Our research
UNSW School of Risk and Actuarial Studies is one of the largest actuarial groups in the world.
It is home to leading researchers in a wide range of areas, focusing on three primary areas: Risk (quantitative risk management, mortality, longevity and health risks, insurance risk modelling, climate change, AI/ML enhanced actuarial analytics, uncertainty); Insurance (general insurance, life insurance, insurance pricing, capital and reserving); and Superannuation (pension economics, retirement products, behavioural insights). The School has won high international recognition for its research excellence in these primary areas. In the UNL Global Research Rankings, the School is consistently ranked number 1 on the list of the top 50 business schools worldwide, based on research in actuarial science, risk management, and insurance.
The School is renowned for its interdisciplinarity. With key research strengths in these primary areas, the School has also made significant contributions to other related disciplines such as quantitative finance, data analytics, economics, operations research, probability, and statistics. This is evident from the School’s research publications in recent years.
The School has strong connections with the Australian insurance and superannuation industries, regulators, and government. It implements various strategies to develop and strengthen external relationships with industry partners, influence industry practices, and provide advice for regulators and government. The School has been extremely successful in obtaining external research funding through ARC discovery and linkage projects, as well as from professional actuarial bodies.
Associated with the School is the Innovations in Risk, Insurance, and Superannuation (IRIS) Knowledge Hub. The Hub is dedicated to industry-linked research and currently focuses on the following themes: Climate Change and Insurance; Financing Retirement; and AI and Digital Transformation for Insurance.
The School actively engages with the research community at both national and international levels by organising conferences and serving on the editorial boards of leading journals in the discipline. A few academic members from the School hold affiliations with the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing and Research (CEPAR) as leaders and chief/associate investigators.
The School sets its ambition to become the world’s leading institution in risk and actuarial studies. This ambition aligns with the strategies of the Faculty and the University by producing world-leading research (Academic Excellence), establishing partnership with the financial and insurance industries (Social Engagement), and engaging with global knowledge networks (Global Impact).
Successful grants
Staff within our school are regularly active in conducting research in a wide range of areas of insurance and actuarial science with a focus on modelling, measuring, and managing risks. The risk management and actuarial studies programs are also active at an international level in its research excellence.
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Grant
Recipients
Title
Amount
2017-2023
ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR)
Hazel Bateman, Michael Sherris
(Joint CIs: J. Piggott, K. Anstey, M. Baird, F. Blythe, M. Keane, P. McDonald, W. McKibbin, S. Parker, A. Woodland)N/A
AUD 27,250,000
2017-2020
ARC Discovery Project
Michael Sherris, Jonathan Ziveyi
(PI: A. Olivieri)
Retirement income product innovation
AUD 350,000
2020-2023
ARC Linkage Project
Hazel Bateman
(Joint CIs: S. Thorp, B. Newell, I. Dobrescu)
Better communication to solve the under-saving, under-spending puzzle
AUD 392,445
2020-2023 ARC Discovery Project
Qihe Tang, Bernard Wong
(Joint CI: B. Avanzi, PI: J. Blanchet)
Extreme value theory approaches to insurance in a catastrophic environment
AUD 310,000
2020-2023
ARC Discovery Project
Jae Kyung Woo, Eric Cheung
(PIs: H. Albrecher, G.E. Willmot)
Shock model-based framework for modelling correlated large losses
AUD 334,000
2020-2022
ARC DECRA
Yang Shen
Demystifying puzzles in retirement planning
AUD 420,039
2021-2024
ARC Discovery Project
Jonathan Ziveyi, Yang Shen, Mike Sherris
(Joint CI: J. Temple, PI: E. Pitacco)
Forecasting and financing healthy ageing and aged care in Australia
AUD 386,139
2022-2024
ARC Discovery Project
Qihe Tang, Katja Ignatieva
(Joint CI: H. Li, PI: H. Lam)
Quantitative analysis of systemic risk in insurance
AUD 378,292
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Grant
Recipients
Title
Amount
2022-2025
Orford Foundation
Hazel Bateman, Katja Hanewald
Investigating strategies that could enhance awareness, interest, understanding and take-up of lifetime annuities in Australia.
AUD 525,000
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Grant
Recipients
Title
Amount
2017-2020
Society of Actuaries (SOA) Center of Actuarial Excellence Research Grant
Mike Sherris, Jonathan Ziveyi, Andres Villegas
Longevity Risk: Actuarial and Predictive Models, Retirement Product Innovation, and Risk Management Strategies
USD 248,678
2018-2019
SOA Grant
Andres Villegas
(Joint CI: S. Haberman, M. Bajekal)
Analysis of historical U.S. population mortality improvement drivers since 1950
USD 50,000
2018-2020
CAE and SOA' CKER (Committee on Knowledge Extension Research) Grant
Eric Cheung, Jae Kyung Woo (Lead)
Credibility theory under a general dependency structure of risk profile
USD 20,000
2019-2020
SOA Research Expanding Boundaries (REX) Funding Pool
Yang Shen (Lead)
(Joint CI: J. Su)
Demystifying the annuity puzzle: The role of model uncertainty in strategic retirement planning
USD 16,000
2020-2021
CAS CKER Grant
Yang Shen
(Lead: E. Furman, Joint CI: A. Fleck)
A realistic risk dependence via general additive models: Effects of heavy-tailedness and dependence on loss reserving
USD 24,000
