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I remember well the presenter at an insurance conference that I attended more than 10 years ago. He told a dramatic story of being in a car full of children while pulling up to a drive-thru for some food. The clamor from the back of the vehicle with shouts of what each of them wanted was too much for him to handle. He barked at the order-taker, "I want $20 worth of food." The voice on the other end of the speaker tried to clarify, but he simply repeated his demand for $20 worth of food.
For those of you employed by insurance companies offering personal lines products, you probably have the opportunity to buy insurance from your own company. When I started working, my initial thought was, “Of course I’m going to buy insurance from the company I work for. I’m going to take advantage of the employee discount!” If offered, an employee discount can be a significant reason to purchase insurance from your company, but there are other considerations when making this decision.
I know, it’s not a question that crosses the minds of many people. It’s probably not a question that crosses the minds of even actuaries. It should, though.
One of the unique aspects to the actuarial career-field is the extensive involvement of recruiters specific to the industry. Many candidates are aware of the various recruiting firms playing in this arena. How do you know if using a recruiter would be helpful when looking for a new opportunity? The goal of this article is to provide some insights to consider when trying to decide if using a recruiter is best.
At long last, the email just arrived. You were granted an interview for that awesome job you applied for recently. Next week is your opportunity. What next? How do you prepare? How can you put yourself in the best position for success?
As predictive analytics has become more common within the insurance industry, actuaries and data scientists are often getting involved in predictive modeling projects outside of traditional pricing and reserving applications. Involvement in these projects can expand an actuary’s knowledge of the business and challenge them to address new problems. One area where actuaries have historically been consulted is in underwriting.
A common question asked by candidates searching for their first actuarial job is, “Should I work for a consulting firm or a traditional insurance carrier?” In Future Fellows December 2008 & March 2009, we addressed several myths about the similarities and differences of consulting firms vs. insurance carriers from the points of view of long-term actuaries. For this article, we decided to interview people at an earlier point in their careers: candidates.
You may have heard the word "blockchain" for a few years now. It entered the lexicon within the past 10 years and has bubbled to the surface of reporting and financial website conversations on an almost daily basis. But what is a blockchain? In the most basic terms possible, it is a "distributed ledger." The concept of "distributed" relates to the definition "dispersed over a large area." In a blockchain, a network of computers maintains and secures the database, and each participant, or "node," stores a copy of the blockchain records.
Actuaries have been using data science techniques for years. While the statistical methods are not new, there is now exponentially more computing power available. New technologies come with new risks. Thankfully, the theoretical concepts tested in actuarial exams have also prepared you to navigate the following data science pitfalls.
For CAS candidates taking the at times seemingly endless journey through the exams, there is fortunately no shortage of assistance. Textbooks, commercial study guides, practice questions and exams, and Examiner's Reports all help candidates master the material they need to reach the FCAS designation. But there is one resource that you don't often hear from – exam writers. Although you rarely communicate with them directly, there's an army of volunteers who work year-round to create your exams.
As you have hopefully seen in other articles included in this issue of Future Fellows, the CAS Candidate Liaison Committee (CLC) is in the process of revitalizing our efforts to reach candidates and relay candidate feedback. In addition to the new annual candidate survey, which is discussed in another article, we have also begun a series of Hot Topics Surveys that are designed to focus on single topics affecting the candidate community. They are shorter than the annual survey, with the aim to give the CLC a quick “pulse reading” on candidates’ viewpoints.
In July the Candidate Liaison Committee (CLC) conducted its first-ever survey of all candidates. We wanted to get a better understanding of the current candidate pool (you) and the varied opinions that candidates have. You guys definitely delivered — we received about 700 responses! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their opinions with us.
We’ll address common themes over future articles, but we wanted to share some highlights from the candidate responses before doing any deep dives.
Every spring and fall, actuarial candidates wrap up an arduous journey when they put their best foot forward in hopes of passing an exam. While everyone wants to pass, there are many who end up failing during any particular sitting. I know I have been on the receiving end of a failing score more times than I would like!
