Frequently Asked Questions

Generally speaking, yes, we sell all of the textbooks for each exam. On occasion,  recommended textbooks on the syllabus are out-of-print. Most out-of-print textbooks can be purchased from specialty retailers but typically you will have to pay a significant premium to do so.

The SOA and CAS no longer specify all of the required textbooks for each exam. For the first four exams, actuarial students are now given suggested textbooks or Option A/B/C textbooks as well as the required texts. It is our understanding that this change was made based on the academic theory that it helps boost students’ learning of the material.

All of the required textbooks should be purchased/borrowed for each exam. There is no substitute for the underlying textbook material. Suggested textbooks and the Option A/B/C textbooks are listed because the SOA and CAS have determined that they cover the exam material thoroughly. Our recommendation is to purchase/borrow a Suggested/Option A/B/C textbook that has a corresponding solutions manual. Many, but not all, of the textbooks have helpful solutions manuals. The use of solutions manuals are optional – depending upon the textbook about half of all actuarial students purchase the corresponding solutions manual.

There are many study manuals and other supplemental materials available to actuarial students to help them with the exams. These materials are a “must have” because they significantly cut your study time and improve your chances of passing the exam(s). All study manuals provide you with detailed outlines of the material, and most provide sample problems/exams with detailed solutions. Samples of the manuals are provided by most publishers and these are available as you browse the material listed on our website for each exam. Descriptions of each manual are also provided in this section. All study manuals are produced by well-known and well-respected actuarial educators and publishers.

In addition, the Actuarial Bookstore offers the widest possible array of other helpful tools including flashcards, practice problem/exam & solution sets, DVD seminars as well as registration for live and online seminars. Product descriptions of all products are provided and many samples of each product are also available.

Please note: the Actuarial Bookstore also sells SOA/CAS approved calculators. Please see this FAQ section for important information regarding calculators.

We do not sell these materials. Study notes are only available from the SOA or the CAS.

Our website has complete descriptions on nearly all of our products and where ever possible, we have also listed product samples provided by the publishers. These samples are available for review as you browse the material listed on our website for each exam. After reviewing this information, if you feel that you need further help, please contact us.

Only the approved calculators described in the following paragraphs may be brought into the examination room. Candidates may use the battery or solar-powered models of the following Texas Instruments calculators:

BA-35
BA II Plus
BA II Plus Professional
TI-30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery)
TI-30X
TI-30Xa

TI-30XSMV Multi-View

The CAS/SOA logos are not required on the calculator. Candidates may use more than one of the approved calculators during the examination. For those using the BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional, or TI-30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery) models, candidates will be required to show examination proctors that the memory has been cleared prior to the start of the examination. Calculator instructions cannot be brought into the examination room.

Any unauthorized calculator brought to the examination center will be confiscated for the duration of the examination. Candidates using a calculator other than the approved models will be subject to examination disqualification or other disciplinary action.

It is the candidate's responsibility to see that the calculator used during the examination is in good working order. Supervisors will have a spare approved calculator available for a candidate whose calculator may malfunction. It will not be distributed to a candidate without a calculator or whose unauthorized calculator has been confiscated.

Most electronic study aids are delivered as an embedded link within minutes of receiving your email order confirmation. To access the information in these embedded links, you may need to download Adobe Digital Editions (free) software. If you do not receive this 2nd email with its link then one of following  things has typically happened: 1. Your company has blocked the delivery of this item; or 2. Your internet service provider has blocked the delivery of this item; 3. You have provided an invalid email address as the ship to email address on your order; or, 4. The electronic item is delivered via email as an attachment directly from the author of the product. Please allow up to 72 hours for delivery of this information.

We are quite experienced in getting around these problems. One way or another, you will receive your attachment. Please contact us and we will solve this problem promptly.

