Dr Fei Huang

Dr Fei Huang

Senior Lecturer
  • Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA)
  • PhD, Australian National University 
  • MPhil, University of Hong Kong
  • BSc, Xiamen University 
Business School
School of Risk and Actuarial Studies

Fei is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Risk and Actuaries Studies and Lead - Data and AI Tech at UNSW Business AI Lab. She received her BSc. in Mathematics from Xiamen University, MPhil in Actuarial Science from the University of Hong Kong, and PhD in Actuarial Studies from the Australian National University. Before joining UNSW in 2020, she was a faculty member at the Australian National University.

In her research, Fei focuses on responsible AI and data-driven decision-making, especially for the insurance industry, utilizing tools from statistics, machine learning, economics, and marketing. Her research interests include fair and non-discriminatory insurance pricing, algorithmic bias, interpretable machine learning, mortality modelling, and customer relationship management. She particularly explores ways to make insurance equitable, affordable, and sustainable in the contexts of AI and climate change. Her work has been published in leading actuarial journals. Fei has received the Carol Dolan Actuaries Summit Prize and the ASTIN Colloquium Best Paper Award for her research on anti-discrimination in insurance pricing. In 2023, she was honoured with the Actuaries Institute's Volunteer of the Year Award in the Spirit of Volunteering category and the UNSW Business School SDG Research Impact Award.

Fei teaches actuarial data science and statistical machine learning at UNSW.  By collaborating with industry partners, she incorporates contemporary industry challenges into the course syllabus to offer a unique industry-engaging experience for students via Sandbox Projects. Her educational excellence has been recognized by winning the UNSW John Prescott Award for Outstanding Teaching Innovation (2022), the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in the Early Career Category (2018) and the ANU College of Business and Economics Award for Teaching Excellence in the Early Career Category (2017).  Fei is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA).

Fei works with insurers, consulting firms, and government agencies for transformative research and education projects, covering a wide range of topics. Examples of such collaborations include mortality modelling, fairness metrics for life insurance, Interpretable and fair insurance pricing using causal models, personalised customer management, bushfire risk modelling, multi-coverage bundled insurance pricing, claims inflation forecasting, and property insurance pricing with high-cardinality features. 

 

