Institute of Actuaries

The Institute of Actuaries was one of the two professional bodies which represented actuaries in the United Kingdom. The Institute was based in England, while the other body, the Faculty of Actuaries, was based in Scotland. While the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries were separate institutions, they worked very closely together, and their professional qualifications and actuarial standards were identical. On 25 May 2010, voting members of the Institute who took part in a ballot voted to merge the Institute with the Faculty, thus creating the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, which came into being on 1 August 2010. The Institute of Actuaries ceased to exist on that date.

Establishment of the Institute of Actuaries

The actuaries of a number of life assurance companies established the Institute of Actuaries in London on the 8th of July 1848. The Institute of Actuaries was the oldest actuarial professional body in the world.

In July 1884, the Institute of Actuaries was granted a Royal Charter. The Royal Charter confirmed the Institute's role and the right to confer qualifications, i.e. the Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA). Since then there has been an underpinning concept of professional behaviour and the implicit right, or even duty, to discipline members who did not conduct themselves appropriately.

Examinations

An actuarial qualification from the Institute of Actuaries consisted of a combination of the completion of various examinations and courses. The examinations were split into four sections: Core Technical (CT), Core Applications (CA), Specialist Technical (ST), and Specialist Applications (SA). Study material for the examinations is usually obtained through the official bookshop of the Institute of Actuaries [1] or through The Actuarial Education Company (ActEd),[2] a subsidiary of BPP Actuarial Education Ltd.

In addition to examinations and courses, it was required that the candidate both complete at least three years work as an actuary and be at least 23 years of age, for one to qualify as a “Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries” (FIA) [3]

Core Examinations

The Core Technical section consisted of the 8 exams and a “Business Awareness Module,” CT9. These were usually first sat by a candidate and included the underlying mathematics involved in actuarial work as well as an introduction to financial and economic issues. These were also the most common exams for which candidates may get exemptions. While these were the first exams, candidates coming from a less mathematical background often find these more difficult than the later ones due to the mathematical theory content. Topics covered include annuities, stochastic modelling, time series, and economics.

The Core Applications section consisted of two exams and a modeling course, CA2, that focus on the application of concepts learned, especially to insurance companies. This included the communications model, CA3, which tested the candidate on their ability to communicate complex actuarial concepts to others.

Specialist Examinations

The Specialist Technical section represented the first time the candidate had a choice of which exams to take. The candidate chose two from the various actuarial specialist subjects i.e. Health and Care, Life Insurance, General Insurance, Pensions, Finance or Investments and further technical knowledge on said subjects is attained.

The Specialist Applications section allowed the candidate to choose one area for which they take the SA paper and attain full Fellowship; leading to many referring to this as the “Fellowship paper.” However, as the rules on the ordering of examinations were relaxed, this examination may be taken before taking some earlier examinations resulting in candidates qualifying on other papers.

List of Examinations

The following list will be replaced by a new curriculum structure from 31 December 2018.

Core Technical Stage

Core Applications Stage

Specialist Technical Stage

Specialist Applications Stage

UK Practice Modules

For students working in the UK only

University-based examinations

A student may choose to complete an accredited actuarial science degree at an undergraduate or at a postgraduate level through a number of recognised universities. Successful students may offer proof of having covered the topics whilst at university and students may be granted exemptions from certain professional examinations from the Institute of Actuaries.

Depending on the University, a different number of courses may be recognised for exemption. The examinations and the exemption pass level for the examinations is usually externalised by members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Naturally, the quality of the courses and lecturing at these universities are a determinant as to whether the course is recognised by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Most universities offering actuarial science courses also require the student in addition to complete various other related topics, including statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics, economics and accounting for recognition of an actuarial degree.

Upon completion of the university degree, students would then complete all remaining examinations through the Institute of Actuaries to qualify as an actuary and become a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries(FIA).

Membership Categories

In total there were approximately 15700 members of the Institute of Actuaries falling into the following categories. [4]

Presidents of the Institute of Actuaries

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Bookshop, The Official Actuarial Bookshop Archived October 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ ActEd The Actuarial Education Company
  3. ↑ Becoming a student, Actuarial Profession, Faculty and Institute of Actuaries, 2006-06-11 Archived June 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Membership data, Actuarial Profession, Faculty and Institute of Actuaries Archived June 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
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