Acttuary cheatsheet · updated August 2026
General insurance vs life vs pensions vs investments
Compare four major actuarial practice areas: what the work involves, the technical focus, where the jobs are and what to think about when deciding which area interests you.
The four practice areas
| Area | The day job | Names to know |
|---|---|---|
| Pensions consultancy | Valuing defined benefit pension promises; advising trustees and employers on funding, investment and endgame decisions; often with early client exposure in consulting roles | LCP, WTW, Aon, Mercer, Hymans Robertson, Barnett Waddingham, XPS, Isio |
| Life insurance | Work can include protection, annuities, pension risk transfer, valuation, capital and pricing | Aviva, L&G, Standard Life, Just, Rothesay and PIC are examples of major UK life and pension-risk-transfer employers |
| General insurance | Pricing, reserving, capital and exposure work across personal, commercial and specialty insurance. The London Market is an important part of UK specialist insurance | Aviva, Allianz, Admiral, RSA; at Lloyd's, managing agents such as Beazley and Hiscox |
| Investments | Investment consulting and asset-liability work, including bonds, asset-liability matching, LDI, fiduciary management and portfolio monitoring | Investment teams within actuarial consultancies, insurers, fiduciary managers and asset managers |
The technical core
| Area | What the work turns on |
|---|---|
| General insurance | Frequency and severity; pricing models; claims development and IBNR; reserving; capital; catastrophe risk; and measures such as loss and combined ratios |
| Life | Long-term cashflow projection; mortality and longevity; expected present values; Solvency UK; capital; asset-liability management; annuities and pension risk transfer |
| Pensions | Valuing long-term pension promises; discount rates, inflation and longevity; funding valuations; investment risk; member calculations; and buy-in, buy-out or other endgame options |
| Investments | Interest-rate and inflation risk; bonds; duration and PV01; asset-liability matching; LDI; collateral and liquidity; manager selection and portfolio strategy |
How the salary ranges compare
In Goodman Masson's 2026 UK salary guide, general insurance has the highest qualified-level ranges of the three actuarial practice areas it reports, followed by life and pensions. Investments is not shown as a separate actuarial category in that guide. These are recruiter placement estimates, not guaranteed salaries.
- The bands are in the Acttuary salary calculator, by area, stage and location, at acttuary.com/tools/salary-calculator.
- Recruiter guides often group student actuaries by exam progress, and many employers link salary progression to professional exams. Individual employer policies vary.
- Several salary guides show higher ranges in London, particularly in London Market general insurance. Compare the salary difference with location and living costs.
Choosing between them
- Pensions: often suits people who like a combination of calculations, long-term financial promises and client or trustee work. Consulting roles are available across a wide range of UK locations.
- Life: often suits people interested in long-term cashflows, mortality and longevity, insurer balance sheets, annuities or pension risk transfer. Much of the work is within large insurers and can involve regular valuation and reporting cycles.
- General insurance: often suits people interested in insurance risk, pricing, claims data, statistics or the London Market. Many specialist roles are concentrated in London, although personal-lines insurers also employ actuaries regionally.
- Investments: often suits people interested in markets, bonds, interest rates and how assets are managed against long-term liabilities. Roles appear in consultancies, insurers, fiduciary managers and asset managers.
- If you are asked why a practice area interests you, give a genuine reason, connect it to something you have researched and mention a part of the actual work you would like to experience. If you quote a current market figure, know the source and check that it is still current.
- Lloyd's is a market rather than a single insurer. Managing agents operate syndicates within the market, so understand whether you are applying to the Corporation of Lloyd's, a managing agent, broker or insurer.
- Moving between practice areas can become harder as your specialist experience develops, but your first role does not permanently determine your career. Related moves, particularly between pensions, investments and pension risk transfer, are possible.
Explore the practice areas
Go into the work in more detail with the General Insurance, Life Insurance, Pensions and Investments courses.