Several individuals have assisted in the various editions of this book. I am particularly indebted to two people who have made a significant contribution by providing a number of helpful comments, corrections, and suggestions. They are Virginia Young for her work on the first edition, and Elias Shiu for his help with the third edition.

There are many others who deserve thanks. Moshe Milevsky provided enlightening comments on annuities and it was his ideas that motivated the credit risk applications in Chapter 10, as well as some of the material on generational annuity tables in Chapter 9. Several people found misprints in the first edition and earlier drafts. These include Valerie Michkine, Jacques Labelle, Karen Antonio, Kristen Moore, as well as students at York University and the University of Michigan. Christian Hess asked some questions which led to the inclusion of Example 21.10 to clear up an ambiguous point. Exercise 18.13 was motivated by Bob Jewett’s progressive practice routines for pool. My son Michael, a life insurance actuary, provided valuable advice on several practical aspects of the material. Thanks go to the editorial and production teams at Wiley for their much appreciated assistance. Finally, I thank my wife Shirley who provided support and encouragement throughout the writing of all three editions.