Domain Changes to CAS Exams 7, 8 and 9
As previously announced, the work of the CAS Admissions Transformation Plan (ATP) began with the Job Task Analysis (JTA) conducted in 2020, which resulted in recommendations for the high-level domains1 and tasks2 covered on each exam in the ACAS and FCAS exam pathway. This foundational analysis helps to inform the enhancements to all CAS exams, and we are now pleased to announce changes to Exams 7, 8 and 9.
This announcement includes comparison tables of domain changes, a summary of the major changes, transition rules and details on the content outlines.
Domain Changes
The tables below show a comparison of the current and future content and weighting of each domain for Exams 7, 8, 9.
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Fellowship (FCAS) Level Exams |
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Current Exam Structure |
Beginning 2024 Exam Structure |
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Exam / Domain |
Current Domain Weight |
Exam/Domain |
New Domain Weight |
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Exam 7 – Estimation of Policy Liabilities, Insurance Company Valuation, and Enterprise Risk Management |
Exam 7 – Advanced Estimation of Claims Liabilities |
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Estimation of Policy Liabilities |
65-75% |
Estimation of Claims Liabilities |
100% |
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Insurance Company Valuation |
8-12% |
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Enterprise Risk |
15-25% |
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Exam 8 – Advanced Ratemaking |
Exam 8 – Advanced Ratemaking |
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Classification |
20-35% |
Classification Ratemaking |
60-80% |
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Excess, Deductible, and Individual Risk Pricing |
45-65% |
Excess, Deductible, and Individual Risk Pricing |
20-40% |
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Catastrophe and Reinsurance Pricing |
15-20% |
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Exam 9 – Financial Risk and Rate of Return |
Exam 9 –Advanced Risk Management |
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Portfolio Theory |
20-30% |
Financial Risk Management |
20-30% |
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Asset Liability Management |
10-20% |
Risk and Return |
20-30% |
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Financial Risk Management |
25-35% |
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) |
15-25% |
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Rate of Return, Risk Loads, and Contingency Provision |
25-35% |
Catastrophe and Reinsurance |
25-35% |
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Summary of The Major Changes to CAS Exams 7, 8, and 9
- Exam 7 will be 100% concentrated on Estimation of Policy Liabilities. Insurance Company Valuation will be eliminated, as the weight was reduced to such an extent that the data does not support it as a standalone domain. Enterprise Risk Management will be moved to Exam 9.
- Exam 8 will increase its focus on Classification Ratemaking while Excess, Deductible, and Individual Risk Pricing will remain on this exam with a lower overall weight. Catastrophe and Reinsurance Pricing will move to Exam 9.
- Exam 9 will see the largest change of all the exams, focusing away from financial topics to advanced actuarial topics not associated with traditional Ratemaking and Reserving.
The weights for Portfolio Theory and Asset Liability Management were reduced to such an extent that the data does not support standalone domains. The CAS will evaluate whether these topics can be offered in another format outside of the examinations, however they will no longer be a credentialing requirement in the new exam structure.
Two additional domains will be added: Enterprise Risk Management will move to Exam 9 from Exam 7 and Catastrophe and Reinsurance Pricing will move to Exam 9 from Exam 8. Similarly, the CAS will evaluate whether these topics can be offered in another format outside of the examinations to the subset of candidates who are along the FCAS journey and may not be assessed on this material due to this transition. There will not be any additional requirements for those pursuing FCAS.
These changes to the topics covered on the exams were made by CAS practicing actuaries from a variety of experience levels and backgrounds in the P&C industry.
The CAS Admissions team is evaluating these domain changes to minimize impacts, if any, and to ensure a positive candidate experience through the transition. The CAS does not anticipate any changes to the requirements to sign a Statement of Actuarial Opinion.
Transition Rules
The CAS will follow simple transition rules for these exams, as approved by the Board of Directors. For candidates who have credit for current Exams 7, 8, and/or 9, they will receive credit for the equivalency of the new Exams 7, 8, and/or 9.
The last opportunity for candidates to sit for the current exam structure for Exams 7 and 9 is the upcoming May 2023 sitting. The last offering of the current Exam 8 will be October/November 2023. The new Exam 7, 8 and 9 content outlines will first be tested during their respective sittings in 2024 (7 and 9 in spring 2024 and 8 in fall 2024).
Registration closes for this May sitting on April 10, 2023. Candidates who have already registered for a May 2023 exam and would like to change their registration should contact exams@casact.org.
Content Outlines
The full Content Outlines3 for Exams 7 and 9 are anticipated to be available by mid-2023. The full Content Outline for Exam 8 is anticipated to be available along with Exam 6 by the end of 2023.
Changes to Exams MAS-I, MAS-II, 5 were previously announced in 2022; Exam 6 will be announced later in 2023. More information about the Admissions Transformation Plan (ATP) can be found on the ATP webpage, which is our main information hub for our stakeholders.
Study materials for the new content outlines will be available six months prior to the first examinations.
If you have any questions or feedback regarding the changes to CAS exams, please reach out to atp@casact.org.
1 The principal areas of responsibility that actuaries perform.
2 What a person performs to be successful within a domain.
3 Rather than a syllabus, each exam will eventually have its own content outline. Also referred to as the exam blueprint, it is built from the JTA and rather than learning objectives, it identifies the domains and tasks that the candidate could be tested on. Similar to the CAS syllabi today, it also includes the weight that each topic will be covered.
