Actuarial Valuation Course

Lesson 1 • Role and Purpose of Actuarial Valuation

Defines actuarial valuation and its function in financial decision-making. Establishes why accurate liability measurement matters to stakeholders.

Lesson 2 • Types of Actuarial Valuations

Surveys pension, insurance, and benefit valuations to show scope diversity. Helps students select the appropriate valuation type for a given context.

Lesson 3 • Core Actuarial Concepts and Terminology

Introduces probability, present value, and risk concepts essential to all valuation work. Provides the vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Assumption Setting and Documentation

Provides a structured process for selecting, justifying, and recording assumptions. Ensures students can produce audit-ready assumption documentation.

Lesson 2 • Economic and Financial Assumptions

Addresses discount rates, salary scales, and inflation assumptions. Demonstrates how economic assumptions drive present-value calculations.

Lesson 3 • Withdrawal, Disability, and Retirement Rates

Covers decremental assumptions beyond mortality that affect benefit payment timing. Students learn to derive rates from experience studies.

Lesson 4 • Mortality and Longevity Assumptions

Explains how mortality tables are constructed and selected for a population. Links assumption choice to liability sensitivity.

Lesson 1 • Interest Theory Fundamentals

Reviews compound interest, annuity factors, and yield curves as valuation inputs. Provides the mathematical backbone for all discounting calculations.

Lesson 2 • Life Contingency Mathematics

Introduces survival functions, life annuities, and life insurance present values. Connects probability of survival to benefit payment timing.

Lesson 3 • Benefit Cash Flow Projection

Teaches projection of expected benefit payments over a valuation horizon. Bridges mathematical theory to practical cash flow modelling.

Lesson 1 • Actuarial Liability and Normal Cost

Defines actuarial accrued liability and normal cost under each cost method. Connects liability measures to contribution requirements.

Lesson 2 • Actuarial Cost Methods

Compares projected unit credit, entry age normal, and aggregate cost methods. Students select and apply the method appropriate to a given plan.

Lesson 3 • Funding Status and Contribution Calculations

Calculates funded ratio, minimum required contributions, and surplus management. Prepares students to advise plan sponsors on funding strategy.

Lesson 4 • Pension Valuation Report Preparation

Structures a complete actuarial valuation report for a defined benefit plan. Covers required disclosures, exhibits, and certification language.

Lesson 1 • General Insurance Loss Reserving

Introduces chain-ladder, Bornhuetter-Ferguson, and frequency-severity methods. Students select and apply the method best suited to available data.

Lesson 2 • Policy Reserve Concepts

Defines prospective and retrospective reserves and their regulatory significance. Establishes the conceptual basis before computational methods are introduced.

Lesson 3 • Reserve Adequacy Testing

Tests whether held reserves are sufficient under adverse scenarios. Connects reserve testing to solvency assessment and capital planning.

Lesson 4 • Health and Disability Reserve Methods

Covers active life reserves, disabled life reserves, and claim reserves for health products. Addresses the unique timing and duration features of health liabilities.

Lesson 1 • Asset-Liability Matching Strategies

Explains immunisation, cash flow matching, and liability-driven investment principles. Students design basic matching strategies for a given liability profile.

Lesson 2 • Investment Policy and Actuarial Valuation

Links investment policy decisions to actuarial assumption setting and funding outcomes. Demonstrates how asset allocation affects long-term contribution requirements.

Lesson 3 • Duration and Interest Rate Sensitivity

Applies Macaulay and modified duration to liability cash flows and fixed-income assets. Quantifies interest rate risk in the balance sheet.

Lesson 1 • Accounting Frameworks for Benefit Liabilities

Compares international and domestic accounting standards for post-employment benefits. Identifies key differences in liability measurement and disclosure requirements.

Lesson 2 • Pension Expense Components

Decomposes pension expense into service cost, interest cost, and remeasurement items. Students can calculate and present each component for financial reporting.

Lesson 3 • Disclosure Requirements and Note Preparation

Identifies required quantitative and qualitative disclosures for actuarial liabilities. Students draft financial statement notes meeting professional standards.

Lesson 1 • Stress Testing and Scenario Analysis

Designs adverse scenarios to test liability resilience and funding adequacy. Connects stress results to risk management and strategic planning.

Lesson 2 • Valuation of Complex Benefit Structures

Addresses hybrid plans, variable annuities, and benefit guarantees requiring specialised methods. Builds competency for non-standard plan designs.

Lesson 3 • Stochastic Valuation Methods

Introduces Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic projection models for liability uncertainty. Extends deterministic valuation to probabilistic outcome distributions.

Lesson 4 • Strategic Communication of Valuation Results

Translates complex actuarial findings into actionable insights for non-technical audiences. Develops skills for board presentations and executive briefings.