About actuarial practice areas
Actuaries apply their expertise and provide specialist advice in the practice areas below. Some affect all actuaries, like finance and sustainability, while others provide them with the opportunity to focus their skills in specialised sectors. Our role in these practice areas is to support our members working in them and to promote the profession.
Finance and investment
General insurance
Health and care
Life
Pensions
Risk management
Sustainability
Cross practice work
Practice boards
The IFoA’s practice boards are member-led boards of senior volunteer actuaries that actively influence the environments in which actuaries practice. They advise the IFoA on important practice area issues and set key objectives annually. Each board also has oversight of, and is supported by, several subcommittees.
Join the boards or their subcommittees
For all vacancies arising on boards and their subcommittees, check our volunteer vacancies. Further information for volunteers, including tips on how to chair a meeting, can be found in our Volunteer Information Pack.
Research working parties
The practice areas are active in member-led research. Member-led research working parties are volunteer-led groups that conduct research on timely topics of interest to the practice area and the wider profession.
Each practice area has a committee with oversight of all the working parties in that area. It encourages them to undertake research that can be shared with IFoA members via:
- sessional papers
- articles in The Actuary
- articles in the British Actuarial Journal
- presentations at conferences and workshops, which are listed on our events calendar
Volunteer for a working party
All members are encouraged to volunteer for a research working party. If you have your own ideas for member-led research you would like to pursue, please contact our Practice Communities Team below or refer to our Guidance for Member-Led Research Working Parties (562 KB PDF). The guidance covers matters such as competition law, conflicts of interests, data security, and practical matters of support.
Members interested in volunteering for a research working party should check our volunteer vacancies.
Commissioning research
The IFoA is also actively involved in commissioning strategic and external research relating to the practice areas. Information on research undertaken by universities and other external agencies that receive funding or support from the IFoA, the IFoA’s strategy for involvement, the process for calls for research, current research initiatives, and funding can be found in thought leadership.