Exam Program Guidance
Exam Program Guidance
Our expert insurance and actuarial team have used their market knowledge and client feedback to create the following exam program guidance. The following table shows the average base salary increase allocated to actuarial employees for obtaining their designation.
Candidate Sentiments Across Life, Health, and P&C:
As exam programs are often kept confidential until late stages of the interview process, candidates are typically interested to understand the following:
- Compensation increases of base raises versus one-time bonus payouts.
- Candidates typically are more interested in base raises than one-time bonuses.
- The number of study hours per exam, size of the base salary increase for passing an exam and passing bonus for second and third attempt.
- Whether companies still reward candidates for passing on their second or third attempt.
Selby Jennings has helped many clients create or redesign their exam programs. Please contact the team for further information.
Life & Annuity Exam Program Trends
STUDY HOURS
- Most student programs offer between 90-105 study hours for the first attempt of both ASA and FSA exams.
- Some companies have study hours allocated similarly across each exam, while others have hours as high as 110 and as low as 60 hours for the first attempt depending on the exam.
- Most study hours significantly decrease for the second and third attempt, with some as high as 100 and as low as 10 hours depending on the exam.
- Typically, there are 1-2 exams in each program with a greater allowance of study hours (sometimes up to 175 for the certain Fellowship exams). The exams for which these extra hours are allocated are not the same across companies.
COMPENSATION BENEFITS
Most companies give a salary raise for candidates who pass an exam, and some offer an additional bonus for passing on the first attempt.
Note: At most companies, not all modules are eligible for both salary and one-time bonus raises. This structure of exams eligible for compensation increases or first time bonus passes is highly dependent on the company.
Health Exam Program Trends
STUDY HOURS
- Most student programs offer between 65-150 study hours per exam for the first attempt, depending on the exam (both ASA and FSA).
- 90 hours is the average, and there are typically only 1-2 exams in each program that are on the higher end of those study hours.
- Most study hours decrease by about 25% for the second attempt across all exams, and another 25% for the third attempt.
COMPENSATION BENEFITS
Most companies give a salary raise for candidates who pass an exam, and some offer an additional bonus for passing on the first attempt.
Note: At most companies, not all modules are eligible for both salary and one-time bonus raises. This structure of exams eligible for compensation increases or first time bonus passes is highly dependent on the company.
Property & Casualty Exam Program Trends
STUDY HOURS
- Most programs offer between 90 and 120 study hours for the first attempt for all CAS exams.
- Some companies offer as low as 60 hours, but very few are higher than 120 hours.
- For second attempts, some companies offer almost the same amount of study hours as they do for the first attempt (usually between 60-100), while others offer about 50% of the hours as for the first attempt.
- For third attempts, most companies offer between 50-60 hours, some being as high as 70 and as low as 30.
COMPENSATION BENEFITS
Most companies give a salary raise for candidates who pass an exam, and some offer an additional bonus for passing on the first attempt.
Some companies offer as low as $900 for the earlier exams and as high as $3,700 for Exams 8 & 9 depending on the company. Note: At most companies, not all modules are eligible for both salary and one-time bonus raises. This structure of exams eligible for compensation increases or first time bonus passes is highly dependent on the company.
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