Actuarial Notes

Exam GI-301

GI 301 – Further Topics in General Insurance is an exam of the Society of Actuaries' Fellowship (FSA) pathway. Its syllabus covers the Mar 2027/Jul 2027 sittings.

Learning Objectives

Stochastic Reserving (15–25%) The candidate will understand how to use stochastic loss development models to estimate reserve variability.

  1. Identify the assumptions underlying the chain ladder estimation method.
  2. Test for the validity of these assumptions.
  3. Identify alternative models that should be considered depending on the results of the tests.
  4. Estimate the standard deviation of a chain ladder estimator of unpaid claims.
  5. Apply a parametric model of loss development.
  6. Estimate the standard deviation of a parametric estimator of unpaid claims.
  7. Assess whether a fitted model is acceptable given the data being modeled.

Readings:

  • Outstanding Claims Reserves (Version 1.3a), SOA, 2022, Ch. 3-5 (excluding sections 3.4 & 4.3) (1a-d)
  • Considerations Regarding the Chain Ladder Model, SOA, May 2025 (excluding section 3) (1a-d)
  • Testing the Assumptions of Age-to-Age Factors, Venter G.G., Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society LXXXV, 1998, pp. 812-838 This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation: (1a-d)
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Venter, Year Published = 1998] -> Search
    • Result: Testing the Assumptions of Age-to-Age Factors
  • Stochastic Loss Reserving Using Generalized Linear Models, CAS Monograph Series Number 3, 2016 (1b-d)
    • Ch. 5: The Bootstrap, section 5.3, pp. 47-51 (start at the paragraph “The bootstrap is…” pp.47)
    • Ch. 6: Model Validation (excluding section 6.7 and the portion of section 6.4 on pp. 64)
  • LDF Curve Fitting and Stochastic Reserving: A Maximum Likelihood Approach, Clark, D.R., Casualty Actuarial Society Forum, Fall 2003 This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation: (1e-g)
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Clark, Year Published = 2003] -> Search
    • Result: LDF Curve-Fitting and Stochastic Reserving: A Maximum Likelihood Approach

Development Analysis for Excess Limits and Layers (5–10%) The candidate will understand the considerations in the development of losses for excess limits and layers.

  1. Estimate ultimate claims for excess limits and layers.
  2. Understand the differences in development patterns and trends for excess limits and layers.

Readings:

  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022 (2a, 2b)
    • Appendix G: Development Analysis for Excess Limits and Layers

Premium Liabilities (0–5%) The candidate will understand the procedure for estimating premium liabilities.

  1. Understand the purpose of general insurance premium liabilities.
  2. Calculate the premium liabilities for a general insurance company.

Readings:

  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022 (3a, 3b)
    • Ch. 25: Premium Liabilities
    • Appendix A: Dentist Insurer, section A.3.6
    • Appendix D: ABC Manufacturing Company/ABCMC Captive, section D.6

Risk Margins for Unpaid Claims (5–10%) The candidate will understand the considerations in selecting a risk margin for unpaid claims.

  1. Describe a risk margin analysis framework.
  2. Identify the sources of uncertainty underlying an estimate of unpaid claims.
  3. Describe methods to assess this uncertainty.

Readings:

  • A Framework for Assessing Risk Margins, Marshall, K., Collings, S., Hodson, M., and O’Dowd, C., Institute of Actuaries of Australia 16th General Insurance Seminar, Nov 2008 (4a-c)

Monitoring Results (0–10%) The candidate will understand the methods to monitor actual versus expected experience.

  1. Identify and describe approaches for monitoring results.
  2. Prepare a comparison of actual to expected claims.

Readings:

  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022 (5a, 5b)
    • Ch. 37: Monitoring Results
    • Appendix E: Public Entity Self-Insurance Pool, sections E.3.1 & E.3.2

Specialized Ratemaking Topics (25–35%) The candidate will understand and be able to apply ratemaking techniques for the following situations: classification ratemaking, deductible options, increased limit options, claims-made policies and individual risk rating.

  1. Understand and apply classification ratemaking methods.
  2. Explain the issues and considerations regarding classification ratemaking.
  3. Price for deductible options and increased limits.
  4. Develop rates for claims-made contracts.
  5. Understand and apply techniques for individual risk rating.
  6. Estimate the premium asset for retrospectively rated policies.

