Mental health affects millions of people, yet barriers to accessing financial services, insurance products, and workplace support remain widespread.
In this webinar, the IFoA Mental Health Working Party will share findings from three recent research projects that explore how the actuarial profession and insurance industry can help create more inclusive and supportive outcomes.
The session will begin by examining findings from the Anxiety of Access report, based on a YouGov survey of individuals living with common mental health conditions. The research explores how consumers interact with financial institutions, particularly insurers, and how concerns around information gathering, underwriting practices and the claims process can influence confidence, engagement and purchasing decisions. The presentation will also consider how greater transparency, empathy and flexibility may improve customer experiences.
The second session will draw on the working party's paper From Exclusion to Informed Inclusion, which examines how travel insurance has historically approached mental health through exclusions, disclosure requirements and underwriting assumptions.
The presentation will suggest a practical, evidence-based pathway towards more informed inclusion, highlighting considerations for underwriting, product design and fairness as insurers seek to improve accessibility while maintaining sound risk management practices. Finally, the webinar will present the results of the IFoA Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey, conducted among IFoA members. The research provides insight into the wellbeing of actuaries across different career stages and working environments, identifies key challenges affecting mental health within the profession, and sets out recommendations for individuals, employers and the IFoA to help foster healthier and more supportive workplaces.
Bringing together consumer research, industry practice and professional wellbeing, this webinar will provide valuable insights for actuaries, insurers and other professionals interested in advancing mental health awareness, accessibility and inclusion across financial services and the actuarial profession.
Featured speakers
Joe Wilson is a Senior Pricing Actuary at RGA, where he has worked for the past seven years. He has been a member of the IFoA Mental Health Working Party since its inception in 2021 and has served as Chair for the last two years. Joe is passionate about promoting mental wellbeing within the actuarial profession and helping to foster open and supportive conversations across the industry.
Conor Donohoe is a medical underwriter with over 13 years of experience in the life and protection industry. He began his career as a disability claims assessor before moving into underwriting, focusing on application form design, automated underwriting and customer journeys. He now works in reinsurance, supporting insurers across the UK and Irish markets on underwriting strategy, risk assessment and product development.
Ankit Nanda, FSA, MAAA, FCA, is a health actuary with 13+ years of U.S. health insurance experience across consulting, managed care, employer stop loss and reinsurance broking. His research interests include behavioural economics in insurance, value-based care, GLP-1 economics and mental health inclusion in insurance products.
Pricing and booking information
| Members | Book for free |
| Non-members | Book for free |