Stephen Richards

Effective risk modelling is about grouping people with shared characteristics which affect this risk.  In mortality analysis by far the most important risk factor is age, so it is not a good idea to mix the young and old if it can be avoided.  By way of illustration, Figure 1 shows that mortality rates increase exponentially over much of the post-retirement age range. 

Stochastic projections of future mortality are increasingly used not just to set future best-estimates, but also to inform on stress tests such as for ICAs in the UK.  By the time the Solvency II regime comes into force, I expect most major insurers across the EU will be using stochastic models for mortality projections (if they are not already doing so).

With many stochastic models of mortality, projections of future mortality rates are done using a time series.  In a landmark paper, Currie, Durban and Eilers (2004) introduced the idea of using P-splines as an alternative means of generating a forecast.  P-splines formed the basis of a projection tool the CMI made fr