Readings:

  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022 (6a, 6b)
    • Ch. 33: Basic Risk Classification
  • Classification Ratemaking, Minimum Bias and GLMs, SOA, May 2025, section 4 (6a)
  • Actuarial Standards of Practice, No. 12, Risk Classification (for All Practice Areas), Actuarial Standards Board of the American Academy of Actuaries, Last Revised 2011 (excluding Appendix 2) (6b)
  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022
    • Ch. 34: Actuarial Pricing for Deductibles and Increased Limits (6c)
    • Appendix D: ABC Manufacturing Company/ABCMC Captive, section D.4 (6c)
    • Appendix E: Public Entity Self-Insurance Pool, sections E.3.4 & E.3.5 (6c)
    • Ch. 35: Claims-Made Ratemaking (6d)
    • Ch. 36: Individual Risk Rating and Funding Allocation for Self-Insurers (excluding section 36.7) (6e)
  • Estimating the Premium Asset on Retrospectively Rated Policies, Teng, M. and Perkins, M., Casualty Actuarial Society, 1996 Proceedings, Vol. LXXXIII, pp. 611-647 (excluding section 5) (6f)
  • This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Teng, Year Published = 1996] -> Search
    • Result: Estimating the Premium Asset on Retrospectively Rated Policies

Reinsurance (15–20%) The candidate will understand the fundamentals of reinsurance and demonstrate knowledge of reinsurance reserving, the fundamental techniques of reinsurance pricing and risk transfer testing of reinsurance contracts.

  1. Understand the types of reinsurance and key reinsurance terms.
  2. Explain the principal functions of reinsurance.
  3. Analyze and describe the various types of reinsurance.
  4. Understand the issues encountered when applying loss development methods to reinsurance.
  5. Calculate the price of a reinsurance contract.
  6. Apply an aggregate distribution model to a reinsurance pricing scenario.
  7. Describe considerations involved in pricing property catastrophe covers.
  8. Understand the application of a reinstatement premium.
  9. Test for risk transfer in reinsurance contracts.

Readings:

  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022 (7a-c)
    • Ch. 10: A Reinsurance Primer Including: Errata for Chapter 10 of Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis
  • General Insurance: Considerations in Reinsurance Reserving, SOA, May 2025 (7d)
  • Basics of Reinsurance Pricing, Clark, D.R., Actuarial Study Note, 2014 (7e-h)
  • Risk Transfer Testing of Reinsurance Contracts, Brehm, P. and Ruhm, D., Variance, 2007, Volume 01, Issue 01, CAS, sections 2-5, pp. 11-17 (begin with first complete paragraph on pg. 11) This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation: (7i)
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Brehm, Year Published = 2007] -> Search
    • Result: Risk Transfer Testing of Reinsurance Contracts
  • Insurance Risk Transfer and Categorization of Reinsurance Contracts, Gurenko, E., Itigin, A. and Wiechert, R., Policy Research Working Paper No. 6299, World Bank, Dec 2012, pp. 3-21 (end with section III on pp. 21) (7i)
  • Risk Transfer Practice Note, AAA, Nov 2022, section 4 (7i)

Catastrophe Models and Risk Loads (5–10%) The candidate will understand catastrophe modeling output and the allocation of catastrophe risk loads among accounts.

  1. Understand the purpose and development of catastrophe models.
  2. Understand the type of output produced by catastrophe models.
  3. Understand how catastrophe model output can be used in actuarial tasks.
  4. Allocate a property catastrophe risk load among different accounts.

Readings:

  • Uses of Catastrophe Model Output, AAA, Jul 2018 (excluding “Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology” section on pp. 6, 7, 29-30, 35 & all Appendices) (8a-c)
  • An Overview of Catastrophe Modeling Output, SOA, May 2025 (8b, 8c)
  • An Application of Game Theory: Property Catastrophe Risk Load, Mango, D.F., PCAS LXXXV, 1998, CAS This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation: (8d)
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Mango, Year Published = 1998] -> Search
    • Result: An Application of Game Theory: Property Catastrophe Risk Load