Some electronic products are accessed via a website and require a separate username and password; please allow up to 72 hours to receive an email with instructions from the author/company on how to gain access to the material.  Be sure to check any junk, spam or bulk folders for delivery of any electronic material in case they are misfiled.

Yes. The Actuarial Bookstore registers actuarial students for many different seminars. These actuarial seminars are available for purchase in their specific exam category (along with the textbooks) or by selecting “Exam Registration” on the Exams Listing section of our website.

The Actuarial Bookstore offers all our customers, large and small, very competitive prices. Full time university/college students are eligible for discounts on a number of study materials including online courses. Products eligible for a student discount will be clearly noted with an outline of the terms and conditions of those discounts on their product description page. Students must call the bookstore to purchase items eligible for discounts; discounts cannot be applied to online orders. If you are not a student but are purchasing for a large number of actuarial students, please visit our corporate accounts page.

The Actuarial Bookstore accepts on-line, telephone, fax, regular mail or email orders. The fastest way to order is to place your order on-line. However, telephone, fax and email orders are almost always processed within 1 business day.

Order forms are available for download on our Print Order Form page.
Given security concerns we do not recommend email orders. Credit card information received in this manner is not secure. Your Actuarial Bookstore account information is password-protected for your privacy and security. The Actuarial Bookstore uses industry-standard SSL-encryption to protect data transmissions.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express/Optima debit and credit card payments. Your credit/debit card will be charged at the time your order is placed not the day that the order is shipped. Please note that we may not accept credit card orders from certain countries.

We also accept check/money order payments. All checks/money orders must be in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. or Canadian bank and be made payable to “The Actuarial Bookstore”. Please include a completed and valid order form with your payment and send both to: PO Box 69, Greenland, NH 03840. Electronic (bank/wire) transfers are not accepted.

Corporate account customers may be eligible to order using purchase orders. Please contact us for details.

Many actuarial study materials are not available at the start of each “exam season”. The reason for this is that the SOA and CAS often do not release the syllabus information to the authors/publishers until 6 or 7 weeks prior to the start of the new exam season. This leaves the authors/publishers very little time to update and publish the revised study manuals. Depending upon the publisher and the number of revisions required, most manuals are available for shipment by June 1 st to 15 th for the Fall Exams and December 1 st to 15 th for the Spring exams.

The Actuarial Bookstore attempts to let all customers know the expected availability date prior to purchase.  We cannot control whether or not these dates will be met however, we do try to contact our customers if significant delays are expected. Most pre-orders are filled the very same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. For this reason, we strongly urge customers to pre-order because shipments are made on a first-to-order, first-to-ship basis. If you do not pre-order, further delays are possible. Please note, when you pre-order your credit card is charged at the time to order is placed not when the item is shipped.

The Actuarial Bookstore has developed its website to be universally browser-friendly. We no longer require that our customers use Internet Explorer.

The Actuarial Bookstore automatically confirms all orders and shipments via email. These confirmations are sent electronically within seconds of the order being properly processed or shipped. Assuming you provided us with an accurate email address, you should receive confirmation within minutes of completing your order. If you did not receive this confirmation and feel you entered your email address correctly, please be sure to check your junk, spam or bulk email folders. You may also contact us.

If an item is on backorder, it is not listed on the “Your Order Has Shipped” email confirmation. We send as many shipping confirmations as necessary for each order. Shipping confirmations indicate that the shipment will be leaving the warehouse that same business day. Please see this FAQ section for additional details regarding delivery of backordered items.

If you register for one of the many live seminars the Actuarial Bookstore offers for purchase, we will simultaneously email registration confirmation to both you and the seminar provider. You should receive this confirmation within minutes of registering using our website. If you register over the telephone, fax or by regular mail, confirmation will be emailed the same day that payment is received. Please contact us if you have not received an email confirmation by the following business day.

Please contact us immediately if you want to cancel your order. Our operations are highly efficient. Within seconds of completing your order, it is sent to the warehouse for fulfillment. During regular business hours, orders are processed for shipment very quickly. The sooner you contact us, the better chance we have of stopping the shipment.

