Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit convenor and lecturer
Chong It Tan
Contact via Contact via email or iLearn Forum
E4A609
Friday 3-4pm during teaching weeks or by appointment
Lecturer
Sachi Purcal
Contact via Email
E4A615
Tuesdays 1400–1600 during teaching weeks
Chong It Tan
Angela Chow
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
ACST358
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit covers the advanced analysis of cash flows dependent on uncertain events. Multiple decrement and multiple state models are considered, and the valuation of benefits and contributions under superannuation plans is examined. Techniques for the valuation of annuity and assurance products involving two lives are developed. Expected cash flow models and profit test models are developed for life insurance products including traditional products and unbundled unit linked contracts. The concepts of pricing and reserving for future contingent liabilities, and the effect of the pricing and reserving basis on the emergence of profit, are considered. Students gaining a grade of credit or higher in both ACST255 and ACST355 are eligible for exemption from subject CT5 of the professional exams of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
For all assessments:
Assessment criteria for all assessment tasks will be provided on the unit iLearn site.
All individual assessment results will be made available under Grades on the website.
It is the responsibility of students to view their marks for each within-session assessment on iLearn within 20 working days of posting. If there are any discrepancies, students must contact the unit convenor immediately. Failure to do so will mean that queries received after the release of final results regarding assessment marks (not including the final exam mark) will not be addressed.
In the cases where a disruption to studies application is approved, the student may be offered an alternative assessment or may receive a mark based on the percentage mark achieved by the student in one or more other assessment tasks, at the unit convenor’s discretion.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Online Quiz | 0% | No | 23 August |
Mid-Semester Exam | 20% | No | 13 September |
Assignment | 20% | No | 1 November |
Final Examination | 60% | No | University Examination Period |
Due: 23 August
Weighting: 0%
The online quiz will cover Sections 1 to 3. The quiz is due on 23 August (Wednesday of week 4) 11:55pm, to be submitted online via the iLearn site.
Please use the quiz as an indicator of whether you are progressing satisfactorily in the unit. If you are having difficulties, please see the Unit Convenor and consider withdrawing before the census date on Friday of week 4.
Due: 13 September
Weighting: 20%
The mid-semester exam will be a two-hour written paper with no reading time, held during the lecture time. It will cover Sections 1 to 5.
You are permitted ONE A4 page of paper containing reference material printed on both sides. The material may be handwritten or typed. The page will not be returned to you at the end of the final examination.
Students who have not sat the test will be awarded a mark of 0 for the task, except for cases in which an application for disruptions to studies is made and approved.
Due: 1 November
Weighting: 20%
The assignment will cover Sections 7 to 9 and is to be submitted via both the iLearn site and ACST355 Assignment Box in BESS.
No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 60%
The final examination will be a three-hour written paper with ten minutes reading time, held during the University Examination period.
You are permitted ONE A4 page of paper containing reference material printed on both sides. The material may be handwritten or typed. The page will not be returned to you at the end of the final examination.
The timetables for classes can be found on the University website at: https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2017/. Tutorials commence in week 2 of the session. All lecture classes for weeks 8, 9 and 10 will be held in the computer labs (specific locations will be advised on iLearn announcements in week 1 of session).
Optional text. Detailed lecture materials are provided and it is not envisaged that you will require a text.
Lecture handouts. Lecture handouts are available for downloading from the website in advance of lecture classes. Print these and bring them to the relevant lecture. It is expected that you will have these notes in all lectures.
Tables. The Formulae and Tables for Actuarial Examinations book is not required for this unit, and will not be provided in the examination. Instead, you will be asked to generate your own set of tables, based on up-to-date UK mortality tables. There will be Tables Tasks exercises set in the early weeks of the unit that will give you details of how to construct the tables and provide results to spot check your answers. In addition to generating results for your future use, the aim of these tasks is to help you to revise relevant results from ACST255/859. It is important that you keep up-to-date with the Tables Tasks so that you can use your tables to answer questions throughout this unit.
You will be required to use the iLearn site, Excel and Word.
Course material is available on the iLearn. To access the teaching website, go to http://ilearn.mq.edu.au and login using your usual login and password.
Lectures. The unit material is covered in the three hours of lectures each week.
Tutorials. The tutorial is an opportunity for you to discuss the exercises available for each section of work with your tutor.
Computer lab classes. These will replace all of the lecture classes in weeks 8, 9 and 10.
Material to bring to classes. You are expected to bring to all classes the relevant lecture handout printout for the current and previous weeks, blank paper to complete exercises, a calculator, and your completed Tables Tasks.
Week |
Wednesday Lecture |
Frida Lecture | Tutorials |
Assessment |
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1 |
Section 1: Joint life and last survivor statuses |
Section 2: Simple annuities and assurances involving two lives | No tutorial | - |
2 |
Section 2 (cont) |
Section 3: Contingent and reversionary benefits | Sections 1 and 2 |
- |
3 |
Section 3 (cont) |
Section 4: Competing risks | Section 3 |
- |
4 |
Section 4 (cont) |
Section 5: Multiple decrement tables | Section 4 |
Online Quiz |
5 |
Section 5 (cont) |
Section 6: Superannuation funds | Section 5 |
- |
6 |
Section 6 (cont) |
Section 6 (cont) | Revision |
- |
7 |
Mid-semester Exam |
No class | No tutorial |
Mid-semester Exam |
STUDY BREAK |
MID-SEMESTER STUDY BREAK |
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STUDY BREAK |
MID-SEMESTER STUDY BREAK |
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8 |
Section 7: Profit testing - conventional business (in labs) |
Section 7 (cont) | Section 6 |
- |
9 |
Section 8: Profit testing - unit-linked business (in labs) |
Section 8 (cont) | Section 7 |
- |
10 |
Profit testing revision (in labs) |
Profit testing revision (cont) | Section 8 |
- |
11 |
Section 9: Mortality risk factors and selection |
Section 9 (cont) | No tutorial |
- |
12 |
Section 10: Mortality indices |
Section 10 (cont) | Section 9 |
Assignment |
13 |
Revision |
Revision and exam information | Section 10 |
- |
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Supplementary exams
Information regarding supplementary exams, including dates, is available at:
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
There have been minor changes to the assessment structure.
This unit uses research by Macquarie University researchers, as well as from other Australian and international researchers (references are given in the unit notes).
You are also required to source and use Australian and international research as part of the assignment in this unit.