29 April 2020
Now that the dust has begun to settle on the first, extraordinary weeks of the COVID-19 crisis here in the UK, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on a once-in-a-century event that will shape the profession for years to come.
Those of us in the UK watched with concern as the outbreak developed in Asia in the early party of the year, Our hopes that the outbreak might be contained slowly evaporating with the ever-increasing death toll and the many touching stories of caring and loss.
Yet, the arrival of the virus and accompanying restrictions still felt like a shock. That realisation happened for me on Thursday 12th March as I was co-hosting a data science event in the profession’s historic London home of Staple Inn. The last hour of a very vibrant and engaging conference coincided with a government announcement of the first set of restrictions. Since that day, Staple Inn has been silent. We’ve not heard voices raised in robust debate at sessional meetings. We’ve not heard the clinking of glasses at new qualifier ceremonies.
Yet these changes are only symbolic of a more fundamental change in our way of life. from the way we interact with those closest to us through to the outlook for the global economy.
As we try to comprehend our new reality and its implications, we have been thrown into a new way of working. As members and colleagues all over the world were adjusting to working from home indefinitely and conducing their business via video conference calls, the Leadership Team and I were faced with taking a range of far-reaching decisions designed to safeguard the wellbeing of members, minimise the disruption in our services and ensure our sustainability as a profession.
Many of these decisions were an acceleration of initiatives that had long been in planning. Some of them were completely new.
Perhaps the most far-reaching and immediately impactful decision we took was to move as many of our April 2020 examinations online as was practical in the time available.
We did this to minimise disruption and to respect the huge amount of work that goes into exam preparation by our students.
This was not a decision we took lightly, and we needed to be sure we could continue to offer a safe, fair experience for our learners.
The first thing we had to be sure of was that this was actually technically possible. Although we had been exploring options for the digitalisation of our examinations for many years, the immediate nature of the crisis meant that these plans needed to be turned into reality in a matter of a few short weeks. With staff and volunteers working around the clock, we were able to identify the exams we could transition at short notice and put in place the right digital approach.
I know that many of you may have been worried during the necessary time we needed to take to ensure we could deliver these examinations digitally, and that some of you may feel that the balance between cancelled exams and those moved to a digital footing is wrong. That is why I have made it clear that students can choose to cancel previous exam bookings without any detriment or penalty, should they feel it is not for them.
We have also moved quickly to transition our outstanding events programme to digital delivery. I’m proud of how fast the profession has progressed in this area, adding an unrivalled wealth of new actuarial webinars and digital content to our already well-appointed virtual learning environment.
We’ve come a long way in a very short time, and in conditions that are unique in my working lifetime. We know there’s much still to do, but a strong foundation has been put in place to ensure the continuation of the profession during and beyond this crisis.
Members taking the lead
As we each adapt to this dramatic change, the work of the profession remains as important as ever.
Indeed, our work over many years in asset-liability matching, scenario modelling and risk management has meant that our employers and clients have faced this crisis with a degree of resilience.
Some actuaries, particularly those involved in pandemic risk, are now at the forefront of understanding Covid-19. Many more are involved in supporting clients and employers deal with the varied implications. Balance sheets of insurer and pensions schemes are being revisited. Mortality and morbidity assumptions are being revised. Operational risk plans are being implemented and adapted. And many of us have roles in leading organisations and guiding colleagues through these most difficult of times.
As the President of an organisation that’s, run for and led by its members, it was very much in keeping with the profession’s ethos to see a huge number of peers step forwards, offering their expert skills to help address the Covid-19 crisis in any way they could.
We’re currently seeing a huge amount of work from IFoA members designed to inform and support the global response to the pandemic. From practice area boards stepping forwards with new thinking, to council members publishing ‘explainers’ on critical aspects of modelling, the profession’s response has been as rapid as it has been effective.
Much of this work can be found on our ever-evolving Pandemics Hub.
For those members who are keen to get involved and offer the unique skills that actuaries bring, I urge you to step forwards and join our COVID-19 Action Taskforce. This group will provide the speedy modelling essential for governments to make the correct policy decisions. More narrowly, we need to plan for the potential impact on insurance companies, pension funds, banks, investment managers and other financial services organisations, all of whom have a huge social impact.
Going forwards
Perhaps it’s too early to speak of the emergence of a ‘new normal’, but I believe that the steps we’ve taken will ensure that we weather the storm and emerge strengthened upon the resolution of this global emergency.
Although I know there is still a long road ahead, I also know that the profession will draw upon its enormous reserves of talent, expertise and resilience, stepping forwards to play a major role in safeguarding the societies we serve, just as we always have.
John Taylor
President of the IFoA