Actuarial Mathematics for Life Contingent Risks

Selected as official reading for SOA Exam MLC in 2012: download free supplementary notes from the Resources tab below.

How can actuaries equip themselves for the products and risk structures of the future? Using the powerful framework of multiple state models, three leaders in actuarial science give a modern perspective on life contingencies, and develop and demonstrate a theory that can be adapted to changing products and technologies. The book begins traditionally, covering actuarial models and theory, and emphasizing practical applications using computational techniques. The authors then develop a more contemporary outlook, introducing multiple state models, emerging cash flows and embedded options. Using spreadsheet-style software, the book presents large-scale, realistic examples. Over 150 exercises and solutions teach skills in simulation and projection through computational practice. Balancing rigor with intuition, and emphasizing applications, this text is ideal for university courses, but also for individuals preparing for professional actuarial exams and qualified actuaries wishing to freshen up their skills.

David C. M. Dickson is Professor of Actuarial Studies in the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne. He has twice been awarded the H. M. Jackson Prize of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, most recently for his book Insurance Risk and Ruin (Cambridge University Press, 2005).

Mary R. Hardy holds the CIBC Chair in Financial Risk Management at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. She is a Fellow of the UK Institute of Actuaries and of the Society of Actuaries, and has won awards and commendations for her research from the International Actuarial Association, the Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries.

Howard Waters is Professor in the Department of Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries and the Institute of Actuaries, by whom he was awarded the Finlaison Medal for 'Services to the Actuarial Profession' in 2006.