  • Journal articles | 2024
    Fahrenwaldt M; Furrer C; Hiabu ME; Huang F; Jørgensen FH; Lindholm M; Loftus J; Steffensen M; Tsanakas A, 2024, 'Fairness: plurality, causality, and insurability', European Actuarial Journal, 14, pp. 317 - 328, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13385-024-00387-3
    Journal articles | 2023
    Frees EWJ; Huang F, 2023, 'The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary', North American Actuarial Journal, 27, pp. 2 - 24, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10920277.2021.1951296
    Journal articles | 2023
    Xin X; Huang F, 2023, 'Anti-discrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models', North American Actuarial Journal, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10920277.2023.2190528
    Journal articles | 2023
    Zhang X; Huang F; Hui FKC; Haberman S, 2023, 'Cause-of-death mortality forecasting using adaptive penalized tensor decompositions', Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 111, pp. 193 - 213, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2023.05.003
    Journal articles | 2022
    Dong Y; Frees EW; Huang F; Hui FKC, 2022, 'MULTI-STATE MODELLING OF CUSTOMER CHURN', ASTIN Bulletin, 52, pp. 735 - 764, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/asb.2022.18
    Journal articles | 2021
    Dolman C; Frees E; Huang F, 2021, 'Multidisciplinary collaboration on discrimination - Not just Nice to Have', Annals of Actuarial Science, 15, pp. 485 - 487, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S174849952100021X
    Journal articles | 2021
    Frees EWJ; Huang F, 2021, 'The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary', North American Actuarial Journal, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10920277.2021.1951296
    Journal articles | 2021
    He L; Huang F; Shi J; Yang Y, 2021, 'Mortality forecasting using factor models: Time-varying or time-invariant factor loadings?', Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 98, pp. 14 - 34, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2021.01.006
    Journal articles | 2020
    Dong Y; Huang F; Yu H; Haberman S, 2020, 'Multi-population mortality forecasting using tensor decomposition', Scandinavian Actuarial Journal, 2020, pp. 754 - 775, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03461238.2020.1740314
    Journal articles | 2020
    Huang F; Maller R; Ning X, 2020, 'Modelling life tables with advanced ages: An extreme value theory approach', Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 93, pp. 95 - 115, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.insmatheco.2020.04.004
    Journal articles | 2020
    Ma J; Huang F; Bruhn A, 2020, 'Estimating China’s Future Life Insurance Market', Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, 15, http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/apjri-2019-0027
    Journal articles | 2018
    Ferreira A; Huang F, 2018, 'Is human life limited or unlimited? (A discussion of the paper by Holger Rootzén and Dmitrii Zholud)', Extremes, 21, pp. 373 - 382, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10687-018-0318-8
    Journal articles | 2018
    Huang F; Yu H, 2018, 'Optimal reinsurance: A reinsurer's perspective', Annals of Actuarial Science, 12, pp. 147 - 184, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1748499517000161
    Journal articles | 2016
    Huang F; Browne B, 2016, 'Mortality forecasting using a modified Continuous Mortality Investigation Mortality Projections Model for China I: Methodology and country-level results', Annals of Actuarial Science, 11, pp. 20 - 45, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1748499516000142
    Journal articles | 2016
    Huang F, 2016, 'Mortality forecasting using a modified CMI Mortality Projections Model for China II: Cities, towns and counties', Annals of Actuarial Science, 11, pp. 46 - 66, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S174849951600018X
    Journal articles | 2014
    Huang F; Butt A; Ho KY, 2014, 'Stochastic economic models for actuarial use: An example from China', Annals of Actuarial Science, 8, pp. 374 - 403, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1748499514000104
  • Working Papers | 2022
    Huang F; Maller R; Milholland B; Ning X, 2022, A Proposal for Finite But Unbounded Human Lifetimes, http://dx.doi.org10.1101/2022.01.07.474862
    Working Papers | 2021
    He L; Huang F; Yang Y, 2021, Data-adaptive Dimension Reduction for US Mortality Forecasting, http://dx.doi.org, https://arxiv.org/abs/2102.04123
    Working Papers | 2021
    Huang F; Maller R; Miholland B; Ning X, 2021, A Mixture Model Incorporating Individual Heterogeneity in Human Lifetimes, http://dx.doi.org10.1101/2021.01.29.428902, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.29.428902v1
    Working Papers |
    Dong Y; Frees EJW; Huang F, Deductible Costs for Bundled Insurance Contracts, Elsevier BV, http://dx.doi.org10.2139/ssrn.4020299, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4020299
    Working Papers |
    Frees EJW; Huang F, Online Supplement to: The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary, Elsevier BV, http://dx.doi.org10.2139/ssrn.3892473, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3892473
    Working Papers |
    Shimao H; Huang F, Welfare Implications of Fairness and Accountability for Insurance Pricing, Elsevier BV, http://dx.doi.org10.2139/ssrn.4225159, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4225159
    Working Papers |
    Xin X; Huang F, Anti-Discrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models, Elsevier BV, http://dx.doi.org10.2139/ssrn.3850420, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3850420
  • Conference Presentations | 2022
    Huang F, 2022, 'Anti-Discrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models', presented at ASTIN Colloquium, 22 June 2022
    Conference Presentations | 2022
    Huang F, 2022, 'Anti-discrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models', presented at All-Actuaries Summit, 03 May 2022
    Conference Presentations | 2022
    Huang F, 2022, 'Cause-of-death Mortality Modelling using Penalized Tensor Decomposition', presented at 24th International Congress on Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 04 July 2022
    Conference Presentations | 2021
    Huang F, 2021, 'The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary', presented at 11th China International Conference on Insurance and Risk Management, 11 July 2021
    Conference Presentations | 2020
    Huang F, 2020, 'Modelling Life Tables with Advanced Ages: an Extreme Value Theory Approach', presented at 28th Colloquium on Pensions and Retirement Research, 29 November 2020
    Conference Presentations | 2020
    Huang F, 2020, 'Modelling Life Tables with Advanced Ages: an Extreme Value Theory Approach', presented at Actuarial Research Conference, 29 July 2020
    Conference Presentations | 2020
    Huang F, 2020, 'The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary', presented at CLMR Research Symposium 2020, 20 November 2020
    Conference Presentations | 2019
    Huang F, 2019, 'Modelling Life Tables with Advanced Ages: an Extreme Value Theory Approach', presented at International Workshop on Subnational Life Tables, 20 November 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2019
    Huang F, 2019, 'Multi-population Mortality Forecasting using Tensor Decomposition', presented at China International Conference on Insurance and Risk Management (CCIRM), 30 July 2019
    Conference Presentations | 2018
    Huang F; Ferreria A, 2018, 'Is there a limit to Human Life or Not?', presented at Actuarial Risk Modelling and Extreme Values (ARMEV) Workshop, 18 September 2018
    Conference Presentations | 2018
    Huang F, 2018, 'The Younger-Older Dichotomy of Mortality Patterns: Observations and Applications', presented at 22th International Congress on Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 09 July 2018
    Reports |
    Fu B; Huang F; Maller R, Modelling Australian Life Tables with Advanced Ages -- A Report Prepared for the Australian Government Actuary, Elsevier BV, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4020309, http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4020309
    Preprints |
    Zhang X; Huang F; Hui F; Haberman S, Cause-of-Death Mortality Forecasting Using Adaptive Penalized Tensor Decompositions, , http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3943888
    Preprints |
    Zhu F; Huang F, Economic Forecasting in a Data-Rich Environment for Actuarial Applications using Neural Networks, , http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4449894

