Insurance Economics / Versicherungsökonomik

Course Content

This course provides an introduction to insurance economics.

Topics addressed include:

• Choice under uncertainty (expected utility theory and rational decision under risk, measure for risk aversion, mean variance preferences)

• Insurance demands by households (base model, insurance demand without fair premium, Pareto-optimal insurance contract)

• Insurance demand by firms (risk management and diversification, risk management forward, future and options, corporate demand for insurance)

• Insurance supply (traditional premium calculation, financial modelling of insurance pricing, economies of scope, economies of scale)

• Microeconomic analysis (moral hazard, adverse selection)

• Insurance regulation

Requirements

The lecture is designed for Bachelor and Master students of "Economathematics", "Mathematics", "Economics" or "Finance" that are at an advanced stage of their studies.

Exam

First exam: Monday, July 20, 2020, 08:00(s.t.)-10:00

Lecture hall for first exam: O28 - H22

The grades for the first exam are published in the Hochschulportal!

Post-exam review (first exam): Monday, August 03, 2020 in O27 - 123

Further information on post-exam review (first exam):

• If you wish to review your exam, please register for the post-exam review via the following Doodle poll: https://doodle.com/poll/wnvudxqrc856wk9i (registration deadline: Monday, July 27, 2020 at 23:59 o'clock). There are overall 5 time slots (please tick every time slot you are available (NOT only your preferred one)!!!). After the deadline, we will inform you via email about your allocated time slot.
• Please stick to all the protection and hygiene rules issued by the university due to Corona (mask, distance, ...), which you can also find on the different corresponding webpages of the university (see also the other links on this page).
• Please make sure that you are on time because there is only limited time for one slot and we need to stick to the review schedule! Do not gather in groups in front of the room and leave the building immediately after the review!
• Please bring your own pen and your student ID.

Repetition exam: Wednesday, October 07, 2020, 08:00(s.t.)-10:00

• The exam will be carried out in written form.
• The exam will be open, i.e. you can also take the repetition exam without taking the first exam.
• Authorized auxiliaries: Pens, ruler and a non-programmable and non-graphic calculator.
• To take part in the first exam or / and in the repetition exam (in order to get a grade and, if you pass, the credits for the course), you have to register for the corresponding exam(s) via the Hochschulportal.
• IMPORTANT: Please carefully read the notes and information on examinations during the corona crisis as they also apply to our exam(s). You can find them here: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/study/exam-administration/notes-on-examinations-in-emergency-operation/ (especially important on this website: "Notes on the conduct of written examinations" -> Question: "What happens during the examination?") and here: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/study/exam-administration/information-for-students-on-examinations-during-the-corona-crisis/ (especially important on this website: "Taking written exams" -> Questions: "What hygiene measures must I observe?" and "What must I bring for the exam?").

DAV Certificate

Within this lecture it is possible to achieve the certificate of the German actuarial society (Deutsche Aktuar Vereinigung DAV) in "Wirtschaftliches und rechtliches Umfeld" (PO 4). Note that this certificate is equivalent to "Versicherungswirtschaftslehre" (PO 3).

This certificate is a basic requirement for becoming an actuary in Germany. 

Requirements for Achieving DAV Certificate:

To achieve this DAV certificate, it is required to separately pass the final course exam (it does not matter if it is the first or the repetition exam) and a DAV supplement exam.

Note that the semester, in which you pass the final course exam, and the semester, in which you pass the DAV supplement exam, do not need to coincide.

Further note that, since the passing of both the DAV supplement exam and the final course exam is required to achieve the DAV certificate, it is necessary that you register for both, generally via:

• For the DAV supplement exam, you register on Moodle (see quiz there, registration deadline: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 13:00 o'clock).
• For the final course exam, you register via the Hochschulportal, as usual.

Since by the latter registration you get a grade and, if you pass, the credits for the regular lecture, it is clear that it is generally not possible to achieve the DAV certificate without getting a grade (and possibly the credits) for the regular lecture.

Exams from previous semesters that count towards the achievement of the DAV certificate upon passing:

• Final course exams from summer term 19 (with grade/credits) -> only passing of DAV supplement exam still necessary (registration via Moodle)
• DAV supplement exam from summer term 19 -> only passing of final course exam still necessary (registration via Hochschulportal)

If you have any questions etc. concerning the requirements for achieving the DAV certificate or if you are in an exceptional situation, please do not hesitate to write an email to thorsten.sehner@uni-ulm.de.

DAV Supplement Course and Exam:

The material necessary for the DAV supplement exam will be discussed in a DAV supplement course that will be held by Dr. Frank Pfeuffer. For more information concerning the course schedule, see Moodle.

The DAV supplement exam in the current semester will be carried out on

• Wednesday, June 17, 2020, beginning: 14:30(s.t.), planned exam duration: 90 min, lecture hall: O28 - H22

The marking of the DAV supplement exam has been finished! You should have received an e-mail informing you if you have passed the DAV supplement exam or not and informing you about the post-exam review of the DAV supplement exam. If you have not received this e-mail, please contact us via writing an email to thorsten.sehner@uni-ulm.de.

Further information on DAV supplement exam:

• The exam will be carried out in written form.
• Authorized auxiliaries: Pens and ruler.
• The exam will be offered in German and in English.
• IMPORTANT: Please carefully read the notes and information on examinations during the corona crisis as they also apply to our DAV supplement exam. You can find them here: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/study/exam-administration/notes-on-examinations-in-emergency-operation/ (especially important on this website: "Notes on the conduct of written examinations" -> Question: "What happens during the examination?") and here: https://www.uni-ulm.de/en/study/exam-administration/information-for-students-on-examinations-during-the-corona-crisis/ (especially important on this website: "Taking written exams" -> Questions: "What hygiene measures must I observe?" and "What must I bring for the exam?").

Literature

The main textbook

• Zweifel, P. and R. Eisen (2012), Insurance Economics, Springer.

Further reading

• Farny, D. (2006), Versicherungsbetriebslehre, 4. u. überarbeitete Auflage, Karlsruhe: Verlag Versicherungswirtschaft.
• Felderer, B. und S. Homburg (2005), Makroökonomik und neue Makroökonomik , 9. Auflage, Berlin: Springer.
• Schulenburg, J.-M. (2005), Versicherungsökonomik, ein Leitfaden für Studium und Praxis, Karlsruhe: Verlag Versicherungswirtschaft.
• Vaughan, J. E. und T. Vaughan (2003), Fundamentals of Risk and Insurance, 9. Edition, Wileys & Sons.
• Zweifel, P. und R. Eisen (2003), Versicherungsökonomie, 2. u. verbesserte Auflage - Berlin et al: Springer.

"Semesterapparat"