Longevity swaps on guaranteed annuities in South Africa

Insurers are now translating statistically significant risk factors into their pricing models and are grappling with producing a credible expectation of future increases in longevity. At the same time, the guaranteed annuity market is price-sensitive and insurers are incentivised to offer a competitive price for annuities relative to living annuities in the eyes of customers. Getting the pricing on annuities wrong can have adverse consequences for an insurer as basis changes are brought through to reflect more onerous future longevity assumptions.