Working in the public interest
Under our Royal Charter we have a duty to put the public interest first. We are always happy to collaborate and co-operate with other organisations where we have common cause and can bring our knowledge and expertise to join forces in the public interest.
Great Risk Transfer
Our Great Risk Transfer (GRT) campaign, which looks at the increasing transference of risk from institutions to individuals, launched to great acclaim in January 2020.
After 15 months, during which we collected 50 submissions and ran a number of roundtable events, we analysed the evidence and developed the suggested solutions into practical recommendations. Our final report was published in April 2021.
We worked with the think tank Demos to deliver a virtual launch event for this report and were delighted to have over 300 attendees. Our prestigious panel included Stephen Timms MP, former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Vicky Pryce, formerly Head of the Government Economic Service.
Since then we have worked with policy-makers, MPs and other external organisations to turn the report’s recommendations into action. This has included:
- Supporting research by the David Hume Institute in Scotland into public attitudes to risk
- Working with partners in the CDC Pensions Forum to make collective defined contribution pensions a more practical proposition for employers
- Commissioning research into government-supported reinsurance schemes such as Flood Re, to see if this approach could be applied to other examples.
Throughout 2022/23 we will continue to push ahead with implementing the recommendations.
A fairer deal for all
Throughout 2021 we worked with Fair By Design on a research project to better understand the causes, extent and impact of the poverty premium in the insurance sector. Our joint report, The hidden risks of being poor: the poverty premium in insurance, was published in September and was the culmination of extensive engagement with insurance practitioners, regulators and consumer advocates, as well as people with lived experience of poverty. It makes a number of recommendations, aimed at improving access to insurance for the most vulnerable consumers.
The report has received excellent feedback, including:
‘‘An excellent report of real substance and value’’ and ‘‘This is really excellent and, given the impact of the pandemic on those in poorer circumstances, very timely.’’
A return to UK party conferences
After a hiatus due to the pandemic, we returned to the UK party conferences again in 2021 where we partnered with the Social Market Foundation to host a fringe event at each conference.
At the Labour conference we showcased the report The hidden risks of being poor at a panel event that included Martin Coppack (Director of Fair By Design) and Marina Ahmed (London Assembly Labour Group Spokesperson for the Economy).
In Manchester, for the Conservative conference, we opted to major on the Great Risk Transfer campaign
and how to ensure retirees make the best of the financial freedoms afforded by the 2015 reforms to pensions. At this conference we were joined by Nigel Mills MP (Work and Pensions Select Committee Member) and Peter Tutton from StepChange.
Both events were well attended and demonstrated the relevance of our policy work to the political conversations currently happening within the major parties.
Actuarial Research Centre
Our Actuarial Research Centre (ARC) brings together industry, academia and practitioners to carry out cutting-edge research. Two major research studies drew to a close in 2021, providing outcomes that are already delivering real-life benefits.
Hormone replacement therapy study
In October 2021 our hormone replacement therapy (HRT) study published its findings. This five-year study, carried out in collaboration with the University of East Anglia, found that HRT could boost life expectancy among healthy women. Combined HRT can be associated with a small increase in the risk of breast cancer, but this was the first in-depth study to look at the impact on overall life expectancy using UK primary care data.
It was rewarding to see this work receive some great coverage in both local and national media, including the Daily Mail and The Sun as well as a number of other media outlets. The conclusion was published ahead of a key debate in the UK Parliament on a proposed menopause bill, for which we provided a briefing flagging the importance of free prescription-fee therapy.
Our international research programme
At the end of 2021 ARC’s large-scale, five-year research programme looking at the modelling, measurement and management of longevity and morbidity risk, led by researchers from Heriot-Watt University in the UK and supported by the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, drew to a close. The programme exceeded expectations, delivering outputs beyond its primary aims and yielding rich insights.
Outputs included 19 papers, 120 presentations, including webinars, and a new Longevity Index for England known as the LIFE index and app. The app is already helping government identify mortality inequalities at a more granular level than ever before.
Other achievements in 2021:
Published Responding to change, the second bulletin in our Inclusive Insurance series.
Over 400 IFoA members and non-members from 25 countries signed up to hear the initial research findings from our groundbreaking research programme 'Optimising Future Pensions', which completes in early summer 2023.
British Actuarial Journal article downloads increased by 33% compared with the previous year.
Produced The social care issue, the latest in our Longevity Bulletin series.
The Actuary magazine won Best Website at the annual memcom awards, which recognise excellence in professional membership, and Best Magazine at the Association Excellence Awards.
Revised and expanded the Editorial Board for Annals of Actuarial Science to better represent diversity.
