How to Become Actuary - Steps to Become Actuary in India

Many people have no idea what an actuary is, it is possible that some of you haven’t heard about it. People misunderstood actuary that it will be related to accounts or can be boring but it is really fun for those who like to analyze, computation, logic, and data. In every field which involves risk Actuary will be in demand may it be designing insurance policies or Solving Business problems. Read this article to know How to Become Actuary and all other relevant concerns like courses, salary, scope, so on.

What is Actuary:

Actuaries help in forming effective and efficient policies to meet future uncertainties and undesirable events, They do it by calculating and analyzing different types of data and managing risk. Non-financial fields also need actuaries, actuaries are in every field where risk is involved including Banking, Insurance, Healthcare.

Insurance policies are framed very wisely, the masterminds behind that are actuaries, Their ability to analyze data to understand risk makes them importantly useful in insurance companies. They analyze facts, figures, and trends to formulate various insurance programs.

What exactly actuaries do:

Before directly jumping on how to become Actuary let's first know what exactly actuaries do? so Following are a few responsibilities of actuaries:-

• Actuaries Design the financial policies and keep an eye on the funds that are enough or not in the company.
• They determine the rate of interest to be given to the customers for insurance policies.
• They keep checking the insurance policies to minimize losses.
• While designing insurance policies they predict the occurrence of various illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, etc among different groups.
• They judge the risk for the financial planning of the company. 

Top Actuaries Recruiting Agencies:

• Fortis Insurance
• Allianz Cornhill
• Brit Insurance
• Irish Life
• Bartlett Actuarial Services
• Deloitte
• Brian Watson Associates
• HDFC
• Cartwright Consulting
• Zurich Financial Services

Steps to Become Actuary:

• To become an actuary a person needs to follow these steps listed below:
• After class 10th opt for PCM or Commerce with Maths.
• Complete graduation in Maths, Statistics, B.Com, or Actuarial Science.
• After completing an appearance for the actuarial common entrance test (ACET).
• Pass all the Actuarial Science Stages (15 in total).

> After class 10th opt for PCM or Commerce with maths.

Those who want to become actuary should choose PCM or commerce with Maths stream, actuary is all about numbers, data, statistics, and analyzing thus it becomes more important to have a stronghold on mathematics and statistics.

> Complete graduation in Maths, Statistics, B.Com, or Actuarial Science.

Candidates can directly appear for the ACET exam after the 12th but it is recommended to complete their graduation first for a better understanding of the subjects.

For actuary candidates need to have a strong base in Maths, probability concepts, analytical and problem-solving skills, and statistics, they all together form the foundations of actuarial science. For this candidates need to make their base strong in mathematics and statistics, thus the recommended graduation programs for actuary are B.Sc Course in Mathematics and Statistics. Though candidates who can do graduation in any program will be eligible.

After B.Sc (Actuarial science) and M.Sc (Actuarial science) candidates can start working directly however, it is still wise to clear Actuarial Science levels too.

List of Top Colleges for Actuarial Science Courses:

1. Christ University, Bengaluru (M.Sc Actuarial Science)
2. Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli (B.Sc. Actuarial Mathematics Science)
3. Babu Banarasi Das University, Lucknow (B.Sc Actuarial Science)
4. Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala (M.Sc Actuarial Science)
5. Institute of Endurance and Risk Management (Post-Graduate Diploma Health Insurance)

> After completing the appearance for the actuarial common entrance test (ACET)

Once the candidates complete their graduation or class 10+2 they are eligible for ACET (Actuarial common entrance test) it is the first step forward to register as a practicing Actuary with the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI). ACET is an online 3 hours test of 100 marks total, it is divided into 2 sections; Mathematics, Statistics, and Data Interpretation is section 1, and Section two has questions of English and Logical Reasoning.

Relief from ACET Exam:

Candidates can skip the ACET (Actuarial Common Entrance Test) if they have passed at least 3 subjects from international actuarial bodies which have a mutual agreement with The Institute of Actuaries Of India.

• Some institutes which have a mutual agreement with the Institute of Actuaries of India are:
• The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), UK
• Casualty Actuarial Society, Australia 
• The Institute of Actuaries of Australia

Pass all the Actuarial Science Stages (15 in total):

IAI (Institute of Actuaries of India) conducts written and practical exams, which candidates need to clear, There are different stages/examinations to be cleared for pursuing in this field.

