Exams P and FM: What It Takes to Pass ...
Excelling in any exam makes you and your loved ones proud. Getting good... Read More
An actuary is a professional who identifies and analyses the financial impact of various uncertainties. Actuaries apply mathematical, analytical and computer programming skills to come up with models that identify and manage potential risks. That said, actuaries are the people behind the success or failure of different companies, especially insurance companies. The ability of an actuary to predict expected future loss and hedge against that particular loss ensures that a company remains solvent, that is to mean that at any particular moment, the assets held by the company exceeds its liabilities. The opposite poses threats to the financial well-being of a company.
To become a fully qualified actuary, one not only needs a bachelor’s degree, but also a certification from an actuarial body. Contrary to people’s believes that only actuarial science students can turn out to be actuaries, students pursuing a variety of stem courses can, in fact, become fully-fledged actuaries. A fully-fledged actuary needs to sit and pass a set of actuarial exams, which are offered by different actuarial bodies.
To qualify as an actuary in the United States of America and in Canada, individuals need to pass the actuarial exams offered and regulated by various actuarial bodies. The Society of Actuaries is the most common and the most preferred actuarial body for actuaries who would like to work in the United States of America and Canada. However, for individuals who would love to work not just in the US and Canada but also in commonwealth countries, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries would be the preferred actuarial body. The Society of Actuaries was formed in 1949 as a result of the merging of two actuarial bodies, the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries. The Society is committed to advance the actuarial knowledge of its members. It requires individuals to sit and pass seven to ten actuarial exams before they can be accredited as actuaries.
To become a member of the Society of Actuaries, a person has to first decide their area of interest. Generally, an individual can either turn out to be a life and health insurance actuary or a property and casualty insurance/general insurance/non-life insurance actuary. Life and Health insurance encompasses life insurance, health insurance, gratuity and benefits calculations and pensions. Property and Casualty Insurance is made up of: property insurance, general insurance, and liability insurance. It has been observed that the property and casualty insurance is growing at a faster rate as compared to the life and health insurance. A life and health insurance actuary will take the exams offered by the Society of Actuaries. A property and casualty actuary, on the other hand, will opt to either take the exams offered by the Casualty Actuarial Society or those offered by the Society of Actuaries.
The benefits of becoming a property and casualty insurance through the Society of actuaries include: Access to e-learning modules that have been incorporated into the syllabus so as to give candidates more experience, Basic knowledge in all the areas of actuarial practice before specialization, Exposure to a lot of exams before specializing to allow candidates an ample time of choosing their preferred career path and an unrivalled access to support resources and a global network of professionals.
However, according to statistics released from a 2018 survey, the option to become a property and casualty actuary through the Society of Actuaries was the lesser preferred option since the option had just been recently introduced. Individuals opting for accreditation through the Society of Actuaries will have to make a choice between becoming a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) or a Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary (CERA).
A fellow of the Society of Actuaries has the right to vote during an election. To gain the FSA title, a person needs to have completed a set of 10 exams. A summary of the exams is as shown below:
To become a CERA, one needs to attempt and pass a set of seven exams. One can qualify as a CERA before qualifying as a fellow. Exams needed to qualify as a CERA are:
It is therefore advisable for an actuary aspiring to work in the US or in Canada to join the Society of Actuaries as either an FSA or a CERA. More help on summarized study materials for candidates who would like to attempt the SOA exams can be obtained from our website.
Excelling in any exam makes you and your loved ones proud. Getting good... Read More
On your way to becoming an actuary, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Exam... Read More