Group life insurance has attracted little formal discussion in British actuarial circles. Perhaps this is not so surprising. The technical problems posed by group life insurance seem relatively straightforward. Furthermore, there is little doubt that the evolution of present practice has been moulded more by pragmatism than strict theoretical development.

None the less, group life insurance is an important sector of our life insurance industry. Figures produced by the Life Offices' Association reveal that in 1980 approximately 7½ million people were covered under group insurance contracts for a total sum assured of the order £63 billion.

The development of the group insurance industry in this country has been closely associated with the expansion of private pension provision. Group life cover was seen as an inseparable, but very much secondary, adjunct to the more lucrative field of pensions business. However, over the last decade it has become more likely that a group life scheme will be tendered independently of any related pension business. Thus, the point has long been reached where the underwriting of group life business must be considered as a subject in its own right.