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SA3 Topical Issues

C

Coralie Clarke

Member
It is important that Subject SA3 students take the opportunity to keep abreast of current developments in general insurance. Many past exam questions and Examiners' Reports have mentioned topical issues that are not covered explicitly by the Course Notes alone.

However, general insurance students are lucky because there are some excellent sources of readily-available information on topical issues. The sources of this information are described in the Course Notes, in Chapter 17. Another good starting point is the resources list for Subject SA3 on the Institute and Faculty's website:

https://www.actuaries.org.uk/studyi...rance/resources-subject-sa3-general-insurance

The purpose of this thread is for Subject SA3 students to discuss topical issues on General Insurance. Feel free to add your own comments about topical issues.
 
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Which giro for oct 2012???

Just wondered which giro would have been the last giro when the last paper was set? Also would the oct paper have been set when the April one was?
 
The examiners set the questions for both April and October Year X exams, in the period September Year X-1 to January Year X (give or take a month or two). GIRO is generally in September/October each year.
 
I was expecting a list of topical issues which I could scan through. This isn't the case.

Issues I can think of are...

PPOs
Solvency II
Asbestos / Latent claims
Reserving risk methods
Risk aggregation methodologies

I'm sure that there will be plenty more from other backgrounds (especially pricing!). Does anyone else want to contribute to the above list / challenge anything of the items I've included? It would be good to turn this into a mini topical-issues resource with a brief description of the issue along with how it fits into GI actuarial work.
 
Good idea Shillington, that's what this thread was meant to do, but students' contributions to it have been a bit thin on the ground, to say the least!

From your list, I'd challenge 'asbestos'. This is now deemed 'old news', so much in fact that it (APH) is going to be removed from the 2016 Core Reading. However, latent claims more generally definitively remains. Perhaps students could research more 'current' latent claims, eg mobile phone radiation, industrial deafness etc...
 
That would make my list Sivapriya yes. Some hot topics right now might be:
  • PPOs
  • IFRS17
  • Price walking
  • Solvency 2: Ensuring consistency between regulators / territories
  • Insuretech / big data
  • Business transfers
  • talcum powder, historical abuse claims and other emerging latent claims
  • cyber risks
  • etc etc
 
Please can you share good resources to read on these topical issues.
 
There are many resources readily available online. Have you tried searching ? Or why not use the resources described in Chapter 17.

The IFoA working parties cover many of these topics ... PPOs, IFRS17, Solvency 2, InsureTech, driverless cars, catastrophes, ... to name just a few.

Also don't forget other IFoA resources, have you not looked through the GIRO papers, or the papers for the CIGI seminar / Pricing seminar / Reserving seminar?

Have you tried looking for the FCA page on pricewalking? A simple Google search would have led you straight to it. Their interim report is now available, and is well worth a read.

Don't forget specific bodies dedicated to key topics - the IFRS17 website, PRA website, EIOPA website, RMS website etc. Start with the News pages and see where it takes you.

Lloyd's is often great too. Try googling 'Lloyd's emerging risks' for example.
 
Great one.
I'm newbie in this area but I'm want to learn more and more thanks guys... See You tc
 
Hi - for the list of topical issues - do you think pandemic related challenges for business/ pricing /reserving will be included ?
 
which sources of reading would you recommend on this topic? specifically on impact on reserving
 
I don't have any specific reading - although I vaguely recall maybe reading something in The Actuary? I might be wrong. Failing that, just use your favorite search engine and see what comes up. Better still, just think through the potential implications yourself, or find similar past questions - maybe those covering (other) latent claims could be a starting point.
 
Thanks Ian. Two more questions
1. For the past papers - Is there a list of questions by topics?
2. Is there a mind map for SA3 material ?
 
Not freely available I'm afraid. There's a short list of past papers in ASET, and we go through a bigger list and something similar to a mindmap exercise in tutorials if you're able to attend those.
 
HI all,

Any updated topical issues list that we should be aware of for this-next year?
Thanks!
 
indexo said:
HI all,

Any updated topical issues list that we should be aware of for this-next year?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Climate change!!! and somewhat related but less likely to come up soon (in my opinion): biodiversity risk, are both hot topics. Although neither are new, they are attracting increasing focus and actuaries are only just beginning to flesh out ways of thinking about climate change risks.

Climate change is far more than just cat risk - you can google physical and transition risks to get a better idea of the sorts of risk climate change will give rise to. It’s not just long term stuff.
 
What would be topical issues to be considered for the Sept 2023 Exam? This is what I've seen in the news but would appreciate any additional insights:
* Property catastrophe (Increase in rates, hardening of conditions and reduced capacity)
* Cyber crime war exclusion wording
* Climate change
 
Hi there!

As per Chapter 17 of the course notes, it seemed no any papers of GIRO 2021 and 2022 recommended? I currently hold the 2022 version + the relevant "CMP upgrade", no words of these two sessions mentioned. Is that case? or I missed something?
In addition, regarding the paper mentioned of GIRO 2023, would you kindly advise what's the links to download the relevant papers from the IFoA website?

thanks
Smith
 
Hi Smith

The CMP for the 2022 exams was written before GIRO 2021 or 2022 had even occurred. The CMP Upgrades only list the significant changes to the course notes and Core Reading. Mentioning a few topical issues wouldn't be that significant, particularly given that most/all students should be looking at recent GIRO topics anyway. As per Chapter 17 text, we'd encourage you to go through the GIRO topics and make your own mind up as to which could be examined.

Hope that helps.
Ian
 
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