Understanding history allows us to move forward with clarity. This timeline serves to deepen our understanding of parallel and intersecting events in the evolution of insurance and the experience of Black Americans.
The content in this timeline was originally researched and presented by Tomantha Kyle at a session titled Racism in the Actuarial Profession at the Annual Meeting of the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) in July 2020. The murder of George Floyd and civil unrest that began earlier that summer created an environment in which many actuaries and other insurance industry professionals were open to learning how systemic racism might intersect with their work. The timeline was featured again in a general session titled The Actuary and Social Justice at the Casualty Actuarial Society’s (CAS) November 2020 Annual Meeting.
In light of the positive feedback on the meeting sessions and strong interest in the topic, IABA decided to create a permanent online interactive version of the timeline that could grow as issues surrounding race and insurance evolved, with the goal to educate and inform actuaries and insurance professionals.
IABA engaged with the graphic design experts at GRAPHEK and technology experts at Zurka to present this timeline as a living account of race and insurance to be used by the actuarial and insurance community for years to come. IABA thanks the CAS for its support in sharing the timeline at its 2020 Annual Meeting and for its guidance in transforming the presentation into this interactive timeline.
If you have questions, comments, or suggested additions to the timeline, please send an email to timeline@blackactuaries.org.