Acttuary interview cheatsheet · updated August 2026
Life insurance interview cheatsheet
A one-page refresher of the key terms, common questions and easy mistakes to review shortly before your interview.
This one is for members. Below is the sheet itself, with most of each section held back, so you can see what you would be printing: the key terms, the questions that come up most and the mistakes that are easy to make, on one side of A4.
Key terms
| Term | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Life insurance | Includes protection products and savings or retirement products such as annuities. Different products expose insurers to different risks. |
| Term assurance | Pays a benefit if the insured dies during a fixed term. If they survive the term, no death benefit is paid. |
7 more on the full sheet
Questions to prepare for
| Question | What to cover |
|---|---|
| Why life insurance? | Explain what interests you about long-term promises, mortality or longevity risk, modelling, investment or capital, then support it with something you have researched. |
| Why might a scheme buy in before buying out? | A buy-in transfers risk while the scheme continues preparing for a possible buy-out, including checking member data and benefits. |
3 more on the full sheet
Three things to remember
- Protection and annuities respond differently to mortality. Earlier deaths are adverse for protection but favourable for annuities, so writing both can provide a partial natural hedge.
- The current UK prudential regime is Solvency UK. It developed from the Solvency II framework.
1 more on the full sheet
The other areas are in there too
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