This session explored how the new index has revealed previously uncaptured mortality inequalities by using predictive variables at a high degree of granularity. Globally renowned leader in actuarial science Professor Andrew Cairns and his co-investigator Torsten Kleinow demonstrated the uses of new LIFE index such as the causes of high or low mortality and regional differences in mortality.
A recording of the session can be viewed on the ARC Webinar Series 2021 website.
Speakers:
Andrew Cairns is Professor of Financial Mathematics at Heriot-Watt University. His research broadly concerns quantitative risk management of pension plans and life insurers including model and parameter risk. He has published extensively on asset strategies for pension plans, interest rate modelling and modelling and management of longevity risk, and many of his papers rank amongst the most highly cited in actuarial science. He is an active member of the International Actuarial Association having served as editor of ASTIN Bulletin and as a member of the boards of the ASTIN and AFIR-ERM sections of the IAA.
Torsten Kleinow is associate professor in the Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics at Heriot-Watt University. His main research interests are stochastic mortality models, factors affecting mortality rates in different populations and the valuation and management of long term saving products with embedded options. He has published several papers on mortality models for multiple populations, With-Profits contracts and collective pension schemes. He has supervised PhD students working on economic modelling, risk management and risk capital allocation as well as mortality modelling. Torsten used to be a member of the IFoA's life research committee and is currently an IFoA examiner.
Jamie Funnell (Chair) is a qualified actuary in the Longevity Risk Management division at Pension Insurance Corporation with responsibility for the reinsurance of longevity risk. Jamie joined PIC in 2018, having previously worked at Prudential UK and Barnett Waddingham, and has spent his career analysing and interpreting longevity risk for pricing, capital and reserving assumptions.
Jamie currently sits as Chair of the Continuous Mortality Investigation’s Annuities Committee ensuring that the CMI continues to produce informative analyses of the annuity market for its subscribers.
Event organiser
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This webinar is free to attend and the webinar qualifies for CPD.
In this webinar the speakers will introduce the Longevity Index for England (LIFE).
The new index aims to pin down mortality inequalities at the neighbourhood level through use of key predictive variables. Neighbourhoods are Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) with an average population of about 1500 persons. The predictive variables are:
- socio-economic indicators: income deprivation, unemployment, overcrowding, housing quality, average number of bedrooms, education;
- urban-rural classification;
- and the proportion of the LSOA that are in a care home with or without nursing.
The index achieves a high degree of granularity with a specific index value for each LSOA contrasting with alternative approaches that require aggregation into, e.g., deciles or geodemographic clusters.
Amongst other benefits, the LIFE index gives significant insights into what the causes are of high or low mortality and regional differences in mortality. The index also highlights which LSOAs, on a like-for-like basis, are experiencing higher mortality than other LSOAs.
The LIFE index and derived values are supported by a simple online App which will be demonstrated during the webinar.