Health and care webinar programme 2025 to 2026: call for speakers

The IFoA’s Health and Care Lifelong Learning Sub-committee is excited to invite applications for speakers for our 2025 to 2026 webinar programme.

Building on the success of last year’s events, we aim to deliver another year of thought-provoking, diverse and relevant content for the health and care actuarial community in the UK and globally.

We welcome applications from potential speakers across a range of professional backgrounds, including insurers, reinsurers, consultancies, and other related fields. And we encourage members to suggest topics of interest or recommend speakers for us to approach.

Please submit your application by 26 February

 

Topic ideas

We would like our 2025 to 2026 programme to cover a wide range of timely topics that resonate with the health and care community, including:

• assisted dying: The UK Parliament might be discussing regulations on assisted dying (read more at: What is assisted dying and how could the law change? | BBC News)
• DNA, genetics and insurance pricing regulations (read more in ABI’s genetics FAQs) 
• digital health platforms and impact on PMI (demand and use)
• digital literacy and digital exclusion in health insurance
• career pathways into health
• product development and innovation across protection, health, and care practice areas
• underwriting and claims developments in health and protection
• emerging issues like the ‘right to be forgotten’ and fraud management
• current hot topics for health and care actuaries, including Consumer Duty and distribution quality
• post-pandemic impacts on demographics, mortality trends, and economic factors
• regulatory changes such as Solvency II UK, funded reinsurance, and IFRS 17
• ESG and climate impact on health and care practices
• international market developments

We seek dynamic, engaging speakers who can spark meaningful discussions and provide fresh perspectives. If you are passionate about advancing professional knowledge and fostering debate, we would love to hear from you.

 

Proposal details

If you are interested in submitting a proposal, we recommend an approximately 200-word summary of your chosen subject including:

• an overview of the material you intend to cover
• key outcomes/knowledge that attendees will take away
• target audience and assumed knowledge level
• the format of your session (for example interactive live presentation, debate, panel session, pre-recorded presentation)
• any other relevant information

An example of a good submission is shown below.

We encourage submissions to clearly demonstrate how they will engage with their online audience, to make their sessions as interactive as possible. Please note that all webinars will be recorded and made available on demand on the IFoA video archive and e-shop.

Deadline: 26 February 2025. Please submit your application or recommendations by this date to ensure consideration.

 

Example submission

An example of a good submission:

Why isn’t machine learning (ML) used routinely in reserving as it is in personal lines pricing?

Although there is widespread interest in ML, we see the same questions come up time and time again on difficulties and obstacles to incorporating ML into reserving. These are topics of substance with no single, easy answer and include questions such as:

• why use ML for reserving in the first place?
• how do you get your stakeholders (including auditors) on board with using ML?
• how can we research and apply ML techniques if we don’t have access to granular transactional data?
• how do you incorporate judgement or external information into an ML-based reserving process
• are actuaries going to be replaced by data scientists?

In this session we will have a panel discussion featuring various members of the Machine Learning in Reserving Working Party (MLRWP) and we will discuss these points and others. The MLRWP has shared many of our findings and material in talks and on our blog.

This will be delivered virtually and will be a high-level session rather than a technical one. It should be of interest to actuaries at all levels with an interest in ML including senior actuaries and team leaders who are interested in using ML in the reserving process and may be asking many of these same questions.

 

Submit your proposal

Thank you for your interest in shaping the future of professional development within our community. We look forward to your contributions.

If you have queries, please contact eventmanagement@actuaries.org.uk.

 

Submit proposal