CAS (Casualty Actuarial Society): Pathway, Exams, and Careers

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is the US-based professional organization for property & casualty (P&C) actuaries. It administers the exam and credentialing process for P&C actuaries, awarding the Associate (ACAS) and Fellow (FCAS) designations. Unlike the Society of Actuaries (SOA) which offers multiple fellowship tracks (life, health, pensions, etc.), CAS has one main track focused on P&C insurance (auto, home, liability, reinsurance, etc.). In practice, most U.S. P&C actuaries earn their fellowship via CAS. CAS credentials involve a sequence of exams and courses covering risk modeling, pricing, reserving, finance and related topics specific to property-casualty insurance.

How to Begin the Casualty Actuarial Society Track

Aspiring actuaries can start taking CAS exams as early as college (or even late high school) if they have a strong math background. Key steps to enter the CAS pathway include:

• Create a CAS Candidate Profile: Register at the CAS website to obtain your CAS Master ID and candidate number. This account is used to register for exams and track progress.
• Meet Prerequisites: There are no formal prerequisites to start – just the requisite college-level math. In practice, students prepare for Exam 1 (Probability) and Exam 2 (Financial Math) by taking courses in calculus, probability & statistics, and finance. (Exam 1 and 2 are jointly administered by CAS/SOA/IFoA, so fees and dates depend on the sponsoring body.)
• CAS regularly offers the preliminary exams (1 & 2) multiple times per year (about 6 sittings annually).
• Take Data & Insurance Courses (DISCs): Early in your career (often on the job), complete three short online CAS DISC modules: Data & Analytics (DISC DA), Risk Management/Operations (DISC RM), and Insurance Accounting & Regulation (DISC IA). These 2-hour courses teach practical P&C insurance topics and are required for all CAS candidates.
• College Credit and Waivers: CAS may grant waivers (credit) for some preliminary exams if you have equivalent university coursework or exams from another actuarial body. For example, IFoA or SOA exam credits can sometimes satisfy CAS Exam 1–3 requirements. Note, however, that upper-level exams (Exams 5–9) generally cannot be waived. Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) credits (for Economics and Accounting/Finance) can be earned via approved college courses instead of exam credit.

CAS Exam Structure and Syllabus

The CAS curriculum is divided into Preliminary (Fundamental), Associate (ACAS), and Fellowship (FCAS) levels. Each level builds on the previous one:

• Preliminary Exams (Exams 1, 2, MAS-I, MAS-II) & DISCs: The first stage includes Exams 1 and 2 (Probability and Financial Math) which are common actuarial exams (administered with SOA/IFoA). In addition, Casualty Actuarial Society requires two computer-based statistical modeling exams: Modern Actuarial Statistics I (MAS-I) and MAS-II. MAS-I covers advanced probability models and GLMs; MAS-II covers credibility, mixed models, ML, and time series. All prelim exams are multiple-choice. You should also complete the three CAS DISC courses (see above) at this stage.
• Associate-Level Requirements (ACAS): To earn the Associate of CAS (ACAS), candidates must pass:
  • Course on Professionalism: A 2-day ethics and professionalism workshop (offered four times a year).
  • Exam 5 (Basic Ratemaking & Reserving): Covers fundamental P&C pricing and loss reserve methods. Computer-based (4 hours, $850).
  • Exam 6 (Regulation & Financial Reporting): Focuses on insurance laws, regulation, accounting and finance for insurers. (There are separate versions for the US and Canada.) Computer-based (4 hours, $850).
  • PCPA (P&C Predictive Analytics) Exam & Project: Starting 2026, CAS introduced a two-part PCPA requirement. The first part is a 2-hour multiple-choice exam ($300 fee), and the second is a 15-day project ($700 fee) on data analytics in insurance.
• Fellowship-Level Requirements (FCAS): After ACAS, candidates pursue Fellow of CAS by passing Exams 7, 8, 9: advanced technical P&C exams. Each is 4 hours and $850:
  • Exam 7 (Advanced Reserving): Topics include distribution of loss reserves and stochastic reserving. (New outline began 2024.)
  • Exam 8 (Advanced Ratemaking): Covers sophisticated risk classification, deductible/excess pricing, and individual risk pricing.
  • Exam 9 (Risk Management for Actuaries): Topics include financial risk management, capital allocation, ERM, reinsurance, and catastrophes.

