For many insurers and reinsurers, events which change the lifespan of current and future annuitants can influence both capital requirements today and profitability in the future. Whilst it’s never possible to fully predict the future, getting early warning of potential changes in mortality gives providers time to adapt their assumptions, adjust their pricing and minimise balance sheet impacts. In this four-part series, “The Next Big Thing in Longevity”, we explore where some of the big longevity events of the future could arise and provide insights into the early warning signals for which insurers should be vigilant to avoid being caught off-guard by such events.
About our “Dementia” white paper
In the first paper of our four-part series, we consider three sources of potential improvements in dementia-related mortality.
We investigate:
- the nature, timing and potential impact of emerging treatments for the main causes of dementia: Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies,
- how changes in the diagnosis of dementia (or the underlying conditions) might affect survival periods, and
- the feasibility and potential impact of preventing the diseases which cause dementia.
Our findings indicate that:
- Dementia does represent a source of longevity risk for (re)insurers. Novel treatments are the most likely source of short-term mortality improvements.
- However, potential improvements in dementia mortality don’t currently warrant changes to (re)insurers’ assumptions.
- Nonetheless, to get early warning of changing dementia-related improvements, (re)insurers’ horizon-scanning activities should focus on monitoring the drug-development pipeline and national policies affecting access to novel medications.
Full citations for the evidence underpinning our work are provided in the white paper.
How do organisations benefit?
Organisations will benefit from this white paper through gaining an improved understanding of the dementia diagnosis and treatment landscape (affecting their current and future pensioners), and of signals to monitor in order to identify as early as possible any future dementia-related shifts in longevity.
Download this whitepaper to read our analysis in full.
To get a copy of the download, please complete the form.
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