The historical collections developed from the donation of original texts on the formation of the Institute of Actuaries in 1848 and of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland in 1856. New acquisition of relevant historic texts and manuscripts dating before 1860 continues to this day. In 2006 the Institute of Actuaries acquired the Archive of the Equitable Life Assurance Society, established in 1762 and the first insurance office to operate on scientific lines using actuarial mathematics and mortality analysis.
Subjects represented in the historical collections include:
- early insurance and pensions
- demography (particularly mortality trends of populations)
- commercial arithmetic (application of compound interest in accumulating funds
- statistics and probability theory leading to calculations of life expectation
- the business of offering life assurance and pensions based on 'actuarial' mathematics.
Most texts are in English but there are significant items for actuarial science from France, Germany and Holland. There is also much evidence from insurance offices of the work of 'actuaries' who emerged from the late eighteenth century, those in the nineteenth century forming the first professional bodies, the Institute of Actuaries in 1848 and Faculty of Actuaries in 1856.
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) also preserves its own archives documenting the professional association work of the original Faculty and Institute since their foundation.
Access to the collection
The IFoA welcomes bona fide research requests to view items in the main special library collections of books, manuscripts and archives by appointment.
If you would like to view items in our collections please contact libraries@actuaries.org.uk. We may facilitate your visits to view items held by the organisations shown above by arrangement.
Please consult our combined catalogue listing of the Books, manuscripts and documents dating before 1901 in the libraries of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries arranged by author or lead title. In enquiries about items, please cite the RKN or library catalogue numbers of items of interest. Researchers may also now search our Library catalogue for pre-1901 items and 'request' to arrange to see items of interest at the IFoA Library by appointment.
There are document listings of the archives in the Equitable Life Assurance Society (ELAS) Archive 1762-1975 held by the IFoA and at Guildhall Library, London.
The historical collections are held in secure locations as outlined below:
| Historical resource | Location | Catalogue access to holdings |
|---|---|---|
| Institute of Actuaries special historical collections (books and manuscripts) |
IFoA London (viewing by appointment) | |
| Institute of Actuaries publications and profession records | IFoA London | Search Library catalogue (for Institute and Faculty publications) IFoA Library searches database to identify and retrieve profession records upon enquiry. |
| Faculty of Actuaries special historical collection | IFoA Edinburgh (viewing by appointment) | |
| Faculty of Actuaries publications and profession records | IFoA Edinburgh | Search Library catalogue (for Institute and Faculty publications) IFoA Library searches database to identify and retrieve profession records upon enquiry. |
| Equitable Life Assurance Society archive, (ca.1762-1833) | IFoA London (viewing by appointment) | Equitable Life Assurance Society (ELAS) Archive 1762-1975, IFoA, London |
| Equitable Life Assurance Society archive, (ca.1830-1950) | London Guildhall Library Apply to London Metropolitan Archives for access |
Equitable Life Assurance Society (ELAS) Archive 1803-1976, Guildhall Library, London |
Related documents
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IFoA Library special collection books on Fire Insurance: reading list
20 September 2016 -
Books, manuscripts and documents dating before 1901 in the libraries of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
1 July 2017 -
Equitable Life Assurance Society (ELAS) Archive 1762 - 1975 at Institute of Actuaries Library, London
30 September 2007 -
Equitable Life Assurance Society (ELAS) Archive 1803 - 1976 at Guildhall Library, London
1 November 2007
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Contact Details
For any library enquiries please contact:
We try to respond to email queries within one working day. Researcher access to historical resources may require notice in advance of visit in order to retrieve items from storage.
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Events calendar
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Webinar: Extreme Mortality Events – How Bad is Coronavirus?
Worldwide20 April 2020This new topical webinar presented by Chair of the Life Board of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Colin Dutkiewicz, will explore:
What is an extreme mortality event?
How does the current Covid-19 outbreak compare with other extreme mortality events?
What is the impact of this outbreak for insurers – and the wider economy?
What can we expect to happen next?