Adobe Digital Editions is available for download on Windows, Linux and MAC computers. DRM protected files are also available on some portable devices, like an iPad, iPhone, Android phone, etc. For a list of all supported devices, please visit http://blogs.adobe.com/aemmobile/supported-devices

To access a DRM file, you will need to have access to the Internet and a browser other than Internet Explorer. IE does not support DRM file downloads. The Internet is only necessary to download the document. You do not need to have Internet access to view the eProduct once it is downloaded.

If a DRM eContent email is sent to a Hotmail, MSN or live.com email address, you will not be able to simply click on the DRM download link. Those (and other web-based email) clients will attempt to download the Adobe license file (.acsm), but the link will be modified by the email reader which will lead to an error when you try to open it with the Adobe Digital Editions software.

You must be able to install free software (Adobe Digital Editions) or a compatible application (like DL Reader by Datalogics) to the device(s) you plan to use. This may require you to have administrative rights or assistance from your IT department.

Use Adobe.com or your App store to download the most recent version of the application to your device. Please be sure to download the application AND authorize it with an Adobe ID of your choosing BEFORE downloading DRM protected materials from their delivery email links. These links include those emailed to you during check-out or those created on the eLearning portal.

You may download the Adobe Digital Editions software here.

An Adobe ID is an email address (username) and password combination that you register with Adobe.com. See below on how to acquire an ID of your own.

Go to www.adobe.com > Choose SIGN IN > Under the "Sign In" button, select "Get an Adobe ID", and complete the sign up form.

Please visit www.adobe.com > Choose SIGN IN > and then "Forgot Password" in blue under the Password field.

This username and password combination is required to authorize your Adobe Digital Editions software or ADE compatible applications on ALL devices where you plan to read/access your ADE library contents. This required step for license authentication must take place on each device before downloading the DRM protected file(s) from the delivery email or eLearning portal.

Open the software and select the "Help" menu in the top navigation bar. Scroll down and select "Authorize Computer". It may ask for your Vendor ID, please select "Adobe ID" and enter the username and password combination you registered with Adobe. DO NOT authorize the device without an Adobe ID; this will prohibit you from having access to the material on other devices.

If your license permits printing, you will only be able to PRINT the protected content from the FIRST device you download to. However, most licenses allow you to view or access the eContent on up to six devices total, provided they are all authorized to the same Adobe ID before you open the eContent on all devices.

License terms may restrict the duration of your access, whether you can print any portion of the document and if so, how much you can print. The specific terms of each product’s license can differ based on the preferences of the author. DRM license terms are outlined in the product description of each DRM product on our website. This information will also be available after you’ve downloaded the product to your ADE library where you can right-hand click on the title of the document and choose "item info."

Most DRM protected materials are emailed to you in a link from ‘sales@actuarialbookstore.com’ shortly after confirmation of your order. So, please check any junk, spam or bulk folders in your email to be sure these messages are not misfiled upon delivery.

If the DRM file is part of a product hosted on our eLearning portal, you will need to login to your account at www.actuariabookstore.com/seminars, and enter the key you are emailed right after placing your order, in order to access all components of that material. DRM protected files on the eLearning portal have a brown book icon.

For whatever reason, these mail servers truncate the very lengthy urllink name/code required to download the material from the Adobe Content Server. If any portion of that link/code is missing or corrupted, the license cannot be downloaded.

As noted on the delivery email, anyone with Hotmail, MSN or live.com email addresses cannot just click on the link to download the URLlink correctly. Instead, please highlight the complete URLlink address (starting with UUID) that is written out in paragraph form in your email, then copy and paste that information into the address bar of your browser (NOT using Internet Explorer). The result should be that you download a file called URLlink.acsm

Internet Explorer is not compatible with DRM license technology. You will need to select another browser as your default browser or copy and paste the UUID link/code from the email into the address bar of a different browser for a successful download.

