This course develops actuarial techniques for the valuing of policies which depend on contingent events concerning uncertain lifetimes. Topics include principal forms of heterogeneity within a population and the ways in which selection can occur; definition of simple assurance and annuity contracts; development of formulae for means and variances of the present values of payments; evaluating expected values and variances of simple insurance and annuity contracts; description and calculation of net and gross premiums and provisions for various insurance contracts; and cash flow models and profit tests, extended to multiple decrements and multiple state models.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Define and price complex life assurance contracts and life annuity contracts, including a selection effect where appropriate;
2. Calculate reserves, policy values and mortality profits;
3. Perform complex calculations relating to increasing insurances, annuities and with-profit policies;
4. Perform complex calculations relating to multiple life functions and insurances and annuities involving two or more lives;
5. Perform complex calculations relating to contingent and reversionary benefits;
6. Define unit-linked contracts and perform evaluations of cash-flows associated with such contracts including the setting of reserves using ‘zeroising’ approach; and
7. Project expected cashflows for traditional insurance contracts and perform complex profit-testing calculations to evaluate profit vector, profit signature, net present value and the profit margin.

Research-Led Teaching

The material covered in this course covers established principles in actuarial work and academia.

Examination Material or equipment

The final exam is open book and covers the whole unit. A calculator that allows you to perform basic arithmetic calculations including exponential and logarithmic functions will be needed during the exam. Further information on examination material will be provided to students in lecture time and on Wattle. The final assessment will be held in the examination period with details to be advised no later than teaching week 10 of the semester.

Required Resources

Course notes and materials will be provided via Wattle. You will need access to a calculator to complete exercises required for this course. You will need access to a computer to get the materials necessary for the course. We will use MS Excel in this course. Some classwork and tutorial questions and solutions will be illustrated using MS Excel. Learning guides and short video lectures will be made available on Wattle for students to learn the application of the concepts taught in this course. Some assignment questions will require the use of MS Excel. You are assumed to have experience in Excel from previous courses in your actuarial degree. Excel software is available for free to ANU students through Microsoft Office 365 .

Recommended Resources

There are no prescribed textbooks for this course.

Staff Feedback

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

• Whole of class feedback in-class and via discussion forums.

• Individual discussions in-class and online.

• Following each assignment, feedback will be given to the whole class about the general performance on each assignment.

• Students will also have the opportunity to speak with the tutors and the lecturer about their individual performance in the assignments.

• Sample solutions and in-class discussion for examinations will be provided.

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

Exemption from Actuarial Professional examination

This course along with Financial Mathematics (STAT6046) makes up the CM1 examination of the Actuaries Institute. More details regarding the grades required for exemption and the procedure to follow is detailed on this webpage: Actuaries Institute requirements.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Mortality and selection
2	Life assurance and annuity contracts
3	Evaluation of assurances and annuities
4	Gross premium calculations and accumulations	Assignment 1 due
5	Reserves and policy values
6	Policy values, mortality profit and extra risk
7	Increasing insurances and with-profit policies
8	Increasing annuities and applications of reserves
9	Multiple life functions and policies	Assignment 2 due
10	Cash flow models and profit testing
11	Unit-linked policies
12	Multiple decrement and multiple state models

Tutorial Registration

Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Students should enrol in their tutorial using MyTimetable. ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage (https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/timetabling).

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Assignment 1	10 %	19/08/2022	30/08/2022	1
Assignment 2	15 %	05/10/2022	18/10/2022	1-3
Final Examination	75 %	03/11/2022	01/12/2022	1-7

* 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 Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

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 conducted on campus (recorded and available via echo360 on Wattle). Tutorials will be available on campus, live through scheduled Zoom sessions and as pre-recorded videos. Information regarding enrolments for these options will be provided on Wattle during O-week prior to the start of the semester. Arrangements for consultations will be advised in week 1 if there are any changes.

Examination(s)

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

Assignment 1

The details of Assignment 1 including the topic, and the word limit and other requirements, will be made available on Tuesday 9 August.

Value: 10%

Due date: Friday 19 August 20:00 (Week 4). Submission by TurnitIn.

Return date: Marks will be released on Tuesday 30 August 17:00 (Week 6). Feedback will be given to the whole class with respect to overall performance. Individual feedback will be available from the tutor/lecturer by appointment/ email.

Assessment Task 2

Assignment 2

The details of Assignment 2 including the topic, and the word limit and other requirements, will be made available on Wednesday 21 September.

Value: 15%

Due date: Wednesday 5 October 20:00 (Week 9). Submission by TurnitIn.

Return date: Marks will be released on Tuesday 18 October 17:00 (Week 11). Feedback will be given to the whole class with respect to overall performance. Individual feedback will be available from the tutor/lecturer by appointment/ email.

Assessment Task 3

Final Examination

The final exam is open-book and will be held during the exam period via Wattle course website. The final exam is 3-hour in length excluding reading and uploading times. Further details regarding the exam, including exam format, answer format, mock submission practice and other requirements, will be provided no later than week 10 of the semester. 

Value: 75%

Date: Specific date to be advised

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community 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 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 University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The assignment is to be submitted online on Wattle at the pre-specified location via Turnitin. You must attach an assignment cover sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

There is no hardcopy submission for the assignments of this course. Submission mode for exam will be advised no later than week 10 of the semester.

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 The Course Convener may grant extensions 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