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Current Issues in General Insurance (CIGI) 2020
Webinars22 April 2020
Due to the COVID-19, we will be running this programme via a series of webinars commencing 22 April. CIGI is a well-established seminar designed to increase awareness and encourage discussion on a variety of topical issues across the general insurance industry.
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CIGI Webinar - Jumping the Gap - Updating Embedded Systems
Webinar22 April 2020InsurTech headlines are often big statements, which seem impossible to many working in the sector day-to-day. How can actuaries implement new systems, keep the value from legacy systems, deliver BAU and not require the resources of three teams? -
CIGI Webinar - Climate Change Risk in Insurance and Reinsurance
Webinar22 April 2020Pressure on organisations to address climate change risks is intensifying. But what does this really mean for insurers? In this session Adhiraj Maitra and Gareth Sutcliffe will look at the why, the what and the how of this risk through a number of different lenses including regulatory, principle and resilience. -
CIGI Webinar - The Influential Actuary: identity's Effect on Data Interpretation
Webinar23 April 2020Scientists, data analysts and actuaries can struggle to influence decision-making where strongly held political beliefs or membership of an identity group is threatened by their findings. Examples include: climate change, the disposal of nuclear waste and gun control. -
CIGI Webinar - Operational Resilience - Is It Time for a Top Down View of Risk?
Webinar23 April 2020There have been a number of events across the financial markets where particular services have fallen below customer expectations. These have included inability to receive or make payments or or the inability to check your own status or access services. In an increasingly interconnected world the causes of this are often complex and hard to spot in advance, but can be a major impact to the reputations of firms. -
CIGI Webinar - Are you Vulnerable ?
Webinar27 April 2020With ever increasing focus from the FCA on pricing practices and the relationship between insurers and their customers, it is critical to ensure appropriate controls are in place. This presentation summarises the latest developments in the market and showcases practical approaches to mitigate the risk of poor customer outcomes in pricing, with a particular focus on protecting vulnerable customers.’ -
CIGI Webinar - An Update for Property and Casualty Reinsurance Renewals 2020
Webinar27 April 2020This webinar provides an update on renewal pricing outcomes for Property and Casualty markets at the latest 1/1 reinsurance renewals with the focus being on capacity availability and price drivers. These issues include, but are not limited to, the cat bond market, wider trends in claims outcomes, trends in Casualty RI space that affect pricing such as social inflation, yield curve, and the reserving cycle. -
CIGI Webinar - Current Issues in Personal Injury Modelling
Webinar28 April 2020The Ogden Discount Rate shock of 2017 brought about a period of profound uncertainty to General Insurance market. GI Actuaries' first task was to estimate the impact of the Ogden shocks, particularly to reserving and reinsurance pricing. Their second was to navigate a period of framework uncertainty, maintaining an agility in actuarial modelling as the Civil Liability Bill took shape. -
Professional Skills Training - Edinburgh (29 April 2020)
IFoA (Edinburgh), Level 2, Exchange Crescent 7 Conference Square Edinburgh EH3 8RA29 April 2020This event has been postponed. A new date will be announced soon.
A Trusted Profession
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Professional Skills Training - London (29 April 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ29 April 2020This event has been postponed. A new date will be announced soon.
A Trusted Profession
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CIGI Webinar - Unlock the Value of IM Validation
Webinar30 April 2020Model validation should not be a tick box exercise. It has all the right ingredients to be a value adding exercise that can help senior management understand what really drives the business from a risk and capital perspective. Model validation can be a stressful, bloated process - and may not be as value adding as it could be. -
CIGI Webinar - Improving Customer Outcomes through Pricing
Webinar30 April 2020The FCA’s interim report into general insurance pricing practices has brought into focus a number of market wide issues including:Price walking • Poor governance • Higher prices for potentially vulnerable customers • Higher prices for less aware customers
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CANCELLED The Global Actuarial Profession
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QJ30 April 2020
We are sorry that this event has been cancelled.The IFoA's policy regarding COVID-19 is designed to safeguard the well-being of members and employees. As stated within the policy, the IFoA is reviewing its events programme on a case-by-case basis.
