ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften

What ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften does

ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften is a German private research and consulting institute founded in 1994 and headquartered in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, that specializes in actuarial science and financial mathematics for the insurance industry. The institute provides consulting services across all insurance lines — life, health, and property/casualty — with particular depth in longevity and mortality risk modeling, Solvency II compliance, product development (especially innovative retirement and annuity-phase products), and asset-liability management for pension institutions. Its core technical capabilities center on stochastic mortality modeling, with proprietary methodologies including Heat Charts for mortality analysis and self-learning statistical models for portfolio risk identification, developed in close collaboration with the University of Ulm's Institut für Versicherungswissenschaften.

ifa is led by three managing directors — Dr. Andreas Reuß, Prof. Dr. Jochen Ruß, and Dr. Andreas Seyboth — alongside Supervisory Board Chairman Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Zwiesler, all of whom hold academic appointments. The firm earns revenue through professional services: project-based consulting engagements with insurance companies, pension funds, banks, and capital management companies across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg; coaching and professional development programs (Weiterbildung) for actuaries; and research publications including the 'ifa informiert' news series and proprietary market overview studies. Distribution is direct, through the managing directors and senior staff, supplemented by referral partnerships with Assekurum, risklab (Allianz Global Investors), Valytics, and VMS Hannover.

The institute owns and operates the annual Reisensburg-Tagung, an invitation-only executive conference held at Schloss Reisensburg near Ulm since 1993, which functions as both a thought-leadership platform and a relationship-development channel. ifa operates without external equity or venture funding and has accumulated more than 30 academic and industry awards for its researchers across two decades, with particular concentration in stochastic modeling, Solvency II methodology, and longevity risk research.

Name

ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften

Legal name

ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften

Website

https://ifa-ulm.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ifa is a private German actuarial research and consulting institute founded in 1994, based in Ulm, that provides longevity risk modeling, Solvency II advisory, and product development consulting to insurers, pension funds, and financial institutions across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ulm

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Actuarial Consulting Services: ifa provides consulting services to insurance companies across all lines of insurance (life, health, property/casualty) and pension institutions. Services include product development, risk management, Solvency II support, and actuarial modeling.
2. Coaching & Professional Development ( Weiterbildung): ifa offers professional training and coaching services for actuaries and insurance professionals, including seminars on topics such as stochastic mortality modeling, Solvency II, and agile working methods.
3. Research Publications & Studies: ifa produces research studies and market overviews (e.g., market overview of innovative retirement phase products) that are distributed to clients and the industry.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ifa is an actuarial research and consulting institute providing specialized advisory services to insurance companies, pension institutions, banks, and investment companies across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg. Its core offerings cover life/health/property-casualty insurance consulting, stochastic mortality and longevity risk modeling, Solvency II support, product development for retirement and biometric products, ALM studies, data analytics, and actuarial training through coaching and the annual Reisensburg-Tagung.

Product overview

ifa (Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften) is an actuarial and financial consulting institute providing professional services to insurance companies and financial institutions. The company offers consulting services across multiple insurance sectors (life, property/casualty, health), actuarial services, professional training, market research, and research publications. Key offerings include longevity risk modeling, Solvency II consulting, product development support, and the annual Reisensburg-Tagung conference. The company does not offer a software product platform but rather provides expert consulting, research studies (such as the market overview on innovative annuity phases), and professional publications through its 'ifa informiert' series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Beratungsfelder - Lebensversicherung & Altersvorsorge Consulting services for life insurance and pension/retirement products covering product development, actuarial modeling, and longevity risk management for life insurance companies.
• Beratungsfelder - Schaden-/Unfallversicherung Consulting services for property and casualty insurance, including pricing, reserving, and data analytics support for non-life insurers.
• Beratungsfelder - Krankenversicherung Consulting services for health insurance companies, covering product development, biometric assessment, and actuarial analysis of health insurance portfolios.
• Actuarial Services Cross-line actuarial consulting covering stochastic modeling, risk management, and Solvency II compliance for insurance and financial institutions.
• Coaching & Weiterbildung Professional development and training programs for actuaries and insurance professionals, covering topics such as stochastic mortality modeling, Solvency II, and agile working methods.
• Market Research Market analysis and research services for the insurance industry, including market overviews of innovative insurance products.
• Reisensburg-Tagung Annual conference at Schloss Reisensburg bringing together top leadership from the financial services industry to discuss fundamental, long-term industry developments such as retirement provision transformation.
• ifa informiert Regular news publication series covering current regulatory developments, research findings, and industry insights such as longevity risk, Solvency II, PRIIP, and Value for Money requirements.
• Marktüberblick über innovative Rentenbezugsphasen Comprehensive market overview study documenting 38 innovative annuity-phase products from 27 providers in German life insurance, covering innovative capital investment, flexible annuity options, and care-related riders.

