A Novel Coronavirus pandemic will shave nine months off life expectancy in the UK

RBC analysts (100.43, -1.05, -1.03%) said the Novel Coronavirus pandemic is expected to reduce life expectancy in the UK by nine months, reversing the longevity trend.

Insurance stock analysts Gordon Aitken and Mandeep Jagpal used statistics from the Institute of Actuaries and data from insurers to make their estimates.

“The wave of COVID-19 is likely to persist, and prolonged COVID-19 symptoms will lead to poorer health outcomes,” they wrote in a note to clients. “There may also be second-order effects, such as delayed diagnosis and treatment of other diseases, while the effects of an economic slowdown may also be harmful.”

The higher death toll will allow life insurers to sell more of their reserves and boost operating profits by 7.4 billion pounds ($9.8 billion) a year, or 16 percent, over the next five years.

Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London, reported in June that life expectancy in England fell by 0.9 years in 2020. Meanwhile, a report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last month said a total of 28 million more years of life were lost in 2020 than expected in the 31 countries considered in the study.