FCIP F560 study plan
FCIP F560 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Financial Statements, Accounting, and Reporting & Ratemaking, Loss Reserving, and Actuarial Concepts
Map the three statutory financial statements and articulate how an underwriting result flows from the income statement to policyholders' surplus
Explain the difference between statutory and GAAP accounting for a property-casualty insurer, including nonadmitted assets and the NAIC Annual Statement structure
Compute loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, and operating ratio from a hypothetical set of underwriting figures and interpret each result
Distinguish the four standard loss reserve components (case, IBNR, development, bulk) and identify which claim facts drive each one
Your checkpoint
A one-page ratio worksheet showing a worked combined-ratio calculation with a written interpretation of what a 108% combined ratio signals about underwriting profitability and reserve adequacy
Ratemaking, Loss Reserving, and Actuarial Concepts & Underwriting and Risk Selection
Describe the loss development triangle method and explain how a selected development factor produces an ultimate loss estimate
Differentiate frequency and severity trends and explain how each affects rate adequacy
Outline the basic ratemaking steps from loss cost projection through expense loading to a filed rate
Explain how underwriting selection criteria and tiering interact with the rate manual to segment risk
Your checkpoint
A completed development-factor exercise: given three years of cumulative paid losses, calculate age-to-age factors and a projected ultimate loss for the oldest year, with assumptions documented
Underwriting and Risk Selection & Claims Handling and Loss Adjustment
Build a risk-selection checklist covering exposure, hazard, morale, and moral risk factors for a commercial property account
Apply underwriting authority limits and explain when a submission must be referred to a senior underwriter or home office
Sequence the claim handling lifecycle from first notice of loss through subrogation and closure, naming the decision point at each stage
Explain how coverage determination, reservation of rights, and denial letters differ and when each is appropriate
Identify common loss-adjustment valuation methods for property (replacement cost, actual cash value) and liability (special versus general damages)
Your checkpoint
A written mock claim file summary for a water-damage loss that documents coverage analysis, reserve setting rationale, and next steps within a stated authority level
Reinsurance and Risk Transfer & Enterprise Risk Management and Capital Management
Distinguish treaty from facultative reinsurance and pro-rata from excess-of-loss structures, with a use case for each
Explain how ceded reinsurance affects net retention, surplus, and the combined ratio on both statutory and GAAP bases
Identify the main categories of enterprise risk (strategic, operational, financial, insurance, regulatory) and give an insurer-specific example of each
Describe how risk appetite statements translate into underwriting and investment limits
Explain the role of capital adequacy in supporting growth and absorbing catastrophe volatility
Your checkpoint
A reinsurance decision memo recommending either quota share or excess-of-loss for a growing book, with the surplus and combined-ratio impact of each option quantified
Insurance Operations and Organizational Structure & Insurance Regulation and Compliance
Diagram the core functions of an insurer (underwriting, claims, actuarial, finance, distribution, compliance) and describe the information flow between them
Compare the governance and operating differences among a stock insurer, mutual insurer, and reciprocal or Lloyd's-style market
Outline the state-based regulatory framework, including the roles of the NAIC, state insurance departments, and the model-law adoption process
Explain market-conduct examination, financial examination, and rate-filing review as distinct regulatory activities
Identify key producer licensing and unfair trade practice compliance obligations
Your checkpoint
An organizational and regulatory crosswalk table that maps each core function to the primary regulator touchpoint and the internal control that satisfies it
Insurance Regulation and Compliance & Strategic Management, Leadership, and Ethics
Apply a structured ethical decision framework to two scenarios: one involving a questionable claim denial and one involving a pressured reserve reduction
Explain how a code of conduct, whistleblower channel, and conflict-of-interest policy reinforce an ethical culture
Analyze how leadership style and incentive compensation design influence underwriting discipline and claims behavior
Describe the strategic planning cycle and how SWOT or scenario analysis feeds capital and growth decisions
Explain the board's role in risk oversight and how it interacts with management's delegated authority
Your checkpoint
A 400-word ethics case analysis of the pressured-reserve scenario that names the stakeholders, the applicable duties, the recommended action, and the escalation path
Enterprise Risk Management and Capital Management & Financial Statements, Accounting, and Reporting
Assemble an ERM register for a mid-size regional insurer with at least ten risks scored on likelihood and impact
Explain how economic capital differs from regulatory capital and why both matter to a rating agency
Trace how a catastrophe loss event flows through reinsurance recoverables, reserves, and surplus on the statutory balance sheet
Interpret key solvency and leverage metrics such as premium-to-surplus and reserve-to-surplus ratios
Identify the disclosure and reporting obligations that follow a material adverse loss development event
Your checkpoint
A ten-item ERM risk register with likelihood, impact, mitigation owner, and residual rating, plus a short narrative on the top two risks
Insurance Operations and Organizational Structure & Underwriting and Risk Selection & Claims Handling and Loss Adjustment & Reinsurance and Risk Transfer & Financial Statements, Accounting, and Reporting & Ratemaking, Loss Reserving, and Actuarial Concepts & Insurance Regulation and Compliance & Strategic Management, Leadership, and Ethics & Enterprise Risk Management and Capital Management
Synthesize all nine domains into a single concept map linking underwriting, claims, reserving, reinsurance, and capital
Complete a timed 100-question practice set and score at least 75% overall with no domain below 60%
Re-teach the three weakest domains from memory in short written summaries
Build a one-page formula and definition sheet for ratios, reserving terms, and reinsurance structures to review in the final days
Your checkpoint
A scored practice exam report with a per-domain breakdown and a prioritized remediation list for the final review days
Milestones
Week 2: Can compute a combined ratio and a projected ultimate loss from raw figures without notes, and explain each step aloud in under ten minutes
Week 4: Scores at least 70% on a 40-question mixed set covering financial reporting, reserving, underwriting, claims, and reinsurance
Week 6: Scores at least 72% on a 50-question mixed set and can articulate the regulatory rationale behind two compliance requirements without reference material
Week 8: Scores at least 75% on the full timed practice exam with every domain at or above 60%, and the formula sheet is complete and self-explanatory