Pakistan Society of Actuaries

About

FAQs

  1. What is the benefit of PSoA membership?
  • PSoA conducts informational seminars with topics regarding current trends in the actuarial market. These seminars not only provide valuable information to employed and prospective actuaries as to the work actuaries are currently involved in, but also an opportunity for actuaries to socialize with each other and expand their connections. These seminars can also be used to fulfil CPD requirements for members of various international actuarial societies. Such seminars may be offered at concessionary fee levels for eligible PSoA members.
  1. What is the Subscription Fee of PSoA?
  • For local members:
    • Fellow: Rs 25,000
    • Associate: Rs 10,000
    • Student: Rs 2,500
  • For international members:
    • Fellow: Rs 10,000
    • Associate: Rs 5,000
    • Student: Rs 2,000
  1. What happens if I don’t pay my fees on time?
  • The period of membership is from July-June every year. There are no late fees applicable for the month of July, 20% if applied for the month of August and membership will be suspended from September.
  1. Does PSoA conduct any examinations?
  • No, the Pakistan Society of Actuaries does not conduct any actuarial examinations
  1. Which examinations do I need to be qualified as an actuary?
  • More information about the examinations required to become an actuary can be found here
  1. How do potential actuaries decide which type of actuarial work to pursue?
  • Actuaries can move into various fields, from traditional fields of work like life insurance to non-traditional like investment. The area of work for an actuary depends on the preference on the type of work an actuary would prefer.
  1. In which industries are most actuaries working in Pakistan?
  • Life Insurance and Actuarial Consultancy are the main areas of work for actuaries in Pakistan. More information about companies from various fields who employ actuaries can be found here.
  1. Which are the emerging fields for actuarial employment?
  • Investment management firms and risk departments of banks are emerging fields for actuarial employment.
  1. How much time does it takes on average to qualify?
  • On average it takes 8 years to qualify, but the range can vary often.
  1. What does an actuary do?
  • Information on what an actuary does and his/her role in a company can be found here.
  1. What skills are required to become an actuary?
  • Strong mathematical knowledge, analytical skills, computer skills and a business sense are the major skills that actuaries are expected to have if they are become fully qualified and successful actuaries.
  1. What courses should I take in college if I aim to become an actuary and am not pursuing an actuarial science major?
  • Any course whose core involves mathematics would be recommended as passing actuarial exams tests is strongly reliant on the exam taker’s mathematical knowledge. Statistical programing courses would also be recommended as they are used in traditional actuarial work.
  1. Does it help to have a graduate degree?
  • While this may be helpful, this is not the only route to becoming a successful actuary. Most actuaries do no pursue a graduate degree specializing in actuarial science.
  1. Can I become an actuary without pursuing a degree?
  • This has traditionally been the trend in Pakistan for potential actuaries. Potential and current employers prefer that a degree of recognized quality be completed in actuarial science or a related mathematical program in order to be hired and begin your actuarial career.
  1. Do you have to take preliminary exams in a particular order? Or can you take the preliminary exams in any order?
  • Exams can be taken in any order. However, exams can be reliant on knowledge gained from others so it is recommended to research on the subject matter of the preliminary exams before attempting them.

Who is an actuary?

An actuary is a business professional who analyzes the consequences of risk. Actuaries use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to study uncertain future events. Actuaries may work for insurance companies, consulting firms, banks and investment firms, or, more generally, in businesses that need to manage financial risk. A career as an Actuary is better described as a "business" career with a mathematical basis than as a "technical" mathematical career.

Actuaries are an important part of the management team of the companies that employ them. Their work requires a combination of strong analytical skills, business knowledge and understanding of human behavior to design and manage programs that control risk.

How to become an actuary?

In order to become a qualified actuary, actuarial students need to pass examinations conducted by actuarial certification boards. These certification boards are based in many countries throughout the world.

There are two stages of qualification for an actuary, the first stage is an Associateship qualification while Fellowship qualification is the full qualification. The examinations for achieving the qualification require not only extensive mathematical prowess but also, for the Fellowship examinations, knowledge of the industry. 

A Fellow of an actuarial certification board is therefore someone who not only possesses the technical skills required to complete tasks involved in the actuarial field but also has a wide knowledge of the actuarial field of industry.

More information about the actuarial examinations can be found here.

Actuarial exams:

Actuarial exams are conducted by various actuarial organizations around the world. These organizations can be found based in countries from Australia and United States of America to Mexico and India, thus illustrating the wide scope of the Actuarial profession.

Some actuarial organizations whose exams are widely recognized include:

Society of Actuaries (USA):  https://soa.org/

Faculty and Institute of Actuaries (UK): http://www.actuaries.org.uk/

Casualty Actuarial Society (USA): http://www.casualtyactuarialsociety.org/

Institute of Actuaries of Australia (AUS): https://www.actuaries.asn.au/

The structure of the requirements for gaining qualification through these organizations usually involves a mixture of examinations, seminars, work experience, projects and presentations. Requirements are broken into requirements for Associateship and then Fellowship.

Examinations for Associateship usually involve a wide range of beginner topics from various actuarial industries such as investment, life insurance, pension and general insurance. Further requirements for Fellowship involve examinations and presentations focused on a specific field of work for actuaries. People pursuing the Fellowship will have a choice which field of actuarial study to focus on for their Fellowship.

For certain cases, examinations from one organization may be used for exemptions from another organization’s exams.

 

Actuarial Employers:

ACTUARIAL CONSULTANCIES

  • Akhtar & Hasan (Pvt) Ltd
  • Alchemy Associates (Pvt) Ltd
  • Nauman Associates (Pvt)Ltd
  • Shibli Islam Rehan & Co
  • Sidat Hyder Morshed Associates (Pvt) Ltd
  • Zahid & Zahid (Pvt) Ltd

LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES

  • Adamjee Life
  • IGI Life
  • East West Life Assurance Company Limited
  • EFU Life Assurance Limited
  • Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited
  • State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan

TAKAFUL COMPANIES

  • Dawood Family Takaful Ltd
  • Pak-Qatar Family and General Takaful

HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES

  • Asia Care
  • Allianz EFU

GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANIES

  • EFU General Insurance Limited
  • IGI Insurance
  • Jubilee Insurance Company Limited
  • Pakistan General Insurance

REGULATOR

  • Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)

And many other organizations such as fund managements companies, banks etc.