CAS University Engagement Committee Establishes a P&C Resource Library for Professors

Early this year, the CAS released a new resource for professors who teach actuarial science called the P&C Resource Library, an online resource created to facilitate access to property and casualty materials to incorporate into a university-level course.

I introduced the idea of a resource library for professors because it fit into the broader goal of the CAS and its University Engagement Committee (UEC), which is to promote and facilitate access to property and casualty resources in the classroom so that students can gain exposure to P&C concepts during their university studies. This was a project that personally interested me because, as a former high school teacher, I remember the challenge of creating a new course from scratch. The library was among a number of initiatives introduced by the CAS University Engagement Committee during the 2015-2016 academic year; others include the CAS University Award Program and CAS Case Competition toolkit, both written about in the July/August issue of Actuarial Review.

The library is built around three sample syllabi, written by a team of volunteers consisting of academics and practicing actuaries on the CAS University Engagement Committee’s Academic Working Group. The syllabi topics include an introduction to ratemaking, introduction to reserving and a combined ratemaking and reserving course. The syllabi follow the basic flow of the ratemaking and reserving texts that underlie CAS Exam 5. The syllabi can be used to develop a new P&C actuarial course, enhance an existing one or incorporate P&C concepts into a broader insurance course.

Beyond the syllabi, the committee gathered a collection of supporting resources that are housed within the library. They fall into four categories:

1. Articles and Texts.

The reading materials referenced in each of the syllabi can be easily accessed and incorporated into an introductory ratemaking or reserving course.

2. CAS Resources.

CAS Case Studies. Created specifically for the classroom, these case studies cover a variety of topics such as liabilities, automobile insurance, catastrophe modeling, and can be implemented to enhance a course.

CAS Exams. Sample ratemaking and reserving problems from past exams are available for students to work through. The problems have been linked to specific learning objectives so a professor can easily match problems with the concepts being taught on a particular week.

3. Industry Resources.

The library has acquired a collection of pertinent data, articles and webpages from the insurance industry that can be incorporated into a P&C course.

4. University Resources.

Thanks to the support from university faculty like Simon Fraser University Professor Camille Minogue, FCAS, we now have sample syllabi and course materials that can be reviewed for ideas on updating or building a property and casualty course.

The P&C Resource Library is intended to be dynamic, and the UEC plans to make periodic updates and additions to it.

If you have materials to recommend to the library, including presentations, articles and data, please contact CAS University Engagement Manager Tamar Gertner at tgertner@casact.org.

Tom Whitcomb, FCAS, is a senior actuary at Travelers in Hartford, Connecticut.