In 2025, the CMI carried out a survey to understand its subscribers’ needs. Vicky Webb, from the CMI Executive Committee, explores the survey findings and what happens next.
The CMI Mortality Monitor provides timely and trusted analysis of publicly available population mortality data. Its success led to the CMI Executive Committee to consider whether there are other sources of publicly available demographic data that would be worth exploring.
This elevated public data to a strategic priority, with the aim of expanding the range of demographic information and analysis available to subscribers, following an information gathering exercise to understand what would be of most value. This demonstrated a strong and growing appetite for broader demographic insight across the industry.
In April 2025, we invited subscribers to take part in a dedicated public data survey. Our aim was to understand which demographic datasets and analyses would be most valuable to them.
The survey sought feedback on:
The survey was distributed via LinkedIn and direct email to subscribers. Public data questions were also incorporated into the subscriber survey issued around the same time.
Combining the responses from both sources, we received 74 responses from across consultancies, reinsurers, life offices and other commercial entities. The breadth of views ensures balance and that the findings reflect the needs and priorities of a wide range of CMI subscribers.
Although the suggestions were wide‑ranging, 4 clear themes emerged. These themes have helped us identify the priority areas for the next stage of our public data work.
Mortality experience by cause of death was the most common area of interest. This reflects both the ongoing industry demand for better insights and our request for feedback on the MRSC driver‑based cause of death dataset.
Respondents who had reviewed the dataset were generally positive about its potential value and indicated that they would favour annual updates. They suggested enhancements including:
This was one of the most consistently requested themes and respondents highlighted several questions relating to marital status, including:
Several respondents asked for analysis related to social care, for example mortality analysis for equity release and care home entry rates/duration, including changes since the pandemic.
There remains strong demand for socioeconomic analysis, covering mortality improvements, projections and trends by: Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), occupation, geography, rural versus urban environments.
In addition to suggestions relating to public data, respondents also mentioned suggestions in respect of CMI data and these have been passed to the relevant CMI investigation committees. They included:
Many of these areas have already been considered and, for those where data is available, they are noted as potential initiatives. In some cases, the data is not available to the CMI, for example deferred annuities and persistency/lapse data. In such cases, the suggestions are included on the CMI’s initiatives for periodic review to consider whether it may be feasible to obtain such data.
The CMI has considered each of the 4 priority areas and has proposed the following next steps:
The insights from this survey are already shaping the development of the CMI’s future initiatives, and expanding the scope of analyses beyond the ‘traditional’ data that the CMI has typically focused on.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who shared their views, and we look forward to developing outputs that deliver meaningful value for subscribers and support the CMI’s mission to provide high‑quality analysis for the profession and further actuarial understanding.
If you have any questions or suggestions relating to this, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at info@cmilimited.co.uk. We’d be delighted to hear from you.
