Download Longevity & Mortality Investor Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2026
December saw a few developments in the PHL Variable Life Insurance Company rehabilitation story including the Rehabilitator’s intention to liquidate the carrier. Greg Winterton spoke to Eddie Stone, Partner at Edward Stone Law, to find out what’s next – and how much longer this saga will go on for – in Busy December in PHL Variable Life Insurance Company Saga but Is the End Now in Sight?
There is a new superfund from TPT in the UK pension risk transfer market which will enable schemes to pool their assets and run them on, potentially delivering additional surpluses for scheme members. Mark McCord spoke to Bina Mistry, Head of Corporate Consulting at WTW and TPT Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director Nick Clapp to get their thoughts on the potential impact of the new solution on the UK PRT space in TPT Run-on Superfund Seen Widening De-Risking Options as Rules Loosening Promises More Alternatives.
The comment period for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ‘Future of the HECM and HMBS Programs and Opportunities for Innovation in Accessing Home Equity’ request for information closed in early January. Greg Winterton spoke to Joe Kelly, Partner at New View Advisors to get his thoughts on what needs to happen for the US agency-backed reverse mortgage primary and securitisation markets to truly deliver compelling growth in Will 2026 Be the Year That the US Agency-Backed Reverse Mortgage Market Finally Gets Its Well-Overdue Reform?
Last year’s Continuous Mortality Investigation model showed an improvement in mortality in England and Wales but also revealed a bifurcation of life expectancies between young people of working age and those over 65. Add to that the growing use of GLP-1 receptor agonist weight-loss medications and the potential to skew mortality experiences and therefore redraw pricing regimes becomes clear. Mark McCord spoke to Stuart McDonald, Partner at Lane Clark and Peacock and Ashley Campbell, Director of Actuarial at Crystallise, to get their views on the main talking points from last year in UK mortality circles in CMI_2024’s Assumptions and Weight-Loss Drugs’ Popularity Point to Changed Mortality Picture.
The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly visible and severe. In the UK, this includes record-breaking heatwaves, frequent flooding and drought-driven wildfires. While these immediate effects are alarming, the broader consequences of climate change are more complex and far-reaching, with significant implications for human health, financial systems and the wider economy, explains Amy Walker, Actuary and Client Delivery Lead UK at Club Vita, in Still Hot and Bothered?, a guest article.
The growth of the broader alternative credit ecosystem has meant more choice for sophisticated investors when considering where to allocate capital; that choice means that asset managers have needed to find extra gains to make their return profile more competitive. Greg Winterton spoke to Moritz Roever, Managing Director at Vitaro Group, to get his thoughts on how the servicing function in life settlement portfolios can be additive to alpha generation in this month’s Q&A.
The 2025 edition of the Life Insurance Fact Book – the American Council of Life Insurers’ annual review into the inner workings of US-based life insurance company balance sheets – was published in early November. Roger Lawrence, Managing Director at W L Consulting, returns with the second of three articles, looking at the US life insurance market ownership, business composition, and size in Stability Continues in US Life Insurer Ownership and Solvency Metrics.
I hope you enjoy the latest issue of Longevity and Mortality Investor.
Chris Wells
Managing Editor
Longevity and Mortality Investor

