SOA Exam FAM Study Plan & Practice System
Exam FAM is the fundamentals exam covering both long-term (life/annuity) and short-term (P&C/health) actuarial mathematics. Introduced in October 2022 to replace LTAM and STAM, it takes roughly 300 hours of prep. Upload your ACTEX digital edition, scanned ASM manual, TIA PDF handouts, or your own notes and exclam.ai turns them into a fully guided study plan with adaptive flashcards, quizzes, and a weekly schedule tuned to the breadth of the material.
Exam format
3.5-hour computer-based test with 34 multiple-choice questions. Tests both life contingencies and short-term insurance topics in a single sitting.
The broadest preliminary exam — covers both life/annuity and short-term/P&C content in one sitting.
Introduced in October 2022 to replace the old LTAM and STAM exams.
Most candidates report it is the hardest preliminary exam due to sheer volume.
Most candidates prep in 16–24 weeks at 15–20 hours per week.
Format details change periodically. Always verify the current exam structure on soa.org before your exam.
Exam FAM topic areas
The 7 topic areas tested on Exam FAM, with approximate weight bands from the public SOA syllabus. Click any topic for a dedicated study page.
Insurance Coverages and Retirement Products
7.5–15%Short-term insurance and reinsurance coverages (syllabus Topic 1, 5–10%) plus long-term insurance coverages and retirement programs (Topic 7, 2.5–5%).
Severity, Frequency, and Aggregate Models
12.5–17.5%Statistical models for individual loss severity, claim frequency, and aggregate loss distributions including compound distributions.
Parametric Estimation
2.5–7.5%Maximum likelihood estimation for severity and frequency models.
Mortality and Survival Models
10–15%Parametric survival models, life tables, force of mortality, and select and ultimate mortality.
Life Insurance Pricing and Reserving
27.5–42.5%Present value random variables for long-term coverages (syllabus Topic 9, 12.5–20%) plus premium and policy value calculation (Topic 10, 15–22.5%).
Short-Term Insurance Pricing and Reserving
12.5–20%Pricing and loss reserving for short-term coverages (syllabus Topic 5, 10–15%) plus introductory credibility (Topic 4, 2.5–5%).
Option Pricing Fundamentals
2.5–7.5%Introduction to option pricing including put-call parity, binomial models, and Black-Scholes pricing for European options.
Topic names and approximate weight bands sourced from the public SOA Exam FAM syllabus on soa.org.
How exclam.ai helps with Exam FAM
Upload your study manual
Drop in your ACTEX Exam FAM digital edition (full-corpus PDF), scanned ASM pages, TIA handouts, or your own notes. exclam.ai parses them into structured content for a fully guided study plan.
Generate flashcards & quizzes
AI generates flashcards for formulas and concepts, plus multiple-choice quizzes targeting each of the 7 topic areas. Edit any card.
Get a weekly adaptive plan
Coverage phase, review phase, and mocks — distributed across your ~18-week timeline or whatever you choose.
Exam FAM study plan
Pick the timeline that matches your exam date. exclam.ai spreads roughly 300 hours across coverage, review, and mock phases — each reading paired with its own quiz and FSRS flashcards. Switch the plan length to rebalance the schedule instantly.
Approximate milestones
14 weeks- Insurance Coverages and Retirement Products~wk 1
- Severity, Frequency, and Aggregate Models~wk 2
- Parametric Estimation~wk 3
- Mortality and Survival Models~wk 4
- Life Insurance Pricing and Reserving~wk 6
- Short-Term Insurance Pricing and Reserving~wk 7
- Option Pricing Fundamentals~wk 8
Your full plan · 14 weeks to exam day
14 weeks · ~21h/weekOctober 2026
- Wk 1Oct 12 – Oct 18Insurance Coverages and Retirement ProductsCoverageReadQuizFlashcards7.5–15%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 2Oct 19 – Oct 25Severity, Frequency, and Aggregate ModelsCoverageReadQuizFlashcards12.5–17.5%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 3Oct 26 – Nov 1Parametric EstimationCoverageReadQuizFlashcards2.5–7.5%6 study · 1 buffer
November 2026
- Wk 4Nov 2 – Nov 8Mortality and Survival ModelsCoverageReadQuizFlashcards10–15%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 5Nov 9 – Nov 15Life Insurance Pricing and ReservingCoverageReadQuizFlashcards27.5–42.5%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 6Nov 16 – Nov 22Life Insurance Pricing and ReservingCoverageReadQuizFlashcards27.5–42.5%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 7Nov 23 – Nov 29Short-Term Insurance Pricing and ReservingCoverageReadQuizFlashcards12.5–20%6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 8Nov 30 – Dec 6Option Pricing FundamentalsCoverageReadQuizFlashcards2.5–7.5%6 study · 1 buffer
December 2026
- Wk 9Dec 7 – Dec 13ReviewReviewQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 10Dec 14 – Dec 20ReviewReviewQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 11Dec 21 – Dec 27ReviewReviewQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 12Dec 28 – Jan 3MocksMocksQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
January 2027
- Wk 13Jan 4 – Jan 10MocksMocksQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
- Wk 14Jan 11 – Jan 17MocksMocksQuizFlashcards6 study · 1 buffer
Your Exam FAM plan
A visual preview of how exclam.ai turns your plan into daily reading, flashcard, quiz, review, and mock streaks across the timeline you pick.
