Actuarial Post

There is a quiet but growing tension in actuarial pricing for insurance today. Most teams would agree that the external environment has become more volatile - economically, geopolitically, operationally. Yet many pricing processes still move at a cadence designed for a more stable world. The result is a widening gap between the risk being priced and the assumptions underpinning it. Put bluntly: if pricing is updated too slowly, insurers are often reacting to yesterday’s risk.

Broadstone publishes its Sirius Index June update which discloses improved funding positions for both modelled schemes. The ‘growth focused’ scheme funding improved from 92.2% at the end of May to 93.1% at the end of June.

The Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) held a webinar on the “Key Developments in LGPS Funding and Governance” that involved a wide-ranging discussion on the future direction of the LGPS, bringing together more than 100 professionals from across the pensions industry to debate the practical implications of the Government's proposals.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that people holding legacy pension products, now closed to new savers, could be receiving poorer value than those in newer ones. The regulator identified some good practices, but complex charging structures, older product design and weaknesses in firms' data meant some pension savers are not getting as much value as they could.

New data from Quilter, the wealth manager and financial planner, reveals that three in five retirees (61%) who withdrew tax-free cash from their pension ahead of last year’s budget say they regret doing so. Based on a survey of 5,000 UK retirees, the research shows that 57% withdrew tax-free cash ahead of the budget, and of those people, 41% did so in anticipation of possible rule changes.

The specialty insurance market stands at a crossroads: soft conditions, shifting client risks, and the relentless advance of AI. In this candid conference podcast, leaders from AXA, GEO, and Genesis debate where the real value lies—portfolio agility, meaningful partnerships, or competitive tech? Whether it’s monoline niche or diversified portfolios, everyone’s rethinking scale, distribution, and trust.

Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club: "The Footsie has edged lower as a more cautious mood has infused financial markets ahead of the key US jobs report and amid worries that borrowing costs will stay higher for longer. Although oil prices have slipped back to hover around $71 a barrel amid signs of progress in Middle East peace talks in Doha, there are still concerns that the battle to bring price pressures under control is not over.

Broadstone finds a reduction to redress levels due to strong investment performance and a fall in future inflation expectationsA clear gain expected in most cases meaning that no redress is payable as the consumer is judged to be better off as a result of transferring The quarterly Defined Benefit (DB) Redress Tracker from Broadstone provides an indicator of the level of compensation due to those who were previously ill-advised to transfer out of their DB pension.

Aon has launched its Reinsurance Market Dynamics Midyear 2026 Renewal Report, which reveals that record levels of reinsurance capital are creating greater flexibility for insurers as they seek tailored solutions to support growth, manage volatility and optimize capital through the market cycle. Across the June 1 and July 1, 2026, reinsurance renewals, insurers achieved double-digit pricing reductions and improved terms and conditions on their property catastrophe reinsurance placements.

Our cover story this month is from Guy Moas from Sapiens who examines the approach of implementing AI in Life insurance. We also have an article from Sarah Vaughan from Angelica Solutions on Pricing and Reserving – two sides of the same coin. Aled Edwards from Quantum Advisory questions the risk of delaying GMP equalisation and Mark Brown from WTW looks at practical applications of quantum computing for the insurance industry.