The sittings for the CAS exams are just over a month away. I hope that studying is going well for all of you.
This is my first post to the AO. I’d like to start by making sure that you all saw the recent e-mail from the CAS office providing a link to an important spring sitting announcement. Here’s the link:
http://ift.tt/1CAbHlD
This announcement covers two main points: (1) The CAS office will no longer provide exam centers with a backup calculator, so make sure to bring your own back up with you; (2) exam center supervisors will only return exams to candidates in self-addressed stamped envelopes (SASEs) not in inter-office envelopes.
Here’s a bit more on the second point: First, this is not a change in the rules, per se. The rules previously only cited SASEs as a means of returning exams; no other options were listed. However, several exam centers have accommodated inter-office envelopes. At first this may seem a practical approach; and it certainly stems from the best intentions. (I myself accepted inter-office envelopes when I was an exam center supervisor.) However, candidate inquiries on this subject have brought to light the unintended inequity fostered by this practice. So, to better promote fairness and consistency across all candidates and all exam centers, we have instructed the exam centers to comply with the strict reading of the rule and only accept SASEs. By posting this message to the CAS website, and mentioning it again here, I am hoping you won’t be caught unawares and unable to receive your exam back. So please keep this in mind and plan accordingly. Everyone who wants to get the exam back will need to arrive at the center with a self-addressed envelope affixed with sufficient postage.
So, moving on to the next topic: Since this is my first AO post, by way of an introduction, I’d like to also provide a few comments about my background:
Employment and Education: I am currently employed by Liberty Mutual Insurance, in the Seattle office. I work with commercial lines product management as the pricing manager for our package products (i.e. Business Owners Policies, Commercial Business Packages and Farm Packages). I joined Liberty through the Safeco acquisition, where I’d worked since 2001. Prior to this I held actuarial positions at Fireman’s Fund, in the San Francisco Bay area, and at Zenith (via acquisition of Riscorp) in Sarasota, FL. Prior to working in the insurance industry I studied mathematics at the University of South Florida, receiving a BA and MA. I also spent a few years teaching undergraduate math courses, before deciding that being an actuary was a better fit for me than becoming a perpetual PhD candidate or teaching math.
Exam Committee Service: I finished my exams in 2002 then joined the committee as a writer/grader in early 2003. After fulfilling my commitment as a writer/grader, I hadn’t had nearly enough yet. So I took on progressively higher leadership positions on the committee. I served as vice-chair, and then chair, of my exam part team; then as the general officer (G.O.) overseeing the fall exams. Most recently I’ve served as the assistant chair during Steve Armstrong’s three-year term as chair. Steve and I have worked very closely over the past three years, and I’m proud of the progress the committee has made and eager to maintain this momentum. Of course, we can always improve, but it’s been particularly gratifying to be a part of the introduction and continued evolution of the writing summits and examiners reports; and these will continue to be key points of focus over the coming years.
I’ll post again soon with more details about the priories for my term of office—I’m very excited about several of the initiatives and projects we have going—but I’ve made you read enough today already.
I’ll close with a shout out of thanks to my predecessor and exam committee mentor, Steve Armstrong. (Thank you, Steve!). He’s been a great leader and I’ve learned a lot from him along the way. I certainly have some big shoes to fill, but it’s reassuring that I’ll continue to benefit from Steve’s leadership in his new role as the VP of Admissions.
Stay tuned for more updates. Meanwhile, I wish you all a productive last month of studying and a successful spring sitting!
Best regards,
Wm
This is my first post to the AO. I’d like to start by making sure that you all saw the recent e-mail from the CAS office providing a link to an important spring sitting announcement. Here’s the link:
http://ift.tt/1CAbHlD
This announcement covers two main points: (1) The CAS office will no longer provide exam centers with a backup calculator, so make sure to bring your own back up with you; (2) exam center supervisors will only return exams to candidates in self-addressed stamped envelopes (SASEs) not in inter-office envelopes.
Here’s a bit more on the second point: First, this is not a change in the rules, per se. The rules previously only cited SASEs as a means of returning exams; no other options were listed. However, several exam centers have accommodated inter-office envelopes. At first this may seem a practical approach; and it certainly stems from the best intentions. (I myself accepted inter-office envelopes when I was an exam center supervisor.) However, candidate inquiries on this subject have brought to light the unintended inequity fostered by this practice. So, to better promote fairness and consistency across all candidates and all exam centers, we have instructed the exam centers to comply with the strict reading of the rule and only accept SASEs. By posting this message to the CAS website, and mentioning it again here, I am hoping you won’t be caught unawares and unable to receive your exam back. So please keep this in mind and plan accordingly. Everyone who wants to get the exam back will need to arrive at the center with a self-addressed envelope affixed with sufficient postage.
So, moving on to the next topic: Since this is my first AO post, by way of an introduction, I’d like to also provide a few comments about my background:
Employment and Education: I am currently employed by Liberty Mutual Insurance, in the Seattle office. I work with commercial lines product management as the pricing manager for our package products (i.e. Business Owners Policies, Commercial Business Packages and Farm Packages). I joined Liberty through the Safeco acquisition, where I’d worked since 2001. Prior to this I held actuarial positions at Fireman’s Fund, in the San Francisco Bay area, and at Zenith (via acquisition of Riscorp) in Sarasota, FL. Prior to working in the insurance industry I studied mathematics at the University of South Florida, receiving a BA and MA. I also spent a few years teaching undergraduate math courses, before deciding that being an actuary was a better fit for me than becoming a perpetual PhD candidate or teaching math.
Exam Committee Service: I finished my exams in 2002 then joined the committee as a writer/grader in early 2003. After fulfilling my commitment as a writer/grader, I hadn’t had nearly enough yet. So I took on progressively higher leadership positions on the committee. I served as vice-chair, and then chair, of my exam part team; then as the general officer (G.O.) overseeing the fall exams. Most recently I’ve served as the assistant chair during Steve Armstrong’s three-year term as chair. Steve and I have worked very closely over the past three years, and I’m proud of the progress the committee has made and eager to maintain this momentum. Of course, we can always improve, but it’s been particularly gratifying to be a part of the introduction and continued evolution of the writing summits and examiners reports; and these will continue to be key points of focus over the coming years.
I’ll post again soon with more details about the priories for my term of office—I’m very excited about several of the initiatives and projects we have going—but I’ve made you read enough today already.
I’ll close with a shout out of thanks to my predecessor and exam committee mentor, Steve Armstrong. (Thank you, Steve!). He’s been a great leader and I’ve learned a lot from him along the way. I certainly have some big shoes to fill, but it’s reassuring that I’ll continue to benefit from Steve’s leadership in his new role as the VP of Admissions.
Stay tuned for more updates. Meanwhile, I wish you all a productive last month of studying and a successful spring sitting!
Best regards,
Wm
Greetings from the Exam Committee
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