Sample activity — your own streaks, study time, and module milestones appear here once you upload.
Sign in to unlock your full 14 weeks plan
Every module dated to your exam, with quizzes and FSRS flashcards generated from your own materials.
Unlock my full plan freeWeek-by-week module breakdown
Your Exam FAM plan walks the syllabus module-by-module before transitioning into review and mock phases. Module weeks are allocated proportional to SOA topic weights — heavier-weighted modules get more time, lighter ones either get a single week or pair with adjacent topics on intensive paces. Change the plan length above to see the schedule rebalance.
Short-term insurance and reinsurance coverages (syllabus Topic 1, 5–10%) plus long-term insurance coverages and retirement programs (Topic 7, 2.5–5%). Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Statistical models for individual loss severity, claim frequency, and aggregate loss distributions including compound distributions. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Maximum likelihood estimation for severity and frequency models. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Parametric survival models, life tables, force of mortality, and select and ultimate mortality. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Present value random variables for long-term coverages (syllabus Topic 9, 12.5–20%) plus premium and policy value calculation (Topic 10, 15–22.5%). Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Pricing and loss reserving for short-term coverages (syllabus Topic 5, 10–15%) plus introductory credibility (Topic 4, 2.5–5%). Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Introduction to option pricing including put-call parity, binomial models, and Black-Scholes pricing for European options. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Review
Weak-topic drilling. exclam.ai surfaces topics where you underperformed during coverage and re-quizzes them. Daily FSRS flashcard reps across all 7 topics to prevent decay. Start doing timed question batches focused on the heaviest-weight sections.
Mocks
Full-length Exam FAM practice exams under timed conditions. Target one mock every 3–5 days. Same-day error review: for every question you miss, re-derive the solution from scratch. Taper in the final 3 days — light flashcards only.
Popular Exam FAM study manuals
exclam.ai works alongside any of these vendors. Upload paths vary, ACTEX sells full digital editions as downloadable PDFs (cleanest upload), ASM print manuals can be scanned for the full corpus, and The Infinite Actuary provides downloadable PDF handouts alongside their videos. For ASM digital (app-locked) and Coaching Actuaries (online platform), upload your own notes taken while studying. We do not distribute or reproduce any vendor content, your manual stays with the publisher.
Exam FAM questions
How is Exam FAM different from the old LTAM and STAM?
FAM consolidates fundamentals from both LTAM (life contingencies) and STAM (short-term insurance) into one exam. The advanced content from those exams moved into ALTAM and ASTAM. Candidates who previously would have taken LTAM and STAM separately now take FAM, then choose either ALTAM or ASTAM.
How many hours should I study for FAM?
Community consensus is 300+ hours, often more. Most candidates prep over 4 to 6 months at 15 to 25 hours per week. Budget more time if you are new to life contingencies or loss modeling.
Which half of FAM is harder?
Opinions vary. Candidates from life/annuity backgrounds tend to find short-term content harder and vice versa. The Pricing & Reserving sections (for both life and short-term) are typically cited as the heaviest.
Do I need to take FAM before ALTAM or ASTAM?
FAM is a prerequisite for both advanced exams. Take FAM first, then choose the advanced exam (ALTAM for life focus, ASTAM for short-term focus) based on your career direction.
How does exclam.ai help with FAM?
Upload your ACTEX digital edition, scanned ASM manual, TIA handouts, or your own study notes and exclam.ai generates a fully guided study plan: flashcards and quizzes covering both the life and short-term halves. The weekly plan distributes coverage time across the ten syllabus topics with extra weight on the largest sections. Weak topics get re-surfaced automatically.
Start your Exam FAM plan today
Upload your ACTEX digital edition, scanned ASM pages, TIA handouts, or your own notes, exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan around your exam date.