Is it possible to pass SA1 without having sat ST1?
Everything in ST1 is assumed knowledge for SA1, so if you haven't already sat ST1 you will need to read the ST1 course before starting on SA1.
I would say that doing SA1 without ST1 is much harder than doing SA2 without ST2. Much of the healthcare courses are concerned with the healthcare products - these are much more complicated than the life insurance products, eg term assurances in ST2 are very simple (regular premium, lump sum on death before end of term and that's it), but income protection in ST1 has all sorts of special features (claim definition - own/any job, deferred period, linked claims period, rehabilitation benefits, proportionate benefits etc).
The kinds of questions asked in SA1 also build on the material in ST1. a thorough grounding in the products is crucial. But there are lots of other healthcare topics in ST1 that are important too, eg underwriting is very different to ST2, there's claims underwriting too, and then there's state provision of healthcare.
Does anyone know which one is easier?
The SA subjects should be much harder than the corresponding ST subjects, after all the SA exam is the final exam for fellowship.
The types of questions asked in the SA exams are much deeper than in the ST exams, eg the SA1 exam usually has just 2 or 3 questions. So this makes the exam harder.
There's also a lot of tricky material in SA1, eg accounting regulations, tax, Solvency II.
Finally, the examiners have stated that they expect SA1 students to have a thorough understanding of healthcare and to do this they must read the additional reading papers listed in the first chapter.
So in summary, SA1 is a hard exam and needs plenty of preparation - it would be particularly hard to start now so close to the exam or for someone who hasn't sat ST1. However, we are here to help at ActEd and as you can see from the next thread on this Forum, the pass rates can be good.
Best wishes
Mark
