A burgeoning longevity science industry is actively working on solving the problem of senescence, whether by preventing aging or reversing its effects. Life-extension technologies would require a re-engineering of many financial and insurance products on a scale that makes the possible disruption caused by self-driving cars seem minor by comparison. What are actuaries to make of these extraordinary claims and visions of the future?

'Altered Carbon, actuarial escape velocity, and insurance in a post-human world' by Hans Leida, from Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (2018), Longevity Bulletin 11, 14-15. Reproduced here with the permission of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). Ⓒ Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. No IFoA liability or responsibility arises from the content or use of the publication.