How can actuaries best equip themselves for the products and risk structures of the future? In this groundbreaking textbook, three leaders in actuarial science give a modern perspective on life contingencies. The book begins with actuarial models and theory, emphasizing practical applications using computational techniques. The authors then develop a more contemporary outlook, introducing multiple state models, emerging cash flows and embedded options. This expanded edition contains more examples and exercises, and brand new material on discrete time Markov processes, on models involving joint lives, and on universal life insurance and participating traditional insurance. Balancing rigour with intuition, and emphasising applications, this textbook is ideal for university courses, for qualified actuaries wishing to update their skills, and for individuals preparing for professional actuarial examinations. The book covers the entire Society of Actuaries MLC syllabus and will be especially valuable for students preparing for the new, long answer style exam questions.