First, I would check the date you received your Digital Content download email with link to access this material. The link itself is only operational for 14 days. If the link expires, you will need to contact the bookstore to request a new link be sent. If the link is less than 13-14 days old, read on.

Assuming you aren’t using a Hotmail, MSN or live.com email address, it’s likely you have a firewall or virus protection that is preventing your server from communicating with the Adobe Content Server. Please see if you can access the following link, or if you receive an error: http://content.corporate-central.com:8080

If you receive an error, this would indicate that there are protections interfering with the communication between servers, which is necessary in this process. If you have the rights, please temporarily disable your firewall and virus protection. If you require the assistance of IT, please ask them to "unblock port 8080" temporarily so you can complete this process. If you do not have these options, you will not be able to use this device to download and read DRM protected files. You will need to utilize a different device.

The file name will default to URLlink.acsm; please make note of where that file is saved when it downloads to your device. On a laptop or desktop, it is likely to be found in your "downloads" folder unless you specified elsewhere.

1. Make sure you aren’t using Internet Explorer as your browser.
2. Confirm that you downloaded the link properly (using the alternate method for Hotmail, msn or live.com email addresses if you are having issues).
3. Be sure that you are trying to open the link using Adobe Digital Editions or a compatible application (like DL Reader). Note: Adobe Reader, Adobe Pro or other standard PDF readers can NOT read DRM protected PDFs. Your system might be trying to open the .acsm file with your default PDF reader. Try locating the .acsm file, and right-hand-click the file, selecting "open with" and selecting "Adobe Digital Editions." If this does not work, try changing your computer’s default settings to open .acsm files with ADE by default. Finally, in case that does not seem to resolve the problem, select LIBRARY in the top navigation bar of ADE, choose "Add to Library" and navigate to the .acsm file on your computer.
4. It may be as simple as the authorization of your ADE is corrupt. Go to the "Help" menu in the top navigation bar in ADE, and choose "Deauthorize Computer". Once it is deauthorized, please authorize computer again.
5. If "Deauthorize computer" is not an option under the Help menu, try the shortcuts appropriate for your kind of device: FOR WINDOWS, Ctrl + Shift+ D. FOR MAC, Command + Shift + D6. If the shortcut doesn’t work, you will have to edit your registry keys. See Below.

FOR WINDOWS:

Disclaimer: The following solution involves the Windows System Registry. Editing or manipulating the registry incorrectly can result in serious system damage, which may require reinstallation of the operating system. If you are not comfortable editing the registry then it's best to take your machine to a professional. If you choose to proceed it is essential to create a complete system backup and a Windows System Restore Point before proceeding. Adobe Systems cannot be held responsible for damage resulting from this information.

1. Quit Adobe Digital Editions (if it is open).
2. Click Start > Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then press Enter.
3. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adept.
4. Right-click the ADEPT key, and choose Delete.
5. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
6. Quit the Registry Editor.
7. Restart Adobe Digital Editions. You will be asked to re-authorize. Follow the authorization prompts. Be certain to use the correct Adobe ID and password to authorize.
8. Reopen your books to be certain they do not show continued errors.

FOR MAC:

1. Quit Adobe Digital Editions (if it is open).
2. Delete this file:
3. Drive/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Digital Editions/activation.dat
4. Restart Adobe Digital Editions. You will be asked to re-authorize. Follow the authorization prompts. Be certain to use the correct Adobe ID and password to authorize.
5. Reopen your books to be certain they do not show continued errors.

Check to make sure the document license hasn’t expired. Go to the library menu in ADE, right hand click on the title and choose "item info". A pop-up window will outline the terms of your license. If it has expired, you will no longer have access. If it has NOT expired, it is likely you did not authorize your computer before downloading the digital content. Please contact the bookstore for their assistance.

