Hi All,

I am currently in the middle of doing CB3. I wanted to ask, is the iCoach stuff mandatory? Do they even check if you watched all the videos? The system itself on iCoach half the time doesn't even record if I have watched a video, which is incredibly frustrating.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Also, I assume with College of Law, because it is just PDFs, they don't actually record that at all?

Thanks and apologies if this has been asked before.

I have 2.5 years of experience — 2 in pensions consultancy and 0.5 in life insurance (BPA). I'm unsure whether to prioritise a promotion, qualifying as an FIA, or exploring different areas before specialising.

I have two exams left (SP2 & SA2) and plan to sit them in April, but I worry that qualifying too soon might limit salary progression, as some companies don’t offer an uplift to junior employees. I also fear it could make it harder to move across teams and gain broader experience. At times, I feel peer pressure to qualify and get promoted quickly, but I’m not sure if that’s the best long-term move.

Would it be wiser to focus on learning and exposure first, even if it means delaying promotion and salary growth? Keen to hear from those who’ve been in a similar position!

What am I doing wrong?

https://preview.redd.it/c27978vhwpge1.png?width=809&format=png&auto=webp&s=a3787c6882ad7e87e72e8a4f87ca88219a720801

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Question 21.11 on the 2023 CMP. We're provided with the earned premium and incremental paid amounts.

Assuming that the ultimate expected LR is the AY1 result and assuming AY1 is fully run-off.

The CMP answer is 6,508 and mine is 6,737.

Hi everyone, I am currently studying a Master's in Actuarial Science and have an assessment centre for a general insurance actuarial graduate role. They have asked me to prepare a presentation about the implications of climate change on the insurance/reinsurance industry and the outlook of the market in the future. I have a little bit of knowledge of this from my masters programme but have never worked in the industry, so has anybody got any tips of things to focus on? Many thanks

Hi everyone. I’m currently studying at university looking to become an actuary. I understand that at the beginning of an actuarial career, most of the work will be simple analysis, manipulating existing models and can involve working with clients in certain sectors.

But how does this change as you become more qualified? I’ve been told the work becomes more complex, but what does this actually look like in practice?

Are actuarial salaries lagging?

Now I preface this by acknowledging people In this field are pretty well paid compared to other industries.

However I feel like for what is essentially the same skill set, other industries pay more?

In my case specifically, though I had a traditional actuarial background (spreadsheets are my one true love)

These days (retail pricing) I’d say I’m mostly doing what a data scientist / ML engineer would do. More and more over time.

Sure building a GBM pipeline to model risk is technically “actuarial” but I bet a data scientist / ml engineer at Google or at an asset management firm could train a risk model fairly quickly. At least technically speaking.

It feels as if with the same skills i could be better paid in tech, and certainly a lot more in qualitative finance

Silly Q alert! How do you read through physical/ hard copies of the core reading? Do you use the binders Act Ed send? They annoy me because unless I'm studying on my desk, they just flop about! How do you organise your notes? Before you tell me you only use computer notes, consider that there are some of us who are now getting headaches from looking at a screen - at work then to study.

Hi everyone!

I’m a nearly qualified actuary and I was invited to an interview at Pacific Life Re (London) for a pricing role. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I’ve heard there is always a case study specific to the role. Could someone please share an example? How do you prepare for these?

I’ve also heard they are big on culture and they want to see how you demonstrate their company values.

I’m very excited for this interview, as it took me almost two months of rejections to finally be invited to one. I’m also a bit nervous, as I feel like this is my one and only shot to finally jump ship.

Thank you so much in advance and have a great weekend!

Hi all,

I am writing sp2 in april 2025 for the first time. Up until now i have read the core reading till chapter 17. I have ~2 months to prepare. Would greatly appreciate if someone can guide on how to go about the studying for it. I have not yet started with the questions and feel too under confident about it since I don’t remember what ive studied until now.

Hi,

Is it common practice to have an external mentor? - If so where did you find someone to be your external mentor and what do they help you with

Thanks.

I'm interested in risk and how humans make decisions. What would you say is the hardest part of the job of an actuary?
If you could have access to any data (quant) or information (qual) to make your job easier, what would that be and why? Perhaps it's not necessarily net-new information but it's otherwise manual tasks that have been automated in some way? I've been thinking about manual news monitoring in particular and wondering if there is a better way.

Hi everyone, I've got my first interview coming up (other than Tesco which doesn't really count), for a position as a pensions actuarial trainee. Does anyone have advice on things I should read up on, how formal I should dress / act (teams interview), what questions may come up etc. It's strange for a grad role given I haven't had to be assessed in any way so far so maybe it'll be a longer interview? I'm hoping to succeed given the state of the grad market at the moment so any advice is appreciated :)

“Introducing in-person examination proctoring

We very much appreciate the way that both candidates and their employers have gone to considerable lengths to meet the new requirements for the April exam session. We have, however, received significant and clear feedback that the challenges go above and beyond whether the IFoA’s systems work. There are additional challenges to meeting these requirements including the ability to install software on secure company-owned computers.

We are therefore working to introduce the ability for some candidates to sit the exams with in-person proctoring at suitable locations globally through trusted partners and suppliers. Candidates would continue to take the same online closed book exam at a single set time but there would be no need to install proctoring software as invigilation would be undertaken in-person.

We are currently engaging with potential partners to deliver this in-person option and will make it as widely available as we can. We will communicate further details as soon as they are available.

Delaying exam booking To enable us to put arrangements in place for in-person proctoring, we are postponing the opening of exam booking for the April session from 3 February to 10 February for members and from 10 February to 17 February for non-members. Exam booking will now close for all candidates at 5.00pm GMT on 24 February.”

