4 April 2008

Research published today by Cass Business School, sponsored by The Actuarial Profession, has found that the chance of dying in the year immediately following the death of a partner could be up to twice as likely for women and up to six times greater for men than in subsequent years. However, the research, which is based on analysis of some 11,000 life annuity contracts over a five year period, illustrates that after this period, the chance of dying reduces. The findings demonstrate the strong dependence between the lifetimes of coupled lives ... more.

The analysis, which was designed for use by insurance companies to help price life assurance and pension products, can be downloaded here.