong wrote in his farewell message as ARECA president.

Rather than relying primarily on committees or formal meetings, ARECA volunteers build relationships market by market. Local representatives bring deep knowledge of their own countries, while collaborating with colleagues throughout Asia to create programs that can be adapted across the region.

The result is volunteer work that is simultaneously local and international.

A university presentation in Kuala Lumpur may inspire ideas for an event in Hong Kong. A networking reception in Singapore leads to collaboration with volunteers in Taiwan. A speaker from Germany presents to attendees from dozens of cities in Asia.

Every event becomes an opportunity to strengthen the regional network.

Much of ARECA’s success comes from recognizing that volunteer engagement in Asia often looks different than it does elsewhere.

Instead of expecting members to travel frequently, ARECA has embraced a flexible model that blends virtual education with strategically placed in-person events. Volunteers organize activities in their own cities while sharing resources, speakers, and expertise across borders.

This approach has allowed a relatively small group of volunteers to deliver an outsized impact.

Over the past year, ARECA delivered a six-part webinar series covering topics from parametric insurance and IFRS 17 to pricing, professionalism, and open-source actuarial tools, providing continuing education to more than 750 attendees across Asia.

The organization has also developed networking events, university outreach programs, technical workshops, AI education sessions, professionalism seminars, and collaborations with local actuarial associations throughout the region.

These activities often happen because volunteers simply raise their hands.

“So, if you’ve been reading this newsletter thinking, ’That looks like something I’d enjoy,’ — you’re probably right,” Leong wrote. “You don’t need to be the most technical person in the room. You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to start.”

Perhaps no initiative better reflects ARECA’s philosophy than its Annual Case Competition.

Now in its seventh year, the Peak Re–sponsored CAS ARECA Case Competition introduces university students to real-world property and casualty insurance problems while connecting them directly with practicing actuaries.

The 2025 competition attracted more than 40 teams, representing 21 universities across Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, Nepal, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Students researched the impact of electric vehicles on the insurance industry before presenting their work to panels of experienced CAS members.

For many participants, the competition serves as their first meaningful exposure to general insurance actuarial work.

The competition is just one part of a broader educational strategy that includes university visits, student networking events, hackathons, campus information sessions, scholarship opportunities, and presentations about the CAS credentialing pathway. Throughout the year, ARECA volunteers visited universities across Asia to introduce students to careers inP&C and connect them with practicing actuaries.

Another hallmark of ARECA’s work has been coordinating visits by CAS leaders throughout Asia.

Over the past year, CAS presidents, ambassadors, staff, and volunteers traveled to Taiwan, mainland China, Pakistan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia, meeting with regulators, insurers, universities, employers, and actuarial organizations.

The visits go beyond delivering presentations.

Volunteers answer students’ questions about exams, career paths, and professional development. They meet with regulators to discuss emerging issues such as climate risk and IFRS 17. They visit employers to better understand regional workforce needs. They participate in local conferences while sharing global perspectives on actuarial practice.

Each visit strengthens relationships that continue long after their flights home.

Leong started volunteering in 2017 when Bob Conger invited him to speak at a CAS Spring Meeting on insurance in the Asian markets. He had the opportunity to meet with fellow CAS members from Japan (Marcus Yamashiro) and China (Sherwin Li), the CAS Asia Ambassador (Ron Kozlowski), CAS Presidents (Frank Chang, Roosevelt Mosley, Barry Franklin), and representatives from Asia (Michael Chou [now Bo Lin] and Ran Guo). This opportunity opened the door for Leong, and he found himself connecting with other enthusiastic members. “The friendship and connections forged are the reasons why I continue to volunteer. The other is making small but meaningful impacts, such as university visits and giving talks to students. University syllabi are changing to incorporate general insurance materials. Students who have not considered general insurance as a career path are entering the market, and some have become successful. To paraphrase a fellow volunteer’s quote [Alyaa Nuval Othman], ’It’s a gift that keeps on giving.’”

Leong’s own contributions have not gone unnoticed. In 2024, he received the CAS New Members Award for his volunteer contributions to ARECA and the Asia Regional Working Group. The award recognizes members who have made significant volunteer contributions within five years of earning their most recent credential. Even while accepting the recognition, Leong emphasized that volunteerism is less about individual achievement than collective effort.

“There were no barriers, and we were all treated equally and fairly,” he wrote. “You could be in the C-suite of a large corporation or a student from a university, but as a CAS volunteer, we are all the same.”

That philosophy has become one of ARECA’s defining characteristics.

Over the past decade, ARECA has demonstrated that volunteerism does not have to be confined by geography.

Through collaboration, flexibility, and a willingness to meet members where they are, volunteers have built an organization that develops future actuaries, supports practicing professionals, strengthens relationships with regulators and universities, and expands the CAS’s presence throughout Asia.

The measurable achievements are substantial. The less measurable ones may prove even more lasting. Students discover careers they had never considered. Volunteers become leaders. Professional relationships evolve into friendships that span countries and cultures.

As Leong reflected at the conclusion of his presidency, the greatest opportunity for ARECA’s future does not lie in another program or initiative — it lies with the next volunteer willing to get involved.

“Don’t wait to be invited,” he wrote. “Raise your hand. Show up.”