What is the CAS exams exam?
The Casualty Actuarial Society credentials actuaries who work in property and casualty insurance, also called general insurance: motor, home, liability, commercial property and reinsurance. The Society of Actuaries credentials the life, health, pensions and investment side. The two bodies share the first two exams and then diverge completely.
The CAS pathway leads first to Associate (ACAS) and then to Fellow (FCAS). Along the way the style of assessment changes sharply. The early exams are multiple choice, but Exams 5 through 9 are largely constructed response: you write out reserving and ratemaking analyses and are marked on the working, not just the answer.
The requirements changed substantially in 2026. Property and Casualty Predictive Analytics became mandatory for ACAS, consisting of both an exam and a separate project of roughly twenty hours, and the old CAS online courses were replaced by three Data and Insurance Series courses run by The Institutes. Descriptions of the pathway written before 2026 are now out of date.
Who sits it
- Students aiming at property and casualty or general insurance actuarial work
- Candidates who have passed Exams P and FM and are choosing between the SOA and CAS routes
- Reserving, pricing and capital actuaries in general insurance and reinsurance
Exam format at a glance
- Shared start
- The CAS grants credit for SOA Exam P as its Exam 1 and SOA Exam FM as its Exam 2, so the first two exams are common to both routes
- Exam length
- Four hours for CAS-administered exams, at Pearson VUE test centres
- MAS-I and MAS-II
- Objectively scored throughout (multiple choice, multiple selection, matching and similar), with no written answers; four sittings a year from 2026. The CAS does not publish a fixed question count
- Exams 5 to 9
- Largely constructed response with spreadsheet items; two sittings a year, in April and October
- Exam 6 variants
- Separate United States, Canada and International versions reflecting local regulation and reporting; any one satisfies the requirement. The International variant runs only once a year
- Predictive analytics
- A 2-hour, 40-question exam plus a separate project of roughly 20 hours; mandatory for ACAS from January 2026
- Fees (USD)
- About $550 for MAS-I and MAS-II, $850 for Exams 5 to 9, and $300 plus $700 for the predictive analytics exam and project; student rates are about 20% lower
- Recent pass rates
- Spring 2026 ranged from about 24% on Exam 7 to about 55% on Exam 9, with MAS-I and MAS-II in the mid to high forties
- Study load
- The CAS reports candidates average 250–345 hours per exam
- Beyond the exams
- Two VEE credits, three CAS Data and Insurance Series courses run by The Institutes, and a two-day Course on Professionalism
Exam-body facts last checked September 2026. Fees, dates and formats change; confirm the current details with Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) before registering.
Syllabus and topic weights
The CAS publishes syllabus weights per exam rather than across the pathway. Exams 1 and 2 are the SOA's Exam P and Exam FM, whose weights are on our guides for those exams.
- 1.Exam 1 — ProbabilityShared with the SOA as Exam P
- 2.Exam 2 — Financial MathematicsShared with the SOA as Exam FM
- 3.Exam MAS-I — Modern Actuarial Statistics IProbability models, statistics and linear models
- 4.Exam MAS-II — Modern Actuarial Statistics IIGeneralised linear models, Bayesian analysis and credibility
- 5.CAS Data and Insurance Series coursesThree online courses on risk management, insurance accounting and regulation, and data and analytics
- 6.Property and Casualty Predictive AnalyticsExam plus project; required for ACAS from 2026
- 7.Exam 5 — Basic Ratemaking and Estimating Claim LiabilitiesThe core pricing and reserving exam
- 8.Exam 6 — Regulation and Financial ReportingRegional variants for the US, Canada, International and Taipei
- 9.Exam 7 — Advanced Estimation of Claim LiabilitiesFellowship level; historically the lowest pass rate
- 10.Exam 8 — Advanced RatemakingFellowship level
- 11.Exam 9 — Risk Management for ActuariesFellowship level
How to prepare for CAS exams
- 1
Start with Exams P and FM regardless of which body you eventually choose. They count for both, so there is no need to decide between the SOA and the CAS before passing them.
- 2
Expect the assessment style to change at Exam 5. Multiple choice gives way to written analysis, and candidates who never practise writing out a full reserving exercise struggle badly.
- 3
Plan around two sittings a year for the upper exams. April and October are the only windows, so a failure costs six months.
- 4
Budget time for the predictive analytics project separately from the exam. It is roughly twenty hours of work in a two-week window and is assessed independently.
- 5
Pick the right Exam 6 variant for where you intend to practise, since the regulation and reporting content is jurisdiction-specific and does not transfer.
We don't cover CAS exams yet
We cover the two exams the CAS shares with the SOA. Our Exam P material, which is free with any account, is credited by the CAS as Exam 1, and our Exam FM material is credited as Exam 2, so the first stretch of the CAS pathway is fully supported here. We have no material for MAS-I, MAS-II or the upper exams.
CAS exams FAQ
Should I choose the SOA or the CAS?
It depends on the kind of insurance you want to work in. The CAS is for property and casualty, the SOA for life, health, pensions and investment. Exams P and FM count for both, so you can defer the decision until after them.
Do MAS-I and MAS-II still exist?
Yes, both remain under those names, and from 2026 they are offered four times a year rather than three. The substantive 2026 changes were the addition of Property and Casualty Predictive Analytics as an ACAS requirement and the replacement of the old online courses with the Data and Insurance Series.
How long does the full pathway take?
Most candidates take several years. Associate requires six exams plus the predictive analytics exam and project, VEE credits, online courses and the professionalism course; Fellowship adds three more exams that are offered only twice a year.
Does StudyOptima cover CAS exams?
Only the shared start. Our Exam P and Exam FM material counts as CAS Exams 1 and 2. We have no content for MAS-I, MAS-II or Exams 5 to 9.
Related exams
The Probability exam: the usual first step toward the ASA designation and one of the two exams most actuarial employers expect from new hires.
The Financial Mathematics exam: interest theory, annuities, loans, bonds and immunisation, and the other half of the standard entry-level actuarial pairing.