Exam day is over and for CAS candidates, eight weeks of waiting begins (actually seven weeks for the last exam sitting). Some candidates breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their hours of studying probably paid off. Others feel a sense of dread towards results day and do their best to put it out of their minds. But what actually happens behind the scenes between the day of the exam and the day that the list of passing candidate numbers is released?
An often overlooked aspect of the actuarial exams is the exam site. It is given consideration when you are registering for the exam, and then it becomes completely secondary to learning your exam materials and working problems until a couple of days before the exam. At that point it enters the picture again; you start to plan out your route to the location and go shopping for some new ear plugs.
If you've paid much attention to how exams are graded, you've probably seen the term minimum qualified candidate (MQC). Future Fellows wanted to know, what does the CAS really expect of the MQC on an exam? To that end, we interviewed the general officer of grading and pass mark panel within the Syllabus and Exam Committee. All quotes are attributed to that officer.
Editor's Note: Only committee members' titles will be used in this article in order to preserve anonymity.
One of the things I like most about the actuarial profession is how collegial it is. Actuaries study together and try to help each other, and I like to think that that's partially because of the exam process. Since exams aren't graded on a curve, we know it doesn't hurt us if our colleagues do well on an exam (and it doesn't help us if they do poorly, either). The only person we really have to beat on an exam is the Minimally Qualified Candidate.
Which exam you should take and when can be a big decision to make. Because the CAS exams are numbered, it might at first glance seem like you have to take them in order and as fast as you can (see the CAS infographic for an example). While in general it's to your advantage to get through exams quickly, the order of the exams you take and even whether to take an exam at all during a given sitting can depend on many different factors. Every candidate's mental calculus will be different, and two actuaries given the same set of circumstances may make different choices.
Occasionally, you get a small folded yellow and white packet from the CAS with a few articles called Future Fellows. Sometimes you poke through and find something interesting to read (like this article, obviously); other times you may not even unfold that packet and it lays around for six months until you spill your coffee on it and toss it.
The Candidate Liaison Committee (CLC) mission included in our quarterly Future Fellows publication states, “The committee should advise the CAS and its committees of the interests of the candidates regarding matters that come before the CAS and its committees.” As currently written, our mission does not call out the work we do to collect a broad range of feedback from candidates sitting for CAS examinations.
The CAS Syllabus and Examination Committee has released the syllabi for two new exams that will be offered as part of the CAS’s revised credentialing requirements in 2018. The new exams, Modern Actuarial Statistics I and II (MAS-I and MAS-II), will address the emerging needs of future actuaries and their employers. The syllabi, which are now available on the CAS website, outline the learning objectives, knowledge statements, and readings that will be covered by the exams.
The moment I step out of the exam hall after finishing an exam, I usually feel a mixture of emotions — relief, now that I don't have to worry about exams, and happiness, now that I have some time to do anything other than study. But in addition to those feelings, at times I feel a sense of uncertainty about some of my answers. I'm sure many people would relate to this feeling as well.
Future administrations of TBE have been deferred based on findings of the TBE Investigation Task Force.
After months of anticipation and preparation, the CAS administered its first Technology-Based Exam (TBE) this May. To both the CAS's and candidates' dismay, it did not go as planned. What happened and what does it mean for the future of TBE? I talked to three candidates who took the exam, Chloe Marshinski, Lee Drinkwater, and Dan Richard, and the current CAS Vice President of Admissions Jeanne Crowell to find out.
It is a candidate’s worst nightmare. You walk out of the exam feeling uncertain about your performance. After the blackout period, you begin to discuss your answers with friends and colleagues. You realize that, on one particular high point-value question, everyone else has used a different approach and gotten a very different answer. Scores are released; your “5” is a disappointment, but you have to admit it is not a total surprise. You pore over the results of the Examiner’s Report as soon as it is released.
