Kimberly Luu

Actuarial Science Club

13 October 2021
CAS vs SOA
Although both SOA and CAS are actuarial organizations, they each specialize in distinct
types of industries. SOA, the Society of Actuaries, focuses on life insurance, whereas CAS,
Casualty of Actuaries, focuses on casualty and property insurance. Before choosing between the
CAS and SOA exam paths, a set of preliminary actuarial exams are to be completed: Exam P
(Probability), Exam FM (Financial Mathematics), and Exam IFM (Investment and Financial
Markets). These exams are required for both paths; however, Exam IFM is no longer available
after January 2022. In addition to these exams, aspiring actuaries need to complete certain VEEs
(Validation by Educational Experience). The Accounting & Finance VEE and the Economics
VEE are the two common ones required for both the SOA and CAS path. To receive credit for
them, a grade of B minus or higher needs to be earned for their respective courses when taken in
college.
Commonly, all insurance industries deal with consulting and matching clients with
coverage programs depending on individual needs. However, they can also be different when
considering their responsibilities and work. In life insurance companies, employees work with
investments, estate planning, family contribution, and business continuation. In health insurance
companies, workers help ensure clients Medicare and Long-Term Care depending on their health
requirements. Typically, you would find products relating to physical health when looking at life
and health insurance companies. Some companies that specialize in the life and health industry
include Erie Insurance, Penn Mutual, Cigna, and Prudential. On the other hand, property and
casualty industries deal with covering their clients’ assets such as homes, businesses, and
vehicles. They also cover liability issues that protect their clients against lawsuits. Erie Insurance
can also be used as an example for a company that works in the casualty and property insurance
industry as well. Other examples include State Farm Insurance, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual.
From an actuarial perspective, these two industries (life/health and property/casualty) are
different depending on where your interests lie and which exam paths you wish to pursue.
Through SOA, there are multiple exam paths whereas CAS only has one set one for their
employees. When considering which path to pursue, it is also important to know what you are
more interested in. When choosing to take the SOA path, you would find yourself dealing with
life insurance, retirement, and health insurance. You would also choose this path if you had more
of an inclination towards life contingencies versus statistics – which is where CAS specializes.
CAS also deals with all sorts of insurance from homes to vehicles to any sort of personal
property. I am more of a math and statistics heavy person so I would lean towards the CAS route.
However, I am still a first-year student and have yet to gain any real-life experience, so I cannot
decide just yet.