SOA Exam ALTAM: Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics

Ken graduated from Indiana University in 1995 with a BS in Mathematics and became a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 2000. Ken has served as President and Education Officer for the Midwestern Actuarial Forum, worked on the CAS Exam Committee for six years, and served on the Task Force on Basic Education Internet Modules. He has taught over 40 seminars covering ratemaking, reserving, accounting, regulation, and reinsurance over the past 12 years. Ken has 18 years of actuarial experience. He currently is the Executive Director for The Infinite Actuary and oversees all of TIA's CAS Exam Seminars. Ken and his wife live in Indianapolis with their three children.

instructor photo

Instructor

James Washer

James, CEO of The Infinite Actuary, graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Applied Mathematics. He received his FSA in 2006 after passing all of his exams on the first attempts. He is the instructor for TIA's Exam FM and LTAM courses. He has instructed at TIA since 2006 and helped thousands of students in that time.

James lives in Birmingham with his wife, Laura, and their two sons, Thomas and Carson.

SOA Exam ALTAM

Expanded Features

This is an on-demand intensive exam prep course for the SOA's Advanced Long-Term Actuarial Mathematics Exam. When you register for this course you will gain access to the following items (except as noted) from the day you register for 6 months.

Comprehensive Course

Comprehensive video lessons covering the entire syllabus that simplify complicated info into more understandable terms and illustrate important concepts through examples and graphics.

Discuss Forum

Active dedicated course forum, integrated into TIA Study, loaded with existing questions and answers on syllabus material and past SOA exam questions. Instructors and our Support Team try to ensure everyone's questions are answered in a timely manner. ?

Detailed Formula Sheets

Your instructor has created formula sheets for each section as a quick reference guide for you. They cover each formula used in that section giving details about the formulas and defining the variables.

Sample Exams

This course includes sample exams with each question having a video solution walking you through the best way to solve it. These sample exams are created to give you a true sense of what you can expect exam day.

Practice System

As you complete lessons you will have the opportunity to test your new knowledge in the Practice tab of TIA Study to help assess how well you understand the material. As your exam day approaches you should be spending a lot of time in this system working all the additional problems. ?

Additional Handouts

Download printable PDF lesson handouts to follow along slide by slide through the lessons and actively attempt the examples and lessons exercises.

Offline Videos

Take our videos with you everywhere you go and don't worry about a data cap or WiFi signal. Use TIA Study on your mobile device to download lessons or solutions videos and have them right at your fingertips. ?

Variable Speed Playback

Watch our lessons and video solutions at your pace! When watching our videos on a desktop or our Learn App you can select the speed that makes the most sense for you. The variable speed increases all the way up to 2x.

Personalized Study Schedule

The Today view in TIA Study will let you know exactly what you need to do each day in order to stay on schedule. It will automatically redistribute your tasks as your schedule adjusts over time. ?

Flashcards

This course offers digital flashcards written in a "Q&A" style to facilitate recalling information for exam-oriented questions. They are available in the Review tab of TIA Study. The app will download all the flashcards for the course to your device so can study at a moments notice!

Student Discount

This course offers a student discount to full-time students currently enrolled at a college or university. To receive the discount, click here. The discount code will then be sent to the school issued email. ?

Excellent Customer Service

You're never alone with The Infinite Actuary. Get help from your instructor and assistants in our online forum. Anything else you need help with, not related to the course material, just reach out to our customer service team and they will get your questions answered!

Free Extension

Life happens, and despite your hard work, you may fail an exam. If that happens to you, we offer one free 6 month extension for this online course. Once you activate your extension, you will have 6 months access to the entire course again. Learn more about our extension policy here. ?

Frequently Asked Questions

If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?

You can use it as many times as you want up for 6 months after purchase. If you feel that you are weak in a certain section of the syllabus, then watch the segment for that material again. If you want to simulate an intensive review seminar, watch the entire library of lessons for your exam over a four/five day span. It all depends on your preferences and we believe that it is this kind of convenience, coupled with the best instruction, which will produce great results for our users.

Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?

Yes! If you buy the seminar and don't pass or take the exam, then we give you access for a 2nd sitting for free. Even if the syllabus changes you still get a 2nd sitting (6 months of access) with all the updated lessons. See more information about this here.

I've used other sources and failed. Is there something unique in the online seminar that others haven't provided?

Absolutely. Every sitting we work with people from a variety of backgrounds. Some are taking the exam for the first time. Others are taking it again. In some cases they are using a free extension, while in other cases they are using TIA for the first time. Regardless, we have helped many, many people pass after failing in the past. The online seminar contains a wealth of TIA-unique material that you won't find anywhere else. We also have a general list of things to think about changing for your next attempt.

