The content for this Special Topics course is not fixed, but will be determined by the lecturer(s) of the course. Details for a specific offering of the course can be found in the class summary.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the topics outlined in the class summary.
2. Demonstrate a high-level mastery of concepts associated with the topics studied, as discussed by the course convener.

Research-Led Teaching

The course will cover modern approaches to actuarial practice in general insurance. It will cover some parts of the Actuaries Institute Part III syllabus for General Insurance. It will be informed by practical examples and case studies of relevance to professional and research issues currently faced by the profession. The topics covered in this course are:

1. General insurance market, products and operations
2. General insurance valuation techniques and estimation of liabilities
3. General insurance premium rating and pricing
4. Capital and Reinsurance
5. Solvency
6. Managing the business

Examination Material or equipment

Further information on examination material will be provided to students in lecture time and on Wattle. The final assessment will be held in the exam period with details to be advised no later than teaching week 10 of the semester.

Recommended Resources

Students will be required to supply a calculator. A basic understanding of the use of Microsoft Excel is assumed and an overview of R will be given in class. Instructions on how to download R will be given on Wattle. The use of Microsoft Excel and R may be required for the completion of the assignment and exercises in this course. Microsoft Excel and R may be used on campus or on the students’ personal computers or laptops. Students may find it beneficial to bring a laptop to the lecture time to follow the Microsoft Excel and R examples, although this is not a requirement.

Comprehensive lecture notes and lecture slides will be made available on Wattle. There are no prescribed texts besides the lecture notes. However, selected parts of the text ‘Actuarial Practice of General Insurance’ (Hart, Buchanan and Howe, 2007) will be made available on Wattle. In addition, several other required readings will be placed on Wattle for some weeks of the course and these will make up a major component of the material you are expected to be familiar with and be assessed on.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• There will be immediate feedback following the online quiz.
• Following the assignment, feedback will be given to the whole class about the general performance on the assignment.
• In addition, students will also have the opportunity to speak with the lecturer and seek comments from the lecturer about their individual performance in the assignment.
• Students may also submit written solutions to exercises and case studies studied in class to the lecturer for feedback.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Other Information

As a further academic integrity control, students may be selected for a 15 minute individual oral examination of their written assessment submissions.

Any student identified, either during the current semester or in retrospect, as having used ghost writing services will be investigated under the University’s Academic Misconduct Rule.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	General insurance market, products and operations
2	General insurance market, products and operations
3	General insurance valuation techniques and estimation of liabilities
4	General insurance valuation techniques and estimation of liabilities
5	Valuation case studies
6	General insurance premium rating and pricing	Online quiz (optional)
7	General insurance premium rating and pricing
8	Pricing case studies
9	Capital and Reinsurance	Assignment due (Monday 3rd May 3pm)
10	Solvency
11	Solvency
12	Managing the business / Review

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Online quiz (optional)	0 %	01/04/2021	01/04/2021	1,2
Assignment (redeemable)	20 %	10/05/2021	26/05/2021	1,2
Final Examination	80 %	03/06/2021	01/07/2021	1,2

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

All lectures will be pre-recorded. Workshops will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Consultations will be via Zoom.

Examination(s)

The course includes formal examination through a final examination as described above. Centrally scheduled examinations through Examinations, Graduations & Prizes will be timetabled prior to the examination period. Please check ANU Timetabling for further information.

Assessment Task 1

Online quiz (optional)

An online quiz will be available for students to complete from Week 4 to Week 6. This is for their own learning on the first two topics of the course and is not assessable.

Value: 0%

Due date: Thursday 1st April 3:00pm (Week 6)

Assessment Task 2

Assignment (redeemable)

This assignment may be completed individually or in groups of two students. The assignment will cover the first three topics of the course and more details will be provided to students in lecture time and on Wattle prior to Week 6. Students must ensure they adhere to social distancing requirements if they choose to work in a group.

Value: 20% (redeemable)

Due date: Monday 10th May 3:00pm (Week 10)

Assessment Task 3

Final Examination

The final assessment will be held in the exam period with details to be advised no later than teaching week 10 of the semester.

Value: 80% or 100%

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

There are no hardcopy submission for this course.

Late Submission

No submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date will be permitted. If an assessment task is not submitted by the due date, a mark of 0 will be awarded.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

Assignments will be returned via Wattle.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Students will not be permitted to resubmit assignments.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students