Each exam is computer-based; preliminary exams are 3 hours (Automated scoring), while MAS and Exams 5–9 are 4 hours (mix of multiple-choice and written responses). Scores for MAS and upper exams typically come about 6 weeks after testing.

Exam Costs, Scheduling, and Duration

CAS exam fees add up, but many candidates get employer reimbursement or fee discounts (50% off for full-time students via CAS Student Central). Key fees (as of 2025) are:

• CAS DISCs (all three): $765 total.
• Exam MAS-I and MAS-II: $550 each.
• Course on Professionalism: Included (no exam fee).
• Exam 5–9: $850 each.
• Exam 1 & 2: Fees vary by society (roughly $240–350 if taken via SOA).
• PCPA Exam: $300; PCPA Project: $700.

In total, becoming an FCAS involves on the order of $5,000–6,000 in exam fees (plus any travel for seminars) if all passes are eventually achieved. Exam availability (offerings per year) is expanding: by 2025, MAS-I/II were held three times/year and most exams twice/year (and all exams will be at least twice-yearly by 2026). All exams are offered in English (and French in Quebec). Because only one or two exams can be tackled per sitting, the time to credential spans several years. For perspective, CAS tracks “travel time” and finds the median time from first exam to FCAS is around 8 years, with the shorter-term ACAS often taking a few years before that. (CAS’s goal is a 5–7 year median to FCAS from first employment.)

VEEs and Other Requirements

CAS mandates two Validation by Educational Experience (VEE) topics: Economics and Accounting/Finance. Instead of exams, these are fulfilled by approved college courses. (Effectively, CAS assumes statistical knowledge is covered by the MAS exams.) CAS also requires a Course on Professionalism (2-day seminar on ethics and professionalism)casact.org. You must complete both VEEs and the professionalism course to earn ACAS.

Waivers and Exemptions

CAS allows waivers of preliminary requirements for equivalent credentials from other organizations. If you’ve passed comparable exams or university courses (e.g. IFoA or SOA exams on probability/finance), the CAS may waive its Exam 1–3 requirements. However, waivers do not apply to upper-level exams (Exams 5–9); those must be taken unless specifically exempted by special arrangement. VEE credits can be satisfied by any qualifying university coursework in economics or finance (approved by CAS).

CAS vs. SOA (and Other Societies)

The choice between CAS and SOAlargely depends on your career interests. As noted, CAS is narrowly focused on P&C insurance, whereas the SOA covers life, health, retirement, investments and also a P&C track. In North America, CAS is the dominant credential for P&C actuaries. CAS exams emphasize stochastic modeling, loss reserving and ratemaking for general insurance, while SOA exams emphasize life contingencies, finance, and retirement/life topics.

Globally, actuarial credentialing varies: the UK’s Institute & Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) has both life and general insurance tracks, Canada’s society recognizes CAS/SOA exams, and other countries like India and Australia have their own exams (often aligned with IFoA). Some international candidates use CAS or SOA exams toward credentials (e.g. IFoA’s General Insurance exam tracks overlap CAS content). In practice, U.S. aspirants mainly choose CAS or SOA. Broadly, if you aim to work in P&C insurance (pricing, reserving, risk analysis), CAS is the typical path; if you lean toward life/health/pensions or broader finance, the SOA is more common.

Careers for CAS Actuaries

Casualty Actuarial Society trained actuaries typically become pricing or reserving actuaries, risk analysts, and catastrophe modelers in the P&C insurance industry. Common roles include auto/home insurance pricing, loss reserve modeling, enterprise risk management for insurers, or risk consulting for catastrophes (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.). Many FCAS actuaries work for insurance carriers, reinsurance companies, or regulatory bodies (like state insurance regulators). The CAS skill set of heavy probability/statistics and insurance accounting is unique to P&C finance.

Frequently Asked Questions