AFA certification at a glance
If you advise on or sell insurance products in Switzerland, AFA certification is a mandatory requirement that validates your knowledge. This page provides an overview. It does not replace official information, and this is by design: we prefer to refer you to the source rather than reproducing rules that are subject to change.
Who organises the exam
The exam is organised by the VBV, the official AFA examination body, independently of Caelys. It is this body, and this body alone, that determines registration, procedures, the timetable and fees. We do not issue any certificates and we are not involved at any stage in the conduct of the official exam.
For any questions regarding registration, dates or conditions, please contact the official body. The information you find there is authoritative; the information on this page is for guidance only and does not constitute a legal reference.
The pass mark
The organisation requires a 60 per cent pass mark.
This is the official pass mark. It is not the mark we advise you to aim for whilst preparing, and the following page explains why.
The four areas
The certification covers four areas, which you can prepare for separately or together:
- General skills and knowledge: the foundations of the profession, the legal framework, technical fundamentals and the basics of insurance brokerage. This is the natural starting point.
- Non-life: property and assets insurance, protecting your clients’ property and liabilities.
- Life: pension provision and financial planning, life insurance, 1st, 2nd and 3rd pillars.
- Health and supplementary: from basic cover to supplementary policies.
An adviser wishing to practise without restrictions must prepare for all of them. A specialist adviser may focus solely on their own field.
What preparation can do, and what it cannot
Good preparation puts you in exam conditions before the exam: same question format, same time limit, same inability to go back over previous answers. It identifies your weaknesses and tells you where to go back and practise. It eliminates unpleasant surprises, which are the main cause of failure among candidates who are otherwise competent.
It does not guarantee success, and any promise of this kind would be illegal. The result depends on your own hard work. Be wary of anyone who promises you otherwise.