IFoA SP1 study guide
IFoA SP1 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
SP1 (Specialist Principles 1) is a Specialist Principles examination within the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) qualification pathway, taken by candidates who have completed the Core Principles and Core Practice stages and are moving into specialist practice. It is aimed at trainee and qualified actuaries who need a broad, applied understanding of how actuarial techniques are used across the main practice areas rather than deep expertise in a single one. The IFoA SP1 study guide has 5 sections and about 1,883 words.
01Health and Care
Health and Care tests whether you can turn morbidity risk - the chance of falling ill, staying ill and recovering - into priced products, reserves and capital. The domain spans private medical insurance (PMI), income protection (IP), critical illness (CI), long-term care, and the state/NHS financing backdrop.
427 words, about 2 min02Life Insurance
Life Insurance tests mortality and longevity risk end to end: product design, underwriting, pricing, reserving, capital and fair treatment of policyholders. The UK market is dominated by term assurance, whole life, unit-linked bonds, with-profits and annuities, so you must move fluently between a benefit illustration, a reserve and a Solvency UK balance sheet.
378 words, about 2 min03General Insurance
General Insurance tests the short-tail and long-tail mechanics of non-life risk: pricing, reserving, reinsurance, capital and the UK regulatory framework. Expect numbers - development factors, burning costs, loss ratios, and the effect of the Ogden discount rate on bodily injury claims.
356 words, about 2 min04Investments and Finance
Investments and Finance tests whether you can build and monitor an asset portfolio that meets liabilities, quantify its risks, and explain the governance around it. Questions mix portfolio theory with practical UK constraints: matching adjustment portfolios, liquidity, credit spreads and derivative hedging.
325 words, about 2 min05Pensions and Other Benefits
Pensions and Other Benefits tests defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) arrangements from funding through to member outcomes. You need the UK statutory framework: The Pensions Regulator, the PPF, scheme funding, transfer values, and the tax rules that changed in April 2024.
397 words, about 2 min