General Insurance Article - Actuaries Covid19 Response Group issue first paper on virus

 The group currently has 11 members and was launched earlier this month, as Italy’s Lombardy region was being shut down in response to the virus.

 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”.

 The group’s plan is 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.

 Its current membership includes Matthew Edwards, Consulting Actuary at Willis Towers Watson, who has just published the group’s first paper on COVID-19 entitled: “Is the Imperial College pandemic modelling work ‘fit for purpose’?"

 In particular, the paper highlights specific areas where the Imperial College modelling - one of the main models informing the UK Government's response to the Coronavirus - looks open to challenge.