Quantifiable outcome

• ifa researchers have won over 30 recognized academic and industry awards across multiple decades, demonstrating sustained research excellence
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AssekurumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssekurum supports and promotes knowledge transfer between academia and industry as well as within insurance practice. It offers insurers services that provide direct access to scientific know-how and methodological competence. Assekurum and ifa jointly organize the 'Assekuranzforum Lebensversicherung' (Insurance Forum Life Insurance).
• risklab (Allianz Global Investors)coreStrategic or Co-development Partnerrisklab is a global expert for strategic investment and risk solutions from Allianz Global Investors. Its customers are leading institutional investors and family offices. Core competencies include Strategic Asset Allocation, Asset-Liability-Management, Risk Management, and Alternative Beta Strategies. ifa collaborates with risklab on financial mathematics topics and produces ALM studies, particularly for occupational retirement provision institutions.
• ValyticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerValytics focuses on developing and implementing strategies and digital/innovative business models with exclusive focus on insurance. Key areas include: rethinking distribution, redesigning processes and organizations, holistically optimizing finance and risk management, leading M&A and large projects. The founder has extensive industry and leadership experience and is also a certified coach.
• VMS Hannover (Versicherungsmedizinischer Service Hannover)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVMS Hannover is a cooperation of physicians and insurance-related service companies providing expertise at the intersection of medicine and insurance. This is particularly relevant for product development and system support of application processes. In a dynamic market for personal insurance, biometrics plays a prominent role. ifa collaborates with VMS Hannover due to its insurance medicine experience for developing biometric insurance products.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Milliman: Global actuarial and consulting firm with deep practices in life insurance, longevity risk modeling, Solvency II, and pension consulting — directly comparable to ifa's core offerings, though operating at much greater scale across multiple geographies.
• msg life: German-headquartered specialist in insurance software and consulting for life insurance and pensions, with deep expertise in Solvency II and actuarial systems; closest direct competitor in the DACH life insurance advisory market.
• Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP): Independent UK-based actuarial and pensions consulting firm with strong practices in life insurance, longevity, and Solvency II — highly comparable in business model and specialty focus, though UK-centric.

Broad incumbents

• Mercer: Global consulting firm with strong actuarial and pension consulting practices; overlaps with ifa's life insurance, pension, and ALM work, especially in the German/DACH market.
• Deloitte (Germany): Big Four firm with a strong German insurance practice spanning actuarial, risk, regulatory, and digital insurance work; competes for Solvency II, ALM, and transformation mandates that overlap with ifa's offerings.
• Oliver Wyman: Global management consulting firm with deep insurance industry practice covering actuarial, risk, and strategic advisory; competes for senior-level insurance engagements in DACH and across Europe.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Global advisory firm offering actuarial consulting, insurance consulting, and risk management services; competes with ifa in Solvency II and longevity risk work but serves a broader portfolio of HR/benefits and risk advisory mandates.
• Aon: Global professional services firm with actuarial and insurance consulting capabilities, including Solvency II and reinsurance advisory; competes with ifa for enterprise insurance mandates in the DACH region.
• KPMG (Germany): Big Four firm with a substantial German insurance advisory practice covering actuarial services, Solvency II, and regulatory reporting; competes with ifa on enterprise insurance mandates and offers broader consulting bundles.
• EY (Germany): Big Four firm with actuarial and insurance risk consulting in Germany, including Solvency II, finance transformation, and audit-adjacent advisory; competes with ifa on regulatory and risk mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gesellschaft-f%C3%BCr-finanz--und-aktuarwissenschaften-mbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ifa - Institut für Finanz- und Aktuarwissenschaften