I am not taking the exam, but it looks like the syllabus contains a lot of information relevant to my job. Do people use the online seminar for non-exam purposes?

Yes. We increasingly see people do that very thing. The upper-level exams contain a lot of information relevant to people's work. Of course our products are developed first and foremost the goal of helping people pass the exam, and we don't make any guarantees that our own unique examples are relevant to your actual job and don't assume any responsibility for the application of formulas and methods outlined in the online seminar. But if you're looking for in the first principles and fundamental foundations, there is a great deal of useful information. If you are interested in using the online seminar for this purpose, we recommend contacting us with any questions you might have.

Are your pass rates above average?

Yes. As a company rule, we don't publish specific pass rates by seminar, however. We have found it to be too vulnerable to manipulation, too difficult to compare on an apples to apples basis across companies, and we also just don't think it is a very actionable piece of information. Everyone taking the exam is in a unique situation. Some have work experience. Some are taking it for the first time. Some are using multiple study aids. We also have increasing numbers of people who purchased the online seminar with for on the job training with no intention of taking the exam at all. Unless they notify us by email, we have no idea---but of course their name would never show up on a passing last. We also have many people who use the online seminar in overlapping exam periods. Again, we have found it it is just too difficult and too easy to manipulate a statistic like that, and we want to remain a resource that you can trust.

Can I share my account with others?

No, we do not allow sharing of accounts. Each registered user should take measure to avoid this as he or she has purchased the rights to our videos and associated bandwidth. If non-paying customers clog up our website traffic, it will negatively impact everyone. We also monitor login histories and have the authority to terminate user accounts for this type of abuse. While the gesture of sharing your account information with a friend or coworker may seem innocent, it can have far-reaching negative implications for you and other legitimate users.

The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?

You can try the suggestions listed here. Likely, these suggestions will solve the problem you are experiencing: (1) Try a different web browser. We suggest using Firefox for the best results with our website. Other browsers will work but make sure you are using the newest version of the browser. (2) Download the newest version of the movie player that you are using (Windows Media Player, Flash or QuickTime). (3) If one movie player does not work, try the other. (4) Test your bandwidth at the following site. Make sure it is at least 700kbps. Bandwidth Place | Internet Speed Test. (5) Clear the CACHE on your computer by clicking the "CTRL" and "F5" buttons at the same time. (6) Try clearing your browsers cookies. How to delete cookies. (7) Make sure your operating system has all its important updates. If you're on a Mac, run Software Update from your Apple menu (or Mac App Store if you're running OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion or newer). If you're on Windows, click the following link. Microsoft Windows Update. (8) If you are using third-party web browsers like Firefox, make sure you're running the latest version. (9) The previous suggestions should help. However, if you are still unable to open the videos please let customer service know what error message you receive and we will be happy to look further into your situation.

The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?

Usually, this is the result of your employer's network placing some restrictions in the company's firewall settings. You need to make sure that there is no block placed on the domain ( edgecastcdn.net ) from where our videos are streamed. Many employers will block sites like these to restrict video content from being streamed to their employee's PCs. Edgecast is a Content Delivery Network where we store all of our content. This network distributes our content to multiple servers all across the world so that if any one server goes down, there are plenty of backups in place. Websites like YouTube use their own CDNs and as a result, CDNs are not high on company's approved website lists. Feel free to call Tech Support (877-883-5275) if you need any further help.

Why can I not download the PDFs? I always get an error message or an empty zip file.

Some computer networks are configured to not allow opening of zip files directly from an external site. Many of our downloadable files are in zip format. After clicking on the link, you should be given an option to either open or save the file. Try saving the file to your hard drive and then opening the zip file from there. You can also try right-clicking on the link and choosing the "Save Link As" option. If those do not work, then please contact customer service. They will determine if the link is incorrect or the file is missing from its proper location. At the minimum, they can email you the needed files so that you can move on with your studying.

Do I need to buy the study notes and textbooks on the syllabus, too?

We strongly recommend purchasing all source materials. This is simply because in our experience, people who read and reference the source materials in addition to using the online seminar have a higher chance of passing than those that don't. The online seminar is designed to make your use of the source materials much more efficient.

How can I obtain a student discount?

This course is not eligible for a student discount.

Can I purchase my next online seminar without knowing if I passed my last exam?

Yes. If you later find out that you didn't pass your last exam, simply email us at [email protected], and we will pause access to your new online seminar. This will preserve your new online seminar allowing you to study for your last exam again. When you are ready to resume the paused online seminar, just email us, and we will reactivate it. You will have access to all current materials (same as anyone else using the online seminar at that time).