The Judges' award is usually made to an individual, but this year our panel decided to bestow it to a group of actuaries who contributed to efforts to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their research and analysis – all done voluntarily and shared freely – has showcased the risk management and modelling skills of actuaries.

The Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group (ARG) was formed in early March 2020 by several individuals who had become very concerned about the spread of the virus.

Joseph Lu, a longevity expert, actuary and founding member of the group, says the idea for ARG was to "serve as a forum to learn, educate, inform and influence the unfolding Covid-19 crisis constructively".

He adds: "We wanted rapid, yet credible, communications. We value early engagement, while awaiting further information. We aim to produce short and accessible bulletins which have been peer-reviewed for quality."

The group produces a report every Friday and a handful papers during an average week.

ARG takes input from a diverse group of talents and, while its core is actuarial, it includes medical experts, actuaries with epidemiological backgrounds and catastrophists, for example.

Matthew Edwards, a founding member of ARG, points to how well its work has been received.

"Many people have said that we've become their most trusted source on the pandemic – that's been a great achievement, helping extract a reliable signal from the noise."

The group's work has been widely cited, notably by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), a panel which provides scientific advice to the UK government.

Even the UK Prime Minister quoted from one of its papers, regarding the mortality benefit of vaccinating priority groups.