The Birth of Actuarial Science and Life Insurance, Pt. 1

Jan 8, 2024

Learn about the birth of actuarial science and life insurance, including the development of population tables, the origins of one-year term life insurance, and the advancements in the insurance field. Discover the role of data analysis in studying population trends, explore the laws of probability in insurance, and uncover interesting tidbits like recipes for frozen Roo and gazpacho.

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INSIGHT

Actuarial Science Turns Life Into Predictable Numbers

Actuarial science reduces complex human life outcomes into numbers to manage pooled financial risk.
Holly Fry notes it can feel depressing because it "boils life down to numbers," yet it shapes everyday insurance decisions.

INSIGHT

Bills Of Mortality Tracked Plague By Parish

Bills of mortality were weekly parish reports tracking deaths and causes in London from the 16th century used to spot plague outbreaks.
John Bell described them as vital for warning which parishes to avoid during pestilence.

INSIGHT

Halley Built The First Useful Life Table

Edmond Halley created a population (life) table in 1693 using meticulous parish records from Breslau to show survivors by age.
His table listed survivors for ages 1–84 and grouped 85–100, based on a 34,000-person sample.

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Actuarial science is all about calculating risk – risk of injury, illness, death, risk of market shifts and financial outcomes. Part one covers the earliest population tables and early examples of life insurance and assurance.

Research:

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