How One Association Helped the Insurance Industry Embrace a More Inclusive Future

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) embarked on an ambitious endeavor in 2022 to position itself as a thought leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the insurance industry. Although CAS already had DEI policies and initiatives in place, its aim was to change the industry’s perception of DEI in relation to insurance pricing, a significant challenge for a traditional and risk-averse organization responsible for setting insurance rates.

As a professional society of actuaries, CAS recognized the need to address emerging risks faced by insurance customers, prompting its engagement in DEI discussions. The society released four research reports under the CAS Research Paper Series on Race and Insurance Pricing, exploring topics such as defining discrimination, understanding racial bias, addressing bias in financial services, and quantifying the discriminatory effects on protected classes in insurance. While these reports primarily focused on race/ethnicity and personal lines of insurance in the United States, their findings have broader implications for other protected classes and lines of business.

CAS faced various obstacles during this project, including launch delays, obtaining multiple approvals, and pushback from a small group of dissenting members. However, the research reports received positive attention, with thousands of downloads, professional development sessions at industry conferences, alliances with related organizations, and news briefings with participants from the press and other associations. CAS’s CEO, Victor Carter-Bey, acknowledged the lessons learned throughout the process, emphasizing the importance of building a solid foundation, securing buy-in, and recognizing incremental progress.

While the ultimate goal of establishing CAS as a DEI thought leader in the insurance industry remains to be seen, the society believes it achieved its overarching objective of initiating a meaningful conversation on DEI. As a result, CAS is embarking on phase two of its research, further cementing its commitment to advancing DEI principles in the insurance sector.