IFoA CP1 case studies

IFoA CP1 · Put your knowledge to work in context.

CP1, Actuarial Practice (Core Principles), is one of the two practice-focused examinations in the IFoA qualification pathway, sitting alongside CP2 (Modelling Practice). It is written for candidates who already have the technical foundations from the Core Technical subjects and now need to apply them the way a working actuary does: framing a problem, choosing assumptions, building a model, interpreting output, and explaining a recommendation to a non-technical audience. The IFoA CP1 case studies are 5 cases and about 3,696 words.

Reserve release, board pressure and a signing actuary

You are the newly appointed signing actuary for a UK life insurer with £3.2bn of technical provisions. The CFO wants to release £45m by changing two assumptions: mortality improvement from 1.5% to 0.75% a year, and expense inflation from 4.0% to 2.5% a year.

807 words, about 4 min 2

Launching a cyber portfolio with thin data

You are the chief actuary of a UK general insurer with £400m of gross written premium, mainly motor and property. The board wants to enter UK commercial cyber insurance, targeting £50m of premium in year one through 40 brokers, at an average premium of £15,000.

744 words, about 4 min 3

ORSA stress, management actions and regulatory sign-off

You are the actuarial function holder at a UK life insurer with £2.5bn of assets and a Solvency Capital Requirement coverage ratio of 145%. The ORSA combined stress is a 1-in-200 event: a 40% fall in equity values, a 150bp rise in interest rates, a 25% increase in lapses, a 20% increase in mortality, and a 30% fall in new business.

735 words, about 4 min 4

Model migration, a 12-point loss ratio gap and a pricing decision

You are a senior actuary at a UK private medical insurer. The pricing team is replacing a 12-year-old claims model with a new platform.

712 words, about 4 min 5

DB scheme buy-in, sponsor covenant and member security

You are the scheme actuary to a UK defined benefit scheme with £600m of liabilities and £510m of assets. There are 4,200 members, of whom 60% are pensioners.

698 words, about 3 min