EJMT Abstract

Mathematics departments often tout a career as an actuary as a path that their students may pursue after graduation. However, preparation for a career as an actuary has rapidly evolved since the late 1990s. Actuarial science is solidifying itself as an academic field of study. Actuarial organizations, such as the Society of Actuaries (SOA), classify qualified undergraduate programs as Centers of Actuarial Excellence. Traditional mathematics and statistics departments may feel they need additional resources for their students who pursue this path. The author hopes that papers such as this one will begin to fill this need. The purpose of this paper is to provide an introductory experience in actuarial modeling for undergraduate mathematics students. Using simulation as a method to explore the underlying distribution of an insurance product with financial risk allows the student to study problems that would otherwise be inaccessible without first taking an introductory course in contingencies.