INSURANCE AND PENSION PLAN TECHNIQUE
cod. 1001839

Academic year 2016/17
1° year of course - First semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Metodi matematici dell'economia e delle scienze attuariali e finanziarie (SECS-S/06)
Field
Statistico-matematico
Type of training activity
Characterising
56 hours
of face-to-face activities
8 credits
hub: PARMA
course unit
in - - -

Learning objectives

Knowledge and understanding:
The course aims at:
- introducing the basic technical principles of the management of an insurance or pension business;
- describing life and non-life insurance products, with fixed benefits and with participating and unit-linked benefits;
- investigating the risk management process for an insurer or a pension fund.

Applying knowledge and understanding:
With regard to living 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 students 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 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, she is able to communicate efficiently with whom is in charge of actuarial valuations. She can coordinate the more strictly technical staff with those charged with more managerial duties.

Learning skills:
The students develops the ability to interpret the technical aspects of life insurance and pension problems. She can understand the quantitative models more suitable for solving such problems. In particular, the student learn 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

Risks: representation, transfer. The features of a pool of risks.
Technical aspects of the risk management of an insurer.
Technical aspects of life insurance products with fixed benefits:
premiums, reserve, profit.
Participating and unit-linked life insurance products.
Private pension solutions.
The risks of a pension management.

Full programme

Available online, on the course website.

Bibliography

A. Olivieri, E. Pitacco. Introduction to insurance mathematics. Technical
and financial features of risk transfers. Springer. 2011

Teaching methods

During classes the theoretical features of models will be described, as well as their operative profiles (through the discussion of numerical examples). The student will be assigned problems which she has to solve autonomously after classes, so to develop her own ability to use the models presented during classes.

Assessment methods and criteria

Written exam, possibly followed by an oral exam (upon student’s request).
Knowledge and understanding will be assessed through the request of solving three numerical problems as well as interpreting the numerical findings. The maximum possible grade is 10 for each problem.
The assessment of applying knowledge and understanding, making judgements and communication skills will be based on the interpretation provided for the numerical findings.
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.

Other information

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