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From: sr@u1100a.UUCP (Steven Radtke)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Discrimination against women based on actuarial tables
Message-ID: <685@u1100a.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-May-84 17:38:32 EDT
Article-I.D.: u1100a.685
Posted: Thu May 24 17:38:32 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 31-May-84 19:19:28 EDT
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway, NJ
Lines: 38

The discussion about insurance companies has progressed to a discussion
of how insurance companies use statistics to ensure themselves a profit
by insuring a large, diverse population. The motivation for providing
different pension plans (either benfits levels or contributions required)
to men and women is the profit motive.
There is no problem with the actuarial techniques per se; women
as a group have a longer life expectancy than men at ever age and
numerous studies support this. Take that as a fact. Where the SEXISM
enters the policies is at an even earlier stage. Why should the
population of plan members be divided into two groups on the basis of
sex, rather than other distinguishing characteristics, e.g. life-prolonging
behaviors related to diet, constitution, exercise, smoking, and drinking.
If each person were evaluated and given a life expectancy by the insurance
company based on current scientific understanding, then each person
could contribute to or draw from the fund on this rational basis.
Those people with long life expected could contribute more and those
soon to depart less.

That really SOUNDS stupid to me, compared to just paying female retirees
less, which is to say the insurance companies have done an excellent
job at propagandizing me.

There is no reason why the diverse population should be catagorized by
gender in an a priori fashion to attempt to distinguish sub-populations of
greater and lesser life expectancy, except that it lowers the cost of
doing business for the insurers.

The most brilliant man I ever new said, "There's lies, damn lies,
and statistics." I never new if that was an original quote or one of
his own gems.


Steven Radtke
Bell Communications Research
Good old New Jersey
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