More than 400 actuaries have responded to an appeal from the Covid-19 actuaries response group for volunteers to support the UK’s fight against the pandemic.
The group issued the request on 31 March for volunteer actuaries to support government agencies requiring mathematical and statistical skills across the health service and public sector.
Flood Re’s chief actuary Gary McInally, and PwC’s general insurance leader, Mohammad Khan, who initiated the campaign, said over 400 actuaries have expressed an initial interest in supporting the effort so far. A further 350 have also responded positively to an initial short screening email.
McInally and Khan said the campaign has also received unsolicited offers of support from a number of actuarial employers. In adddition, the campaign has joined forces with an active group of pro-bono actuaries led by Jonathan Halstead who have been supporting decision making by an NHS Clinical Commissioning Group in the north west of England.
According to McInally and Khan, the three areas where the volunteer effort is already starting to provide support includes supporting NHS regions, supporting an NHS GP commissioning group and rapid assistance in modelling the pandemic.
The pair added they are currently collating information about each of the volunteers to create structured teams that can support decision makers in the public sector. They noted the exceptional request for volunteer actuaries has been met with “an exceptional response from members across the profession”.
If you are an actuary who wishes to volunteer and support the campaign, email [email protected]
The Covid-19 actuaries response group was launched in early March to provide a forum for actuaries and other experts to learn how to respond to the current pandemic. The group can be viewed here on LinkedIn.