A group of industry professionals have created a Covid-19 actuaries’ response group to provide a forum for actuaries and others to learn how to respond to the current pandemic.
The group currently has 11 members and was launched on the weekend of 7-8 March on LinkedIn, as Italy’s Lombardy region was being shut down in response to the virus.
Stuart McDonald, a founding member of the group, told InsuranceERM it was formed following a discussion with Tan Suee Chieh - the current president-elect of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA).
McDonald said he reached out to a cross-section of actuaries and specialist medical researchers to discuss how they might work together during the crisis. The Covid-19 group first convened on 10 March.
On Friday, the group launched its charter setting out six principles, such as seeking science and data and “bringing an innovative approach in framing both the problems and solutions”.
Its current membership includes Joseph Lu, director for longevity science at Legal & General, Suee Chieh and Matthew Edwards, consulting actuary at Willis Towers Watson.
McDonald said the group aims to release its first bulletin tomorrow (Tuesday).
He commented: “We plan to put out materials that will be of benefit to actuaries and their employers and clients. This might include a discussion on the virus itself, how it can be modelled, a forecast impact on mortality and health services and various strategies that different countries are employing to combat it.”
He added it is hoped the group will only be needed for a short-term response to the crisis as “it has no longer term aspirations".
The Covid-19 actuaries’ response group can be viewed here on LinkedIn.