A candidate for ASP Fellowship is required to pass one (1) of the specified Fellowship Exams administered by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS). Each of the available exams focuses on a specific actuarial field such as economics, individual life, retirement, and others. The questions in an exam require written answers that test a candidate’s knowledge and application of the actuarial concepts covered by the syllabus.
The following descriptions for each of the available exams are from the SOA and CAS websites. More details on the SOA exams can found here. For CAS exam details, please see this page.
QFI Core Exam or QFI Advanced Exam
The candidates will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of mathematics and economics underlying quantitative methods in finance and investment. Option pricing theory, financial derivatives, fixed-income securities, portfolio management and investment policy are also covered. In the QFI Advanced Exam, candidates will develop a clear grasp of advanced option pricing and the standard yield curve models, credit risk, liquidity risk, and the quantitative techniques for
analyzing financial time series. Liability manufacturing and management are also included.
Foundations of Corporate Finance and ERM Exam
The syllabus for this exam covers corporate finance, capital management & decision-making, stochastic modeling, model risk vetting in risk management, and advance risk assessment techniques for unhedgeable risks. Candidates will gain the ability to implement an ERM framework and risk management techniques that ensure capital invested and funding approaches will be adequately rewarded relative to the risk being taken. A variety of advanced techniques using real-world models and simulations will be covered.
Life Finance and Valuation Exam
The candidates will gain the ability to understand and apply valuation principles of individual life insurance and annuity products issued by life insurance companies, and analyze the implications of emerging financial and valuation standards.
Life Pricing Exam
The candidates will develop a working knowledge of product types, features and benefits. Candidates will gain a firm grasp of the relationship between the product features, their inherent risks, and the selection of appropriate pricing assumptions, profit measures and modeling approaches.
Group & Health Core Exam or Group & Health Advanced Exam
The candidate will gain the ability to understand, describe and price products typically offered under group and individual healthcare plans in the U.S. and Canada, including medical, dental, pharmacy, long-term care and disability. Candidates will be able to recommend employee benefit strategies for group benefits. They will also understand the effect of taxation, regulation.
For the Advanced Exam, the candidate will develop the proficiency in evaluating the effectiveness of provider reimbursement methods and disease management programs. Candidates will also be able to formulate, calculate and evaluate carrier reserving techniques.
FCAS Exam 5 – Basic Techniques for Ratemaking and Estimating Claim Liabilities
This exam covers the general principles of ratemaking as well as details such as data requirements, key assumptions, calculation of premium rates, and estimating claim liabilities in the property and casualty field. Key concepts and ideas include the exposure base and its characteristics, expenses and expense categories, various ratemaking techniques, and other related topics. Exam details from the CAS are available here.
FCAS Exam 7 – Estimation of Policy Liabilities, Insurance Company Valuation, and Enterprise Risk Management
This exam focuses on advanced techniques in estimating reserves for unpaid claims, evaluation of liabilities in risk transfer agreements, and developing ranges around a best estimate. Also covered are the methods in determining the theoretical value of equity securities and property and casualty insurance companies, as well as the application of tools and techniques in the financial analysis of corporations. Finally, the candidate is expected to demonstrate knowledge of concepts and techniques of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), its value and its application. Please see exam details from the CAS here.
FCAS Exam 8 – Advanced Ratemaking
This exam covers advanced ratemaking for property and casualty insurance including classification ratemaking; excess, deductible, and individual risk rating; retrospective loss sensitive rating; catastrophe ratemaking; and reinsurance ratemaking. You can see further exam details from the CAS here.
FCAS Exam 9 – Financial Risk and Rate of Return
This exam focuses on a broad array of finance, investment, and financial risk management topics. It assumes a working knowledge and the application of basic ratemaking, finance, probability and statistical modeling, liability and reserve risk, and insurance underwriting. The topics covered are: portfolio theory and equilibrium in capital markets; asset-liability management; financial risk management; and rate of return, risk loads, and contingency provisions. Additional details from the CAS are available here.
Strategic Decision Making Exam
The candidate will develop a familiarity with measures of corporate value, managing credit and liquidity risk, and an understanding of best practices for ERM processes and capital management. He/she will also have an exposure to lessons learned from the risk-taking experiences of other organizations.
Introduction to Ratemaking and Reserving Exam
The candidate will gain the ability to apply commonly used approaches for ratemaking, reserving, trend calculations and catastrophe models.
Design and Accounting Exam
In this exam, candidates will be able to evaluate sponsor’s goals for the retirement plan, evaluate alternative plan types, and recommend a plan design appropriate for the sponsor’s goals. The ability to analyze factors that go into selection of actuarial assumptions, as well as providing recommendations and advice on the financial effects of funding policies, will also be covered.
Financial and Regulatory Environment Exam
The candidate will gain insights into financial reporting standards—in the U.S., Canada and at an international level—including financial health, application of standards of practice, the regulatory and legal environment, and more.
