The Life practice area is active in member-led research

Member-led research working parties are volunteer-led working groups that conduct research on timely topics of wide interest to the practice area and the profession.

The Life Research Sub-committee (LRC) has oversight of all the working parties listed below and encourages them to undertake research that can be shared with Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) members via sessional papers, articles in The Actuary or the British Actuarial Journal (BAJ), and presentations at conferences or workshops.

There are currently 17 active Life research working parties working on the following topics:

  • Advice Gap in UK Market - the research encompasses life, pension and investment, and the working party will align and build on existing research, both from within the profession and externally.
  • Artificial Intelligence and Automation - this group will consider how new technology will change the future role of life and health and care actuaries and will consider how actuarial practice needs to evolve
  • Climate Change - this working party will seek to help life actuaries efficiently find such information and understand industry practices.
  • Equity Release Mortgages - looking at the "matching adjustment" of Solvency II.
  • Extreme Events - this is a Cross Practice Research Working Party shared with Finance  and Investment, that is widening understanding of the various methodologies that could be used for developing benchmark figures, including the advantages and disadvantages of each
  • IFRS 17: Contractual Service Margin (CSM) - will analyse the impact of different approaches of calculating the Contractual Service Margin (CSM) at initial recognition and subsequent measurement, with respect to life insurance products under the Building Block Approach (i.e. Annuities and Protection) and the Variable Fee Approach (i.e. With-Profits) for both existing and new business.
  • IFRS 17: Future of Discount rates - will investigate discount rates as they function under IFRS 17
  • Insurers' hidden risks from Reinsurance recaptures: the perspective of  UK annuity writers - to explore annuity writers’ exposure to; and management and mitigation of a reinsurance recapture or similar event that leads to an insurer being required to recognise previously reinsured risk(s)
  • Life Asia Sub-committee Research Group - will investigate Life Insurance in Asia, including commissioning a consumer survey in three territories.  The research is entitled The Protection Gap: Assessing Consumer Protection Needs in Asia
  • Life Office Taxation - aims to keep abreast of new developments in the field of Life Office tax
  • Life Reinsurance - improving the understanding of the benefits of reinsurance in the life sector and the issues that currently exist
  • Long Term Product Guarantees - will investigate long terms guarantees on pensions, savings, protection, and annuity products.  The two key questions to be answered are: Do long-term insurance guarantees have a future in the UK?  And what could be done to make them more affordable and attractive?
  • Management of closed With-profit Funds - to improve customer outcomes for those who have policies in closed with-profits funds
  • Management of Matching Adjustments - considering the management of Matching Adjustments as a measure approved by PRA under Solvency II but whose subsequent management is not laid down in all areas
  • Modelling Pre and Post Retirement Savings Products - “The goal (of this working party) is to support the life insurance, pensions and retirement industry with relevant research to support new product innovation by bringing together research on investments, products and consumers with the ultimate goal to increase consumer choice and value for money”.

If you have your own ideas for member-led research you would like to pursue, please refer to our Guidance for Research Working Parties or contact the communities team.

All members are encouraged to volunteer for a research working party

Members interested in volunteering for a research working party should check Volunteer vacancies for current and new working parties.

The IFoA is also actively involved in commissioning strategic and external research relating to Life Insurance

Information on research undertaken by universities and other external agencies which receive funding and/or support from the IFoA, as well as the IFoA’s strategy for involvement, the process for calls for research, current research initiatives, and funding, can be found in Research and Knowledge.

Related documents

Contact Details

For more information about Life working parties contact the CommunitiesTeam.

professional.communities@actuaries.org.uk

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