Heterogeneity of Australian Population Mortality and Implications for a Viable Life Annuity Market

Heterogeneity in mortality rates is known to exist in populations, undermining the use of age and sex as the only rating factors for life insurance and annuity products. Life insurers underwrite life products using a variety of rating factors to allow for this heterogeneity. In the case of life annuities, there is limited underwriting used.