The candidate doesn’t need to attend any regular classes or college for an actuary, all the study material will be provided by the IAI. Candidates need to clear all the stages only,

There is 4 stage which includes 15 papers:

Stage 1: Core Technical (CT)

You have to pass all these 9 exams:

CT 1	Financial Mathematics
CT 2	Finance and Financial Reporting
CT 3	Probability and Mathematical Statistics
CT 4	Models
CT 5	General Insurance, Life and Health Contingencies
CT 6	Statistical Methods
CT 7	Business Economics
CT 8	Financial Economics
CT 9	Business Awareness Online Module (Practical Exam)

 Stage 2: Core Application (CA)

You have to pass all these 3 exams:

CA 1	Actuarial Risk Management
CA 2	Model Documentation Analysis and Reporting (Practical Exam)
CA 3	Communication (Practical Exam)

Stage 3: Specialist Technical (ST)

You can choose any 2 subjects among these 6 for stage 3:

ST 1	Health and Care
ST 2	Life Insurance
ST 3	Pension and other Employee Benefits
ST 4	Finance and Investment A
ST 5	Finance and Investment B
ST 6	General Insurance Reserving and Capital Modeling Specialist Technical
ST 7	General Insurance Pricing Specialist Technical
ST 8	Enterprise Risk Management

Stage 4: Specialist Application (SA)

You can choose any 1 subject (according to the subject you choose in stage 3):

SA 1	Health and Care
SA 2	Life Insurance
SA 3	General Insurance
SA 4	Pension and other Employee Benefits
SA 5	Finance
SA 6	Investment

After clearing the first 2 stages a candidate will become an associate with IAI and after completion of all 4 stages with 3 years of experience, the candidate becomes a fellow.

There is no time to clear all the exams. You can fetch a job after clearing 5 papers as an actuary.

Eligibility Criteria & Qualification: How to become Actuary:

There are no such criteria for Actuary anyone can pursue an actuary as their career. The basic criteria are that the candidate must pass the 10+2 examination with English as one of the subjects and be 18 years old.

To become actuary candidates need to pass the 10+2 examination and after that, they can go for ACET (Actuarial Common Entrance Test). There are no criteria of the stream to be chosen for actuary but PCM or Mathematics are recommended for Actuary as Actuary is all about Mathematics and statistics.

Candidates can choose B.Sc( Actuarial Science), M.Sc (Actuarial Science), or any other program related to Mathematics and Statistics.

Career and Scope in Actuary:

An actuary is one of the most demanded profiles but its supply is not that high, according to the Institute of Actuary of India there are only  9182 students, 160 associates, and 344 fellows in India and that’s the reason their salary is quite high. It is a  very famous course among those who love to play with numbers, data, and statistics. 

An actuary can work in both the sectors Private or Government, there are multiple areas to work in as an actuary such as health insurance, vehicle insurance, life insurance, employee retirement and benefit plans, general insurance, etc. An actuary is the one who designs the policies for insurance companies. Besides insurance companies, an actuary can work in Pension and Benefits firms.

Career Opportunities in Actuary:

• Life Insurance
• General Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Reinsurance Companies
• Pension Funds
• Consultants
• Investments
• Government
• Academics
• Risk Management
• Property and Casualty Insurance Actuaries

An Actuary will get different roles in each of these sectors such as product pricing, financial modeling, valuations, risk management,  carrying out peer reviews, designing social security schemes, advice on the premium to be charged, etc.

What are actuaries paid?

Actuaries enjoy a fancy salary in different sectors, the salary will be as good as the experience and skill the actuary has. Here is an average salary structure is listed below:

Job Profile	Starting Salary per annum (in INR)	Mid-level Salary per annum (in INR)	Senior-level Salary per annum (in INR)
Life Insurance Actuaries	Rs. 3,00,000	Rs. 6,50,000	Rs.10,00,000
Health Insurance Actuaries	Rs. 5,00,000	Rs. 9,00,000	Rs.14,00,000
Pension and Retirement Actuaries	Rs. 3,00,000	Rs. 6,50,000	Rs. 10,00,000
Property and Casualty Insurance Actuaries	Rs. 4,00,000	Rs. 8,00,000	Rs. 10,00,000