The Actuaries Institute has awarded its highest honour to former Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Deputy Chairman Ian Laughlin.

Institute President Jefferson Gibbs says the presentation of the gold medal to Mr Laughlin recognises more than four decades of actuarial work during a distinguished career.

“Ian’s work has been socially important,” Mr Gibbs said. “He has been involved in leading the industry, grappling with big issues that affect insurers, businesses and consumers. Doing the right thing by consumers, serving the community, has always been part of Ian’s mindset.”

Mr Laughlin was named Actuary of the Year in 2018. He has been a member of the Actuaries Institute Council, chaired the institute’s risk management practice committee, was part of its COVID-19 working group and led a taskforce on implementing global accounting standard IFRS 17

He also led a major piece of work by the institute to drive changes to the individual disability income insurance sector.

Mr Laughlin, currently Principal at PFS Consulting, has held a range of senior executive and board positions in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong. Earlier in his career he was GM Life and Super at Suncorp.

“We don’t live in a stable or consistent world,” he said. “Society is ever-changing, and at a faster rate. We all need to understand the environmental and social changes around us to understand the risks coming our way.”