'I still remember the July 2019 heat wave, when record-breaking temperatures swept across Western Europe. My grandparents were among the many older people who struggled through those intense days of heat. Watching them cope with something so physically taxing brought the numbers into sharp focus. It made the data personal, a reminder that mortality statistics are never just abstract figures. They reflect real lives, real families. That experience continues to shape the way I approach my research: not just as a technical exercise, but as something with deep human relevance.

Excess deaths

Heat waves, cold spells, and high levels of air pollution have caused many thousands of excess deaths in recent decades. With climate change accelerating, extreme heat in particular is becoming more frequent and intense. That makes it increasingly important for insurers to update their risk models to include climate-sensitive mortality projections – not only to stay financially stable, but to remain resilient in a rapidly changing world. My research focuses on understanding how these environmental extremes affect mortality outcomes, and how this knowledge can be used to inform both risk management and public health responses. 
I hope that my research will contribute to better understanding how environmental factors affect mortality patterns.  In the long run, I want to see insurance companies apply climate-driven mortality models in practice to improve their riskmanagement strategies. I also hope that my research can lead to new findings for improved public health measures.’

Jens Robben is a research fellow at the Research Centre for Longevity Risk.