All license terms are only valid if a) ADE software is authorized before downloading your digital content, b) you are printing from the first device you downloaded the eContent to, and c) you have not exceeded the number of printing attempts or pages that are allowed with your license. If a license reads "May print up to two copies", this means that you will have two opportunities to print total. Also, you may only print from the first device you used to open the digital content. If you print section 1 one day and section 2 on a later date, still within the active license period, you will not be able to print any more pages. "May print up to 2 copies," means you can print only twice, and can print a MAXIMUM of 1 copy of the document at each attempt.

You will need to reinstall Adobe Digital Editions and authorize it to the same Adobe ID you used initially. Then download the eContent from the link emailed to you. If your original download link has expired (valid for only 14 days from issue date), you will need to contact the bookstore to send you a new link.

DRM protected documents can be read on mobile devices that are connected to the internet/wi-fi, and permit the use of applications, like DL Reader by datalogics. Support devices can be found here (http://blogs.adobe.com/aemmobile/supported-devices). Follow these steps:

1. Install DL Reader by Datalogics to your mobile device
2. Open the application and select the "I" (information) icon, taking you to "Settings"
3. Enter the Username (email address ) and password of your Adobe ID credentials, select Account Type as AdobeID and select Activate.
4. Open the digital content email on your mobile device, and click on the link to download the .acsm file. , choosing to "open with" DL Reader.

Most U.S. and international orders are shipped, partially or completely, within 1 business day of receiving your order. Delivery to most US, Canadian and worldwide locations takes between 2 – 5 business days (not including the day the order is shipped). Delays in shipping and delivery of your order will occur if items are backordered. For US orders with backordered items, we frequently partial-ship your order and send additional shipments as soon as the backordered materials become available. Most international orders are held until all backorders items are in stock so orders ship complete. The decision to partial-ship an order is at the complete discretion of the Actuarial Bookstore. Please see our shipping information section (listed in the top navigational bar) for additional details.

The Actuarial Bookstore tries our very best to keep all materials in-stock at all times. There are times, however, when products become temporarily unavailable. Most often these delays are less than 1 week. If delays are expected to be greater than 1 week, we are likely to partial-ship US orders. The remaining backordered itemsare shipped the same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. Backordered items are sent via UPS Ground to U.S. customers and via UPS Worldwide Express to international customers regardless of whether expedited shipping is selected at the time of your order.

Depending upon the publisher and the number of revisions required, most pre-ordered manuals are available for shipment by June 1 st to 15 th for the Fall Exams and December 1 st to 15 th for the Spring exams. The Actuarial Bookstore attempts to let all customers know the expected availability date prior to purchase. We cannot control whether or not these dates will be met however, we do try to contact our customers if significant delays are expected. Most pre-orders are filled the very same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. For this reason, we strongly urge customers to pre-order because shipments are made on a first-to-order, first-to-ship basis. If you do not pre-order, further delays are possible. Pre-ordered items are sent via UPS Ground to U.S. customers and via UPS Worldwide Express to international customers.

The Actuarial Bookstore ships to nearly every country in the world. Notable exceptions are Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and select African countries. Most international shipments are sent via UPS Worldwide Express. If your country does not appear in our SHIP TO section of our checkout process, please contact the bookstore for shipping quotes as additional charges will apply.

Nearly all orders are shipped by a trackable delivery method and the Actuarial Bookstore includes this tracking number in our shipment confirmation emails. Orders of BPP or "Print on Demand" items are sent from separate locations and shipment confirmation emails are not available for these items. If you haven’t received a 2nd email confirming the shipment of your order for items shipping from our warehouse, you order has not yet shipped. Tracking numbers are not assigned until the day the order is shipped.

Please note:  There is a delay between when the delivery company assigns the number (at the warehouse pick-up) and when this number is posted on its website. Orders placed earlier in the day are typically posted on the UPS or USPS websites that same evening. If your tracking number does not appear by the next business day, please contact us.

