Insurers seem to be chasing appearances, investing eye-watering sums of money into projects to improve the application process, but these sleek, web-based systems can mask a distressing reality: Underwriting technology underpinning the decision process is not attracting the same attention. RGA's Bruce Bosco calls for a greater emphasis on automated underwriting to improve the customer experience and help bridge the protection gap. 

The wider implications of recent advances in genetics and genomics, including polygenic risk scores, need to be considered in the context of the protection industry. RGA's Heather Lund and Richard Russell explore the topic in depth in the Journal of the Association of Insurance Medicine of Japan.

Takotsubo Syndrome (TTS) was originally described by Japanese authors in the 1990s. The name was derived from the Japanese word for octopus pot, due to the shape of the left ventricle (LV) at the end of systole, which resembles an octopus trap used by Japanese fishermen. It has been described under a remarkable number of different names in the literature including Broken Heart Syndrome, Stress Induced Cardiomyopathy and Apical Ballooning Syndrome.