This is an on-demand intensive exam prep course for the SOA's Group & Health Track - Valuation & Regulation 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.
What's included?
This online course contains everything you need to pass the SOA's Group & Health Track - VR Exam (US version)
Learn Key Concepts
- Video lessons covering each and every chapter from the new syllabus in detail
- Highly detailed study manual
- Handouts for every lesson
- Visuals, graphics, and examples that simplify complex information, making it easier to retain
- Tips and strategy to help you learn the format of the exam
Practice and Review
- Condensed outlines for review/memorization, in addition to detailed study manual
- Detailed breakdown of past SOA exam questions
- Hundreds of drill problem style flashcards for practice and memorization
- Numerical practice questions with full solutions
- Past exam analysis and exam day checklist and FAQ
Features and Support
- Create a custom study schedule with our provided spreadsheet format version
- Full-time instructor support by email and Course Forum with 1000+ answered questions
- Stream and save videos for offline viewing with our Learn app for iOS and Android
- Flashcards app for iOS and Android
- Watch videos in variable speeds up to 2x
- All PDFs are DRM-free and print-friendly
TIA Study
TIA Study
A Modern Learning Platform
- Lessons, practice problems, flashcards, sample exams, and more all scheduled to have you ready on exam day
- Tasks scheduled only on the days you plan to study
- Create your own custom tasks
- Miss a day? Your schedule will automatically redistribute all your remaining tasks
Instructor
Jeff Blacker
- FSA, MAAA |
- GH-VR,
- MIA Online
Jeff is the editor of Actuaries in Microinsurance, published by Actex in 2015. He is also an independent consulting actuary and actuarial exam instructor for the Group & Health exams. Most of his career has been in the U.S. supplemental health insurance market. He worked 10 years in financial reporting and product development roles for a U.S. insurer prior to becoming a consultant in 2007.
Jeff graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis and became a Fellow of the SOA in 2004. He has 18 years of supplemental health insurance experience, including product development, financial reporting, and asset/liability management. Jeff was a managing actuary at Conseco prior to starting Global Insurance Consulting, Inc. He lives with his wife, daughter, and son in Indianapolis.
Expanded Features
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.
Detailed Study Manual
Download printable PDF covering all of the syllabus readings, along with examples and instructor commentary that simplifies difficult concepts and builds links to other readings on the syllabus. Also available in a condensed format for review.
Online Discussion Forum
Active dedicated course forum 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.
Practice Exams
This course includes a full length 2 session (morning & afternoon) sample exam with each question having a solution walking you through the best way to answer it. This sample exam is created to give you a true sense of what you can expect exam day.
Full Instructor Access
Full-time instructor support! Your instructor(s) created 100% of the video lessons for this online seminar and will answer any questions you have by email or in the TIA forums.
Condensed Outlines
Condensed outlines for review and memorization. These condensed outlines are provided in addition to the full detailed study manual and video lesson handouts.
Offline Videos
Take our videos with you everywhere you go and don't worry about a data cap or WiFi signal. Use the TIA Study app 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.
Background Audio Playback
Just want to listen to our lessons? We have you covered! Now when you download the TIA Study app on an iOS or Android device, you can start a video and simply lock your device and the audio will continue to play.
Today view
The Today viewing TIA Study will let you know exactly what you need to do each day in order to stay on schedule, and 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 you can study at a moments notice!
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. ?
What others are saying
Thanks to TIA for an excellent study experience! TIA's videos and outlines distill the most important information from the source material, focusing on what is needed to pass the exam. With TIA, I passed 3 fellowship exams in 4 sittings spending fewer hours studying than I expected - a great blessing with small children at home.
Danny Moore Consulting Actuary, Lewis & Ellis
Frequently Asked Questions
- If I purchase a product, how often can I use it?
- Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
- I've used other sources and failed. Is there something unique in TIA's online course that others haven't provided?
- 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 course for non-exam purposes?
- Are your pass rates above average?
- Can I share my account with others?
- The videos aren't working on my personal computer. What can I do?
- The videos will not play on my work PC. What can I do?
- Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
- Why can I not download the PDFs? I always get an error message or an empty zip file.
- Do I need to buy the study notes and textbooks on the syllabus, too?
- How can I obtain a student discount?
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.
Can I have an extension if I do not take or if I fail the exam?
Yes! If you buy the course 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 TIA's online course 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 course 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 course 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 course. 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 course 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 course, 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 course 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 course 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 Google Chrome for the best results with our website. Other browsers will work but make sure you are using the newest version of the browser. (2) Sign out of TIA Study and back in. (3) Turn off/whitelist any content blockers, ad blockers, or firewalls for www.theinfiniteactuary.com and theinfiniteactuary.akamaized.net. (4) Clear the cache for your web browser or preform a hard refresh on the TIA Study web page. (5) Clear your browser's cookies. (6) Check your internet speed. We recommend a download connection of at least 20 Mbps. (7) Make sure the operating system for your computer is up to date. (8) Try using a different network/internet connection to determine if your network admin has some type of firewall blocking our videos.
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 (theinfiniteactuary.akamaized.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. Akamai is a Content Delivery Network (CDN) 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.
Can I download the videos to my hard drive so that I can view them without an Internet connection?
Our videos are only viewable while logged in and connected to the Internet when using a desktop web browser on a PC or Mac. However, our TIA Study mobile app for iOS and Android does allow offline viewing.
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 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 course have a higher chance of passing than those that don't. The online course 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 course 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 course. This will preserve your new online course allowing you to study for your last exam again. When you are ready to resume the paused online course, just email us, and we will reactivate it. You will have access to all current materials (same as anyone else using the online course at that time).