Gosling's Grouse: Legacy of innovation

The word innovative is not one commonly associated with an actuary. After all, they are the people who found accountancy too easy so they needed something else to stretch their brains.

It is often said you don't want to get stuck in a lift with a bunch of actuaries. A little harsh in my opinion, but I know what the old industry jokes are getting at. One actuary for whom all the jokes were just not true is Paul Bradshaw, one of the founders of Skandia in the UK, who passed away on the same day as former England football manager Graham Taylor, also of a heart attack. Paul was the kind of actuary you would want to be stuck in a lift with - he would have been fabulous company while you waited to get out. I knew him for 30 years and he remained one of the few genuine inn...