Basically I’m cold messaging a bunch CEOs/senior actuaries at boutique actuarial firms as it’s my only shot at a summer internship as a first year (my family doesn’t have any non-engineering connections in my home country lol).

Roast my cold message: “Hi ______, I'm a first year BSc Actuarial Science student at LSE and am interested in pursuing a career as an actuary. I was wondering if ______ would be willing to consider me for a summer internship. I have attached my CV for your consideration. Kind regards, (My name)”

Edit: I’d really appreciate some feedback on how to improve my message and come off as less desperate

Has anyone heard about layoffs at Hymans Robertson? Is this happening at other firms as well?

I’m in 2nd year of uni doing maths and stats and done some coding modules but I don’t enjoy coding at all.

Is there any specific role (pricing,reserving,capital modelling etc) or industry (GI, life, pensions) which has no coding or only a little. Or is the actuarial career not for me if I don’t like coding?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially in relation to the UK and Switzerland.

I recently joined a reinsurance company (S&P 500 size), and although I’m an actuary, I never really considered becoming an underwriter. However, from my very first day at the company, it became clear that underwriting is where the money and the most interesting opportunities are. Over the next couple of years, I might explore transitioning into this role, but I’d appreciate insights from the blog on what to expect. Obviously if you have similar info about pricing reserving I’m interested to know more

Some key questions from my perspective: • How much does an underwriter (not an assistant) earn, especially at the beginning? • How do base salary and bonuses work? • What does career progression look like?

From what I’ve seen on LinkedIn, it seems like the minimum requirement is around four years before becoming an underwriter. Is that accurate?

For context, even though I’m a qualified actuary, I’ve never actually worked as one—I’m more on the strategic/corporate/business development side after 4 years in financial services (related to insurance companies)

How is the market for actuaries in Scotland?

I’m currently a student studying BSc Actuarial Science at Heriot-Watt (in Edinburgh). I plan to go into General Insurance, as that interests me the most.

But from what I’ve read here, there aren’t many GI jobs in Scotland, they’re mostly in London and SE England.

I would much rather stay in Scotland than in London. Would it be wiser to go into Pensions or Life Insurance?

I'm planning to appear for SP9 in the April sitting. I did do it earlier in 2023 so there's been some gap. What is the best way to study to pass the exam? Do i need to read the 2 books + CMP and then do papers. And should I get flashcards this time? I did find them useful for SP2, are they worth it for SP9?

I think i struggle with doing past papers during exams until I'm fully sure i know everything which doesn't really happen so keep studying from the books until the very end. This doesn't work for SPs, i realise that now. Anyone who has passed SP9, can you give me a breakdown on how to study and what to focus on?

Hi all,

Would any of you be able to give me a view on compensation to expect with 2 years of treaty reinsurance pricing (GI) and all exams up to fellow passed?

I understand that experience is probably the bigger factor for salary negotiations and I still have a year of PPD to do for fellow qualification. That is why I’m struggling to find a benchmark for this combination but any pointers would be really appreciated to help steer me in the right direction.

Thanks!!

Hi,

Just wanted to ask how people are finding the job market atm? Are you seeing any differences since Covid, post-pandemic (2022)?

Prepping for april attempt for cm1 , had finished till chapter 20 , but haven't started the word typing part yet. Can you guys share some tips regarding the deadlines i should make in my head about the syllabus ? Also considering closed book exam , mathematical typing would be a pain , so any recommendation on how to go about it as in write using equation editor or use notations provided by the ifoa ?

I’m not able to log in. I just get a blank page with a “callback” url.

Tried clearing cookies, etc. No response from their IT support.

Anyone else unable to get in? There’s a spanner in my study day :)

Is using the shortcut key functionality for symbols in Word allowed? For example, I have assigned the pi symbol to 'Alt + P, I'

Which two SP exams should I do with my SA2. I want to work as a life insurance actuary

Hey everyone,

I’m European, based in London, and recently started working in reinsurance. My whole team is in Zurich, but I’m still in London—for now. They’ve asked me to relocate to Zurich in about a year.

I love London, so there’s a personal side to this. But if I’m making the move, I want it to be financially worthwhile.

Right now, I’m on £90k (+ bonus) in London. I’m not expecting a straight 1:1 conversion—I’d want a meaningful bump to make it worth it. Any thoughts on what kind of increase I should be aiming for?

Would love to hear from anyone who’s made a similar move or has insight into salary differences and cost of living!

So, are we allowed to use R in CS1A? It would be much simple using pnorm (x,y,...) instead of using the tables. So just curious if you are able to use those. For the previous years, I think it didn't matter as it was not proctured, but this time, we'll probably be sharing our screens. So, yeah, any idea?

Just got a mail from IFOA that i have been selected for a random audit with the below body: ............ To ensure the standard and accuracy of student’s work experience records, the IFoA conducts regular audits of PPD that have been submitted. You are receiving this email as you have been selected for an audit this month for the records you have submitted.

The result of your audit is that all your submitted PPD records met the required standard and have all been approved. We thank you for your time and commitment to recording your practical work experience.

Supervisor or Line Manager authentication

As part of the audit process, we require confirmation from your line manager or supervisor that 1.) Your PPD records were discussed with them and 2.) they are accurate as stated. Please can you provide us with their name and email contact details, so we can request this confirmation. ...........

Just wondering if anyone here has had a similar experience.

Is anybody working or has worked on emerging risks?

How would you do scenario planning and analysis for various emerging risks and how to assess it’s impact?