In the insurance industry, effective reserving isn’t simply a back‑office actuarial function; it’s a strategic asset that can improve financial insight, executive confidence and cross‑team collaboration. Yet many companies still struggle with the way reserving teams communicate, analyse, and document their work, which can lead to inefficiencies, misunderstandings and risk.
This challenge is the focus of a new white paper from Akur8, Getting the Numbers Right: Strengthening Analysis and Governance in Reserving, which explores three core anti‑patterns undermining reserving processes and offers practical strategies to address them.
Breaking down silos for better reserving
The first anti‑pattern Akur8 identifies is the silo mentality, where actuarial knowledge remains isolated within the reserving team. Too often, actuaries work independently, handing reserve estimates over to finance without context or dialogue.
This disconnect means that claims, underwriting and finance operate without insight into how or why numbers have shifted. For example, if claims teams pilot faster claim closures or underwriting alters policy terms, these developments might never reach the actuaries — and vice versa, actuarial findings may not be communicated in an accessible way to other departments.
Recommended mitigation strategies include making data dashboards available across teams, embedding an actuary in claims meetings and structuring regular cross‑department touchpoints.
These steps build trust in reserving results and help teams react more proactively to emerging trends — ultimately improving reserve accuracy and business confidence.
Communicating reserve results effectively
The second anti‑pattern is what Akur8 calls “lost in translation” communication. Even the most sophisticated reserve analysis can lose value if the message is too technical, too dense or lacking context for decision‑makers.
The white paper gives a scenario where actuaries present a presentation filled with complex tables and jargon to senior executives — leaving them confused about the implications for capital, risks or planning.
To counter this, Akur8 recommends treating reserve findings as a narrative rather than a spreadsheet. This means summarising the business relevance of reserve changes, using charts and visuals that non‑technical leaders can grasp quickly, and clearly outlining uncertainty and assumptions.
Communicating that a reserve estimate may vary due to inflation or claims severity helps set appropriate expectations and reduces surprises when results differ from projections.
Improving governance and transparency
The final anti‑pattern is black box syndrome, where the process and assumptions behind reserve calculations are undocumented or understood by only a few individuals.
Knowledge may reside in personal files or spreadsheets without audit trails, posing operational risk if key team members leave or auditors request transparency.
Akur8’s guidance focuses on governance practices: document assumptions and methodology, standardise reserving procedures, institute peer review and build knowledge‑sharing routines. Using software tools with version control or audit logs reinforces transparency. These practices boost accuracy, reduce error risk and make reserving more resilient as teams evolve.
In conclusion, strengthening reserving isn’t only about better actuarial models — it’s about breaking down silos, communicating clearly and documenting work in a way that builds trust company‑wide.
Organisations that adopt these best practices are better equipped to anticipate risk, make informed strategic decisions and ensure that their reserving process supports financial performance.
Read the full whitepaper from Akur8 here.
Read the daily FinTech news
Copyright © 2026 FinTech Global
