Somil Jain, Principal and Sr. Consulting Actuary at Lewis & Ellis, LLC., has been a numbers-oriented person since childhood. His father, who was an engineer, instilled a knack for science and mathematics from the get-go. Since Somil excelled at those disciplines, he decided to explore them more in college through engineering.
After a couple of years of majoring in engineering at Rutgers University in New Jersey, a change was inevitable. “I studied [engineering] for a couple of years and didn't love it,” he said. “After that, I basically switched my major almost every semester.”
He tried science, math, philosophy, artificial intelligence, and even photography. “I just kept bouncing around,” he said. “I got a couple of internships, one of which was as an actuary and I started to enjoy the process — so I became one.”
Somil has since earned his MBA while working as an actuary. Going through the MBA program helped improve his soft skills, which are valuable in the world of actuarial science and consulting. “The MBA didn't necessarily help from a technical perspective; instead it helped by rounding out other essential skills, including communication and interaction with key stakeholders,” he said.
It's All in a Day's Work
Fast forward to Lewis & Ellis, LLC., and Somil says “Within any given day, there's a lot of different things going on.” But, for him, there's one question that remains the most important no matter what his calendar looks like:
What does the client need?
“You're spending a lot of time understanding what clients' needs are,” he said.
And, sometimes, they don't always know what they require.
“Clients tell you one thing, but then you start talking to them and realize that [that need] is a symptom [of the problem], but not the core issue.”
Once Somil helps clients understand what they truly need his help with, that's when the “head's down” actuarial work begins. He's building out rating or segmentation models, determining the best ways to conduct pricing or reserving studies, and researching lots of industry statistics. And lately, he's been focusing a majority of his efforts on helping create new insurance programs, typically managing general agents (MGAs).
The Freedom To Succeed
One of the highlights of working at Lewis & Ellis is the freedom actuaries get to conduct business on their terms, according to Somil. “It's very entrepreneurial. It's almost like working as an independent consultant but having the support and resources of a much bigger entity,” he said. “I can choose what I want to spend my time on.”
While the firm is geared toward flexibility and autonomy, Somil exceeded expectations early and was able to create his own path in a short span of time.
But beyond flexibility, the most rewarding thing about Somil's chosen line of work is being able to construct a solution for someone who didn't already have one in place and didn't necessarily think an effective result was possible. Coming up with that fix, and showing clients how it's done, is what it's all about.
A Family Man With a Plan (And a Humming Garden)
At work, Somil is full of surprise solutions to his clients' delight, and at home, the surprises don't stop.
Just this past summer, Somil fulfilled his two kids' dream of adding a dog to the family. And, as it turns out, the pup has been a great companion for Somil, too. “She's absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I've enjoyed having her because I'm able to take her on a run every day, so it gets me out of the house more often.”
But wait, there's more!
“A couple of months ago, we added two Guinea pigs to the family, and my younger daughter especially has been the one taking care of them.”
Amid all of the commotion that pets and work bring, Somil finds peace in his garden. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, and peas — “My kids love peas. We grow so many peas!” He said. And garden-fresh veggies may just be the key to getting kids to eat their share, as Somil has discovered that his kids' friends enjoy munching on freshly-grown greens to their parents' surprise.
Between work, family, pets, and the garden, it's easy for Somil to keep busy.