A signature is required for all shipments sent to commercial addresses. A signature is not typically required if your order is delivered to a residential address. However, if the UPS delivery person believes that the location presents the risk of theft/loss, a signature may be required and a note will be placed on your door. If you are concerned about the security of the delivery location, please have your order shipped to a commercial address. The Actuarial Bookstore is not responsible for the contents of the package once it delivered (with or without signature).

The Actuarial Bookstore does not offer alternative international shipping methods. We are very experienced in international shipping. Over the years, the Actuarial Bookstore has found that UPS Worldwide Express offers our international customers the best overall value, balancing cost with the need to assure customs-cleared delivery in a timely fashion.
It may be possible to have orders shipping on a personal or corporate shipping account so please contact us to make arrangements.

Standard Returns:
Actuarial Bookstore offers a full refund for most items returned within 30 calendar days of the date that the order was delivered. Items that state on the cover the are NON-REFUNDABLE will be be eligible for return. Unless previously approved by the Actuarial Bookstore, all returns must be made within calendar 30 days. Please note, BPP products must be returned to the address provided on the specific product description; BPP products returned to the Actuarial Bookstore Returns address below will not be eligible for refund.

Return Policy for Bundled Packages:

The cost savings associated with our bundled packages (EDGE Deluxe Savings Package for FAP, Carmody Jam Deluxe Package) is lost if you return one or more items of the package. If a package gives you a savings of $28, and you decide to return a part of this package, your refund will be less $28. If the entire package is returned, you will receive a refund equal to the package price that you paid.

Damaged/Defective Returns & Shipping Discrepancies:

Customers must notify the Actuarial Bookstore within 5 business days of the receipt of the order regarding any damage, defective products or shipment discrepancies to be eligible for a damage refund or a replacement order. Returns of these items often require special procedures. Customers are responsible for verifying the contents and quality of delivered orders upon receipt. Please contact us promptly if there are any concerns or problems with your shipment.

To be eligible for this return policy, returned books and/or other study materials must be free of any noticeable wear or damage. Returned software, audio CDs and DVDs must be unopened and accompanied by its original documentation to be eligible for a refund. Electronically distributed study materials and GV Ramanathan Practice exams are not eligible for refunds.

For your convenience, your packing slip has our standard returns address noted at the bottom of the page. Most returns should be sent to the following address:

Please include a copy of the packing slip and please write a brief explanation for your return on this packing slip. (Example: “Item not needed.”) We ask this so that the warehouse knows who is returning the items and to make sure that damaged items are not placed back on our shelves for resale.

Important: Please make sure to pack the items very well with plenty of material to minimize the shifting of the contents of the box. Items that are returned damaged are not eligible for refund. Some covers get bent back easily so it is important that the items are packed well enough to not shift during shipment.

You may wish to consider sending your return by a trackable method (non-express) such as UPS Ground. Paying additional for tracking service and shipping insurance is completely at the customer’s discretion and will not be refunded by the Actuarial Bookstore. Please do not ship returned via USPS Media Mail as delivery is unlikely to arrive at the Returns location within the 30 day return period.

The Actuarial Bookstore processes customer returns once a week. Nearly all customer returns are completed within two weeks of receipt of the items at the warehouse. If you paid by credit card, we will refund the same credit card used for payment. An email notification of this credit will be sent to you the day the refund is processed. Check payments are refunded by check directly to the person or company who paid for the order. Refunds are typically sent to the bill to address associated with the order.

Return item shipping is typically the responsibility of the customer. However, if the Actuarial Bookstore made an error in shipping or the items arrived damaged/defective, we will reimburse you for your return expenses (for non-express methods of shipping), provided the Actuarial Bookstore has been notified of the error/damage/defect within 5 days after delivery of the shipment.
Paying additional for tracking service and shipping insurance is completely at the customer’s discretion and will not be refunded by the Actuarial Bookstore.