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CIGI Webinar - IFRS 17 Working Party Deep Dive
Webinar1 May 2020The IFRS 17 Working Party have been producing a number of deep dive papers, these include topics such as risk adjustment, impact of disclosures on how uncertainty is perceived, deferring acquisition costs over renewals, PAA eligibility and more. -
SIAS Event: Cyber Insurance
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QJ4 May 2020The talk will cover:
• Why cyber security is regarded as the top threat to businesses (Allianz Risk Barometer 2019)
• What is causing the shift in threat landscape
• Who is attacking, why, and how we can stop them
• Customer impressions of cyber security and how you can help them
• Threats to evaluating insurable losses and responding to claims
• How cyber insurance policies have evolved, and need to continue to do so
• Can and should you recover ransoms under cyber insurance?
• What is the future for cyber risk? -
Finance and Investment Conference 2020
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Pl, London NW1 4LE05-05 May 2020Due to COVID-19, we are running this programme via a series of webinars commencing 5 May.The environmental, social and governance (ESG) space is growing rapidly and increasingly moving centre stage. In many cases, it is now an essential part of policy and central to the way stakeholders make decisions for the long term to ensure retention of clients, manage risk better, and ensure more economically efficient and sustainable investment returns.
ESG factors cover a wide range of areas reflecting how vital consideration of these factors are part of wider systemic risks.
The IFoA’s policy regarding Coronavirus is designed to safeguard the well being of those who attend IFoA events. Find out more.
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Professional Skills Training - Edinburgh (19 May 2020)
IFoA (Edinburgh), Level 2, Exchange Crescent 7 Conference Square Edinburgh EH3 8RA19 May 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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Professional Skills Training - London (19 May 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ19 May 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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CILA 2020
Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Pl, London NW1 4LE20 May 2020Due to COVID-19 this event has been postponed until later in the year. A new date will be announced soon.Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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Protection, Health and Care Conference 2020
The Grand Brighton, 97-99 Kings Rd, Brighton BN1 2FW02-03 June 2020The Protection, Health and Care Conference is an annual conference aimed at all insurance professionals with a passion for harnessing insurance risk in their organisations. -
SIAS Event: Why personal impact matters for career progression & organisational performance & what affects it
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QJ2 June 2020How we relate to others at work, whether they are colleagues, clients, prospective clients or other business contacts is key to individual career progression and business performance. People buy people , so considering what we are known for and how to be positively memorable are vital. This session looks at the importance of professional relationships, the psychology of personal image and impact and the three personal impact 'tools' which affect what people say about us when we're not in the room.
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Mortality and Longevity 2020
1 Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JJ08-08 June 2020This highly regarded seminar will provide topical and practical updates and discussion on the latest thinking and innovations in mortality and longevity. The program is designed for life, pensions and health and care actuaries, academics, researchers, underwriters and related practitioners eager to learn about the latest developments in mortality and longevity. The sessions are designed to be very accessible to a broad range of exp -
Professional Skills Training - London (10 June 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ10 June 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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Professional Skills Training - Edinburgh (17 June 2020)
IFoA (Edinburgh), Level 2, Exchange Crescent 7 Conference Square Edinburgh EH3 8RA17 June 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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Professional Skills Training - London (18 June 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ18 June 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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Pensions Conference 2020
Renaissance Manchester City Centre Hotel, Blackfriars Street, Manchester,M3 2EQ18-19 June 2020Join us as this year’s conference that will focus on topics including funding and savings, pension law current issues, ESG, the end game and transferring risk, investment issues, data visualisation and data science. -
IFoA Asia Conference 2020, Kuala Lumpur
CCEC Nexus, 7, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia24-25 June 2020This event has been postponed. A new date will be announced.
The IFoA's policy regarding COVID-19 is designed to safeguard the well-being of members and employees. As stated within the policy, the IFoA is reviewing its events programme on a case-by-case basis.
To this end the IFoA and their strategic partner, the AIR, have taken the decision to postpone this year's Asia Conference. A new date will be announced pending further reviews over the following months.
Due to the COVID-19, we will be running this programme via a series of webinars commencing 22 April. 
We are sorry that this event has been cancelled.