Hungarian actuaries (i.e. specialists who apply the quantified consequences of financial risks in practice using mathematical and statistical methods, mostly in the insurance business, responsible for calculating insurance premiums and reserves) already formed a society as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Earlier these professionals identified themselves by using the Hungarian equivalent of the English word actuary. In the 1930's, however, their title changed to insurance mathematician, which is a direct translation of the relevant German word.

The first society of Hungarian actuaries, which functioned more like a regular get-together, was called the Hungarian Actuary Club and existed between 1904 and 1906. Its founding father was Gyula Altenburger and many well-known mathematicians of the period, including Dániel Arany, Samu Bogyó, Miksa Havas, Jákó Raffmann, Ernõ Sós and others, joined the Club. A kindred institution, the Hungarian Society of Insurance Sciences, was founded in 1929.

After World War II, the insurance business was nationalized, and until 1986 there had been only one company in Hungary, namely the State Insurance Company, authorized to underwrite insurance. Consequently, the insurance business could only mechanically implement the fiscal decisions of the government without any regard to their actuarial feasibility. Since 1988, a growing number of private insurance companies have begun to operate in Hungary. As the new insurers now have to work under market conditions, an increasingly important role has to be played by professionals, and especially by actuaries. Having realized this, 36 founding members, including insurance experts, researchers involved in insurance theory, and university lecturers, launched the Hungarian Actuarial Society on February 27, 1991.

Anyone contributing to the actuarial profession through his/her practical or scholarly activities may become a member of the Hungarian Actuarial Society, provided that he/she satisfies the professional and ethical standards and accepts the Articles of the Society, and provided that the General Assembly of the Society admits him/her as a member.