Source Material

Source Material

  • Outstanding Claims Reserves (Version 1.3a), SOA, 2022, Ch. 3-5 (excluding sections 3.4 & 4.3)
    • Outcomes 1a-d
  • Considerations Regarding the Chain Ladder Model, SOA, May 2025 (excluding section 3)
    • Outcomes 1a-d
  • Testing the Assumptions of Age-to-Age Factors, Venter G.G., Proceedings of the Casualty Actuarial Society LXXXV, 1998, pp. 812-838 This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research (1a-d)
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Venter, Year Published = 1998] -> Search (1a-d)
    • Result: Testing the Assumptions of Age-to-Age Factors (1a-d)
  • Stochastic Loss Reserving Using Generalized Linear Models, CAS Monograph Series Number 3, 2016
    • Ch. 5: The Bootstrap, section 5.3, pp. 47-51 (start at the paragraph “The bootstrap is…” pp.47) (1b-d)
    • Ch. 6: Model Validation (excluding section 6.7 and the portion of section 6.4 on pp. 64) (1b-d)
  • LDF Curve Fitting and Stochastic Reserving: A Maximum Likelihood Approach, Clark, D.R., Casualty Actuarial Society Forum, Fall 2003 This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research (1e-g)
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Clark, Year Published = 2003] -> Search (1e-g)
    • Result: LDF Curve-Fitting and Stochastic Reserving: A Maximum Likelihood Approach (1e-g)
  • Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis, Friedland, J., 2nd Edition, SOA, 2022
    • Appendix G: Development Analysis for Excess Limits and Layers (2a, 2b)
    • Ch. 25: Premium Liabilities (3a, 3b)
    • Appendix A: Dentist Insurer, section A.3.6 (3a, 3b)
    • Appendix D: ABC Manufacturing Company/ABCMC Captive, section D.6 (3a, 3b)
    • Ch. 37: Monitoring Results (5a, 5b)
    • Appendix E: Public Entity Self-Insurance Pool, sections E.3.1 & E.3.2 (5a, 5b)
    • Ch. 33: Basic Risk Classification (6a, 6b)
    • Ch. 34: Actuarial Pricing for Deductibles and Increased Limits (6c)
    • Appendix D: ABC Manufacturing Company/ABCMC Captive, section D.4 (6c)
    • Appendix E: Public Entity Self-Insurance Pool, sections E.3.4 & E.3.5 (6c)
    • Ch. 35: Claims-Made Ratemaking (6d)
    • Ch. 36: Individual Risk Rating and Funding Allocation for Self-Insurers (excluding section 36.7) (6e)
    • Ch. 10: A Reinsurance Primer Including: Errata for Chapter 10 of Fundamentals of General Insurance Actuarial Analysis (7a-c)
  • A Framework for Assessing Risk Margins, Marshall, K., Collings, S., Hodson, M., and O’Dowd, C., Institute of Actuaries of Australia 16th General Insurance Seminar, Nov 2008
    • Outcomes 4a-c
  • Classification Ratemaking, Minimum Bias and GLMs, SOA, May 2025, section 4
    • Outcomes 6a
  • Actuarial Standards of Practice, No. 12, Risk Classification (for All Practice Areas), Actuarial Standards Board of the American Academy of Actuaries, Last Revised 2011 (excluding Appendix 2)
    • Outcomes 6b
  • Estimating the Premium Asset on Retrospectively Rated Policies, Teng, M. and Perkins, M., Casualty Actuarial Society, 1996 Proceedings, Vol. LXXXIII, pp. 611-647 (excluding section 5)
    • Outcomes 6f
  • This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Teng, Year Published = 1996] -> Search
    • Result: Estimating the Premium Asset on Retrospectively Rated Policies
  • General Insurance: Considerations in Reinsurance Reserving, SOA, May 2025
    • Outcomes 7d
  • Basics of Reinsurance Pricing, Clark, D.R., Actuarial Study Note, 2014
    • Outcomes 7e-h
  • Risk Transfer Testing of Reinsurance Contracts, Brehm, P. and Ruhm, D., Variance, 2007, Volume 01, Issue 01, CAS, sections 2-5, pp. 11-17 (begin with first complete paragraph on pg. 11) This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research (7i)
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Brehm, Year Published = 2007] -> Search (7i)
    • Result: Risk Transfer Testing of Reinsurance Contracts (7i)
  • Insurance Risk Transfer and Categorization of Reinsurance Contracts, Gurenko, E., Itigin, A. and Wiechert, R., Policy Research Working Paper No. 6299, World Bank, Dec 2012, pp. 3-21 (end with section III on pp. 21)
    • Outcomes 7i
  • Risk Transfer Practice Note, AAA, Nov 2022, section 4
    • Outcomes 7i
  • Uses of Catastrophe Model Output, AAA, Jul 2018 (excluding “Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology” section on pp. 6, 7, 29-30, 35 & all Appendices)
    • Outcomes 8a-c
  • An Overview of Catastrophe Modeling Output, SOA, May 2025
    • Outcomes 8b, 8c
  • An Application of Game Theory: Property Catastrophe Risk Load, Mango, D.F., PCAS LXXXV, 1998, CAS This article may be accessed at www.casact.org through the following navigation:
    • Publications & Research (8d)
    • Browse research -> [Author Last Name = Mango, Year Published = 1998] -> Search (8d)
    • Result: An Application of Game Theory: Property Catastrophe Risk Load (8d)