Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding:
The student learns the basic technical principles of the management of an insurance or pension business; examines the main structure of life and non-life insurance products, with fixed benefits and with participating and unit-linked benefits; investigates the risk management process for an insurer or a pension fund, understanding the main risk management actions.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
With regard to life contingent benefits (provided by insurers and pension funds), the student learns the basic actuarial tools for the pricing and reserving of insurance products, the assessment of profits and the basic steps of the insurance risk management.
The expertise gained by the student on the topics dealt with in the course are
suitable for several positions in an insurance company or a pension fund. Outside the insurance area, the knowledge provided by the course can help in understanding the features of the risk management services provided by an insurance company to an industry or an individual.
Making judgements:
The course stimulates the ability to perform a critical analysis, as it is expected from a post-graduate student in the economic area, who is employed in the financial/insurance
sector. The student is able to interpret critically the output of actuarial
valuations, and he/she is also able to adopt autonomously simple actuarial models.
Communication skills:
The student is educated in the use of the basic actuarial-technical language.
Therefore, he/she is able to communicate efficiently with whom is in charge of actuarial valuations. He/she can coordinate the more strictly technical staff with those charged with more managerial duties.
Learning skills:
The student develops the ability to interpret the technical aspects of life insurance and pension problems. He/she can understand the quantitative models more suitable for solving such problems. In particular, the student learns how to use non sophisticated
quantitative models and is able to go deeper into the subject in order to understand more advanced quantitative models.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of financial mathematics and probability.
Course unit content
Part 1 - Risks: representation, transfer. The features of a pool of risks. Technical aspects of the risk management of an insurer.
Part 2 - Technical aspects of life insurance products with fixed benefits: premiums, reserve, profit.
Part 3 - Participating and unit-linked life insurance products.
Full programme
Available online, on the Elly platform.
During the teaching period, the detailed program will be updated weekly.
Bibliography
- A. Olivieri, E. Pitacco. Introduction to insurance mathematics. Technical and financial features of risk transfers. Springer. 2nd Edition, 2015.
- Course slides, available (since the beginning of lectures) online on the Elly platform and (when possible to access the Department buildings) in printed version at the Copy Centre of the Department of Economics and Management.
Teaching methods
Online lectures, tutorials (online) for actuarial applications in Excel and extension work.
Part of the lectures will be pre-recorded, part will be live (and will be anyhow recorded). Links to pre-recorded videos will be made available on Elly. Live sessions will be on Teams (and link to their video will then be available on Elly).
In principle, more descriptive aspects will be presented in pre-recorded sessions, while application aspects (in particular, technical issues about modelling and model interpretation) will be discussed in live sessions. Active participation to live sessions by students is welcomed.
An elective short-course on the use of Excel for actuarial assessments is available. The course is online with live sessions and is optional.
The student has to further practice on models on his own. The student will be assigned problems which he/she has to solve autonomously after classes, so to develop his own ability to use the models presented during online classes.
Extension work is optional, but limited to the teaching period and to be prepared outside class hours. It can be performed individually or in group (up to 4 people admitted in the group), upon student’s choice. Three alternative types of extension work are available: reading and discussing a research or a popular science paper on a topic of current interest to the insurance industry; developing and discussing an extended problem in one of the topics of the course, to be arranged in the Excel framework (participation to the elective course on Excel is suggested, in this case); analysis and comparison of a sample of insurance products traded on the market.
Lecture videos will be available for a limited time, which is specified in the detailed lecture plan (check on Elly). Students are warmly recommended to attend online classes (both pre-recorded and live) sticking to the lecture plan.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam, possibly followed by an oral exam (optional), and partially replaced by extension work (optional, but limited to the teaching period).
The written exam is arranged as test consisting of 11 multiple choice questions and 4 open questions. The first four multiple choice questions are on Part 1, the next four on Part 2 and the final three on Part 3 of the course. Open questions are on Part 1 and 2 of the course; more precisely, for two multiple choice questions relating to Part 1 and two multiple choice questions relating to Part 2 the student will be required to justify his/her answer (performing numerical calculations or discussing model issues, depending on the query). Grades: 2.5 points if the answer is correct, -0.5 points if the answer is wrong, 0 points in case of no answer. Time allowed: 35 minutes.
The test is closed book. Only a pocket calculator is admitted.
The maximum mark assigned to the test is 27.
The oral exam (optional) consists in one/two theoretical questions (about models). The oral exam lasts approximately 10-15 minutes. Depending on the student’s performance, the mark obtained in the test is adjusted +/- 3 points.
The extension work is available only during the teaching period and replaces the three questions in the test about Part 3. It can be performed (upon student’s choice) individually or in group (up to 4 people admitted in the group) and is assessed, for each student, from 0 to 6 points, based on accuracy of the exposition, understanding and presentation ability. Those performing extension work must complete the exam (test + possible oral exam + extension work presentation) in the winter session; otherwise, the assessment obtained for the extension work will be lost. When taking the test, they will have to answer only to questions relating to Part 1 and 2, obtaining 24 points maximum and with time allowed 30 minutes.
Until when exams are arranged online, the test will be on Zoom (or Teams) and Elly/Respondus, the oral exam on Teams (or Zoom) and the presentation of the extension work on Teams (or Zoom). When exams will be arranged face-to-face, the written exam will take place in a Department’s room; the student can answer the test online, on Elly/Respondus, but he/she will need to use his/her own device (which is admitted only to answer the test, not to browse any material or to get in touch with other persons). If the student is unable to access online resources from a Department’s room, he/she will be required to answer on a paper sheet. Oral exams and extension work presentations will be arranged in a Department’s room.
The questions in the written exam and in the oral exam will be designed so to assess knowledge and understanding of the topics covered by the course, as well as applying knowledge and understanding, making judgements and communication skills. The oral exam and the extension work, in particular, will allow to assess understanding, the ability of making judgements and communicating with the appropriate technical language.
In the interpretation of the numerical findings and, in case of oral examination, in the oral discussion the student must show her communication skills, in particular with regard to the appropriate technical language.
Honors will be awarded to those particularly deserving students who, in addition to having complied with the requisites necessary to obtain full marks, in the performance of the whole exam have proved an appreciable systematic knowledge of the subject, an excellent ability to apply the gained knowledge to the specific problem submitted during the exam, a considerable autonomy of judgment, as well as a particular care in the formal written and oral presentation and excellent communication skills.
The mark assigned to the written exam will be published on the Esse3 platform within few days from the exam. The mark assigned to the oral exam and the extension work is communicated at the end of the exam/presentation.
During the teaching period, it is possible to take the written exam by attending partial assessments: one on Part 1 of the course (4 multiple choice questions and 2 open questions), one on Part 2 (4 multiple choice questions and 2 open questions), one on Part 3 (3 multiple choice questions). Intermediate assessments are open book; it is possible to browse any material (but not to stay in touch with other people). Partial assessments are assessed as described for the test. They will be online. The time allowed will be 20 minutes for the first and the second partial assessment, 5 minutes for the third partial assessment. For those performing extension work, the maximum mark assigned to the first and second partial assessment is 25. If a student is not satisfied with the grade obtained in one of the (first) two intermediate assessment, he/she can retake it (only one) in the first exam date of the winter session (i.e. in December). However, for those retaking one intermediate assessment a penalty will be applied: for those performing the extension work, the maximum mark assigned to Part 1 and 2 of the test will be 24; for those not performing the extension work, the maximum mark assigned to test is 27. Further, the exam in December will be closed book (no material admitted, apart from a pocket calculator).
Other information
