Dr Stephen Falk ‘New Cancer Outcomes: Progress, Problems and Promise’ & Andrew Wibberley TILCs ISLA AI tool improving application quality

Select 74 – Thursday 17th September 2026

Radnor Rooms, 30 St Nicholas Street, Bristol, BS1 1TG

Doors open 5.30pm, event starts at 6.00pm

Talks, dinner and networking

Tickets: £65, available now via Eventbrite – sales close on 10 September 2026

Sponsored by RGA

We are pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for our event at Radnor Rooms on Thursday 17th September 2026.

Doors open at 5.30pm, with talks starting at 6.00pm.

Dr Stephen Falk will be speaking about ‘New Cancer Outcomes: Progress, Problems and Promise’, followed by a talk from Andrew Wibberley about The Interesting Life Company’s ISLA tool and its applications for underwriting.

After conclusion of the talks, a BBQ dinner will be served, with the opportunity for drinks and networking.

We are grateful to RGA for their sponsorship of this event.

Why attend?

Understand how modern cancer treatments are reshaping risk

Gain insight into real claims implications across key cancers

Learn how AI can use underwriting knowledge to improve consumer outcomes

Network with underwriting and claims colleagues from across the industry

Dr Stephen Falk qualified from Liverpool University in 1983 and spent a period in Liverpool undertaking a general medical rotation. He then trained in oncology in Cardiff and Cambridge becoming a Consultant in Bristol in 1994. His major clinical interest is gastro-intestinal cancer (oesophagus, stomach, pancreas and colo-rectal). A further interest in lung cancer and clinical research was stimulated as a MRC Clinical Scientist in Norman Bleehens' unit in Cambridge where the MRC Cancer Trials Unit was situated at the time. A MD related to lung cancer and scheduling of topoisomerase poisons with and without radiation is the basis of on-going interest in chemo-radiation interactions. Previously he had a challenging clinical load seeing up to 1,000 new patients with cancer annually. Until 2018 he has been Clinical Director of the West of England Clinical Research Network whose job is to fund the NHS costs of delivering research activity in the NHS and is also a member of the NCRI Upper GI Studies Group, and chaired the Pancreatic Sub Group until 2018. Stephen retired from both NHS and private practice on 31 July 2025 after more than 31 years as a consultant. Stephen has worked in the insurance industry assessing claims for 20 years and recently was appointed as an Oncology CMO for RGA.

Dr Falk will explain how cancer risk is evolving in practice, using real clinical data and case studies to challenge traditional underwriting assumptions. While overall survival continues to improve, the progress is highly variable between cancers. Advances in immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and molecular diagnostics are transforming outcomes in cancers such as melanoma and lung cancer, enabling longer survival and more personalised treatment pathways. At the same time, we will look at the growing importance of survivorship, where patients live longer but with ongoing treatment effects that impact quality of life and functional recovery. We will also consider the impact on claims, covering prostate cancer and the impact of earlier detection and improved prognosis; advances in breast cancer, including long-term recovery and quality-of-life considerations; and improvements in colorectal cancer outcomes, reflecting broader trends in earlier diagnosis and treatment. The session will provide an educational, real-world perspective on how evolving cancer care is reshaping claims experience and underwriting decision-making.

Andrew Wibberley began in underwriting at reinsurers and insurers and for the last decade has worked as a consultant supporting insurers, tech companies, advisers and charities in the UK and overseas. He has been co-chair of the IPTF and won the CII Public Trust in Long Term Insurance award for his work on Access To Insurance. This year Andrew has also set up The Interesting Life Company which has just launched ISLA, an AI tool for advisers that reduces unpleasant surprises by giving quick indications of typical market underwriting decisions and questions.

Andrew will talk about using underwriting knowledge and AI to improve consumer outcomes. He will consider what consumers, advisers, insurers and claims assessors really want and share some (hard!) lessons learned from work he’s been involved with along the way. He plans on sparking some conversations around what might already be happening, and what will definitely be coming in the months and years ahead.

We hope that you will be able to join us for these insightful talks, which are sure to prompt some interesting questions and discussion over drinks afterwards.

Looking ahead, our final event of 2026 will be at the Doubletree Hilton on Thursday 19th November. Further details will be shared closer to the date.

The Select 74 committee

Description supplied by the event organiser.