Exams by IFOA

Actuarial Science is becoming popular among students. In simple terms, Actuarial Science, in simple terms is the study of evaluating risks and keeping the economic stability firm. It is a very interesting and in-demand course. The job opportunities falling in the lap of students studying Actuarial Science is vast. In countries outside India, Actuaries are paid on a per-day basis. it is growing in India and has immense scope. To know more about Actuarial science, you need to know the details of exams by IFOA. If this field is of interest to you and you want to know the head to tail details of exams by IFOA, then read on! 

How to Start a Career in Actuarial Science?

If you love numbers and have a passion for statistics and probability, Actuarial Science can prove to be a good career opportunity for you. The first step to your career in Actuarial Science is getting the membership of either IAI (Institute of Actuaries of India) or IFOA (Institute and Faculty of Actuarial Science).

Both institutes have the same curriculum and you can apply to either of them,

• For IAI you will have to clear an entrance test called ACET
• For IFOA, you have two options –

1. You can get a direct membership if you have 85+ in Mathematics in your Class 12 board examinations.
2. You can sit for either CS1 or CM1 as a non-member and if you clear the exams, you will get the membership.

Once you have the membership of either of the two institutes, you can start giving your papers.

Note: You can get the membership for both the institutes and give papers from either.  For example, if you clear an exam by IFOA in one paper, you will get an exemption for that paper from the other institute.

Note: There are other institutes for Actuarial Science as well, but these are the most popular amongst Indian students.

IFOA Exams 2023

The entire course for exams by IFOA is divided into different papers. Each paper is based on a different subject of the course. There was a change in the curriculum in the year 2019, so if you are appearing for an exam by IFOA, keep these points in mind –

• The total number of papers were reduced to 13.
• Four of the papers were merged into two – CT1 and CT5 were merged as CM1, CT4 and CT6 were merged as CS2.
• There were some minor and major changes in the syllabus of different papers.
• The names of the Core Technical subjects were changed.
• The question paper was changed, now the question paper consists of two parts –

1. A theory paper (A) which will be a 100-mark paper and has a weightage of 70%.
2.  A practical paper (B) which will be a 100-mark paper and has a weightage of 30%

The total score will be calculated on an aggregate basis and the candidate has to score more than the aggregate passing mark. For further details on the curriculum changes regarding the exams by IFOA, students can visit the IFOA official website.

Order of Exams

There is no set order to give the exams by IFOA. It depends on the student which exam they wish to sit for first. However, students need knowledge of some exams to sit for later exams, for example: Students need the knowledge of CS2 in order to give CM2. Generally, students start with either CS1 or CM1 for two reasons –

• Firstly, students can sit for these papers as a non-member.
• Secondly, these papers cover the fundamental basics of the subject so it will help students get a deeper understanding of the subject.

Exams Amidst the Pandemic

2020 hasn’t been a great year but IFOA made sure that it would not affect your studies and your career. An online provision was made to take exams by IOFA in the term of April and September 2020. The April 2020 term didn’t have all the exams as there wasn’t enough time to prepare. However, the September 2020 term had all the exams in the online format.

The format of the question paper was adjusted so that students could attempt the entire paper. Questions were changed to make it fair for the students. Considering the current situation of the pandemic, it is likely that the next examination in April 2021 will also be held online.

IFOA Exam List

The following is the list of exams by IFOA:

Core Technical Stage
CT1 – Financial Mathematics
CT2 – Finance and Financial Reporting
CT3 – Probability and Mathematical Statistics
CT4 – Models
CT5 – Life Contingencies
CT6 – Statistical Models
CT7 – Business Economics
CT8 – Financial Economics
CT9 – Business Awareness

Core Applications Stage
CA1 – Actuarial Risk Management
CA2 – Model Documentation, Analysis and Reporting
CP3 – Communication Practice

Specialist Technical Stage
ST1 – Health and Care Specialist Technical
ST2 – Life Insurance Specialist Technical
ST3 – General Insurance Specialist Technical
ST4 – Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Technical
ST5 – Finance and Investment Specialist Technical A
ST6 – Finance and Investment Specialist Technical B
ST7 – General Insurance – Reserving and Capital Modelling Specialist Technical
ST8 – General Insurance – Pricing Specialist Technical
ST9 – Enterprise Risk Management Specialist Technical

Specialist Applications Stage
SA0 – Research Dissertation Specialist Applications
SA1 – Health and Care Specialist Applications
SA2 – Life Insurance Specialist Applications
SA3 – General Insurance Specialist Applications
SA4 – Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Applications
SA5 – Finance Specialist Applications
SA6 – Investment Specialist Applications

UK Practice Modules
P0 – Generic UK Practice Half Module
P1 – Health and Care
P2 – Life Insurance
P3 – General Insurance
P4 – Pensions
P5 – Finance
P6 – Investment

IFOA Exam Syllabus

The following are the topics included in the syllabus of IFOA Exams:

• Actuarial Mathematics
• Actuarial Statistics
• Actuarial Practice
• Business
• Communication Practice
• Enterprise and Risk Management
• General Insurance
• Health and Care
• Investment and Finance
• Life Insurance
• Modelling Practice

IFOA Exam Dates

The following are the exam entry opening dates:

Category	Date
IFOA members	Monday 10 July 2023
Non-members	Monday 17 July 2023

Exam entry will close on Friday 28 July at 17:00 UK time.

IFOA Exam Results

You can download your results after logging into “My Account” on the IFOA official website:

Category	Date
CS, CM, and CB subjects	Tuesday 5 December 2023
All other subjects	Thursday 7 December 2023

IFOA has a page dedicated to FAQs related to their online examinations making it easier for students to get answers to all their questions. We hope that this blog answered your queries and doubts relating to exams by IFOA. If you still have a few questions, feel free to speak to our experts at Leverage Edu. Sign up for a free session with us today!