IFoA SA4 study guide
IFoA SA4 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
SA4 - Specialist Applications in General Insurance is the final-stage specialist examination in the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) qualification pathway, taken by candidates who have completed the earlier technical and specialist-principles subjects and are moving toward Fellowship with a general insurance focus. It is aimed at actuaries working - or intending to work - in non-life insurance: pricing, reserving, capital modelling, reinsurance, reporting, risk management and consultancy roles across insurers, reinsurers, brokers and regulators. The IFoA SA4 study guide has 9 sections and about 2,708 words.
01General insurance market context, regulation and the operating environment
This domain tests whether you can place a UK general insurer, Lloyd's syndicate or MGA inside its commercial and regulatory setting, and then use that setting to shape an answer on product, capital or governance. Marks come from spotting which regime applies to a decision and stating what the insurer must actually do.
358 words, about 2 min02Product design, pricing and underwriting for general insurance
This domain tests pricing and underwriting technique in a commercial and regulatory frame: how loadings are derived, how they are defended, and where judgement replaces data. Decompose expected loss into frequency and severity, or into loss ratios by homogeneous risk group; choose exposure bases (payroll, turnover, vehicle-years) that respond to risk.
346 words, about 2 min03Claims management, reserving and capital modelling
This domain covers the claim from notification to settlement, the reserving methods that turn claim experience into a liability, and the capital models that put a distribution around it. Reserve components: notified case estimates, IBNR, IBNER and unallocated loss adjustment expenses.
280 words, about 1 min04Reinsurance, risk transfer and capital management
Reinsurance questions test whether you can structure cover, cost it, and explain its capital effect net of credit risk. Proportional: quota share (fixed percentage of premium and claims) and surplus (retains a line as a multiple of the retention).
318 words, about 2 min05Financial reporting, valuation of liabilities and performance analysis
This domain covers how liabilities are valued and how performance is reported - IFRS 17 for published accounts, Solvency UK for regulatory capital, and the ratio analysis that judges whether the book is profitable. IFRS 17 (effective 1 January 2023): groups of contracts; the general model is a best estimate of future cash flows plus a risk adjustment for non-financial risk plus a contractual service margin released over the cover period.
305 words, about 2 min06Enterprise risk management and governance for general insurers
ERM and governance questions ask how the Board knows which risks it has taken, and what happens when the risk profile moves. Risk taxonomy: insurance, market, credit, liquidity, operational, conduct, group, strategic and emerging (including climate and cyber).
276 words, about 1 min07Application of actuarial judgement to complex, unstructured general insurance problems
Unstructured problems are those where the data does not answer the question directly - a new liability, a novel product, a one-off capital decision. The exam tests method and defensible judgement, not a textbook formula.
270 words, about 1 min08Communication of technical results to technical and non-technical audiences
Communication marks test whether a decision-maker can act on your work. The exam asks you to translate models and uncertainty into material a Board, audit committee or regulator can use without being misled.
276 words, about 1 min09Professionalism, ethics and the Actuaries' Code in general insurance practice
Ethics questions are situational: you are given pressure, ambiguity and a plausible reason to stay quiet, and asked what you do as a professional. The IFoA's Actuaries' Code sets five principles: Integrity; Competence and Care; Impartiality; Compliance; and Openness and Transparency.
279 words, about 1 min