2019 CAS R for the P&C Practitioner Bootcamp

This is a four day-long course that will give the attendee an introduction to R, but with the objective of preparing attendees to be able to apply what they've learned upon completion of the course. To that end, the focus is on direct, interactive content delivery.

Attendance is limited to 26 participants.

Attendees are expected to have installed current versions of R and RStudio before arrival. Further, students should have sufficient rights that they are able to install R packages from CRAN. Instructions to test attendees’ setup will be provided. In order to ensure that all attendees are given sufficient instruction, instructors CANNOT guarantee that they will have capacity to provide technical support for unique laptop configurations.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Attendees will leave the course with a working knowledge of R, having applied it in a realistic setting. More specifically, participants will exit the course having mastered the following:

• Read data into the R environment from a variety of sources
• Visualize data and use this as the basis of selecting a model
• Fit several different models to a set of data, assess the quality of fit and choose between competing models
• Manipulate data so that it may be modeled, or otherwise communicated
• Use the "actuar" and "ChainLadder" packages, which are designed for actuarial applications

CAPSTONE PROJECTS

The CAS R Bootcamp will provide general instruction in a classroom environment on how to use R. The bootcamp will also provide capstone projects in two different actuarial areas for applying classroom learning objectives. Attendees will share project outcomes with the whole group on the last day using tools available in the broader “R Environment.” Attendees must choose their preferred topic during the registration process.

Ratemaking

Bootcamp attendees who sign up for this track will be given datasets representing premium and claims for a product line. The project will be to use R to analyze the data for trends and anomalies and identify and fit a model to the data that distinguishes between predictive characteristics. Track attendees will prepare disruption analyses, profitability projections, and other management information to communicate the effect of the new model on the portfolio.

Reserving

Attendees who sign up for this track will be given a dataset that contains loss triangles for several different lines of business in several different territories. Participants will conduct a reserve study using standard techniques like chain ladder as well as less common methods like the Clark growth curve model and hierarchical regression.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• For more information on content, please contact Nora Potter, Professional Education Coordinator - International and Online Services at npotter@casact.org.
• For more information on attendee registration, please email the Actuaries' Resource Center at arc@casact.org.
• For more information on the Seminar other than registration or content issues, please email meetings@casact.org.
• For more information on other CAS opportunities or regarding administrative policies such as complaints and refunds, please contact the CAS Office at (703) 276-3100 or office@casact.org.