  • National Industry PhD Program Award, 2024
  • Interpretable and Fair Insurance Risk Pricing using Causal Models, SOA CKER and CAS Individual Grant Competition, 2024
  • Fairness Metrics for Life Insurance (with Milliman), SOA Research Grant, 2023

  1. Insurance Discrimination and Pricing Fairness in the Context of AI (and non-AI). See related papers below: 
    (1) The Discriminating (Pricing) Actuary (with Edward (Jed) Frees), NAAJ, 2022
    (2) Anti-discrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models (with Xi Xin), NAAJ,  2023 (This paper won the inaugural Carol Dolan Actuaries Summit Prize and ASTIN Colloquium Best Paper Award)
    (3) Welfare Implications of Fairness and Accountability for Insurance Pricing (with Hajime Shimao), 2022 
  2. Interpretable Machine Learning 
    (1) Why You Should Not Trust Interpretations in Machine Learning. (with Xi Xin and Giles Hooker)
  3. Socio-economic and Subgroup Mortality modelling 
  4. Advanced-age mortality modelling and forecasting using extreme value theory (EVT)
    (1) Modelling life tables with advanced ages: An extreme value theory approach (with Ross Maller and Ning Xu), Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, 2020
  5. Customer Churn Analysis
    (1) Multi-State Modelling of Customer Churn (with Yumo Dong, Edward (Jed) Frees, Francis Hui), ASTIN Bulletin, 2022 (SSRN version)

Media Coverages:

 

 

My Research Supervision

  • Laura Zhao (primary supervisor), part-time PhD student at UNSW Sydney, National Industry PhD Program
  • Xi Xin (primary supervisor), PhD student at UNSW Sydney
  • Yumo Dong (primary supervisor), PhD student at the Australian National University, graduated.

My Teaching

  • ACTL4305/5305 Actuarial Data Science Applications (2020 - now)
    Sandbox project (2021): Develop Pricing Models for SME Building Insurnace with Features Having High Cardinality. Industry Partner: Suncorp. Media Coverage
    Sandbox project (2022): Multi-coverage Claim Modelling for Insurance Packaged Products. Industry Partner: IAG. Event Video
    Sandbox project (2023): Understanding Bushfire Event Risk Across Australia. Industry Partner: Suncorp. Event Video
  • ACTL3142/5110 Statistical Machine Learning for Risk and Insurance Applications (2021-2022)
    Sandbox project (2022): Predicting Claims Inflation for Commercial Auto Insurance Pricing. Industry Partner: IAG. Event Video