Education Essential

Frequent CE Classes Keep Agents Informed

Efforts to provide first-quality education at its annual convention, insurance day programs and at regular errors and omissions education programs puts the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of West Virginia in the forefront of educational efforts for a significant percentage of member agents, according to Gray Marion, PIIAWV executive vice president. Marion told Insurance Journal that at a recently-completed planning session the board of directors mapped out a plan to interest high school and college students in insurance as a career path.

“One of the things the board wants us to accomplish is to reach out to young people attempting to make career choices,” Marion said. “We will promote the good things the industry does and sell the idea that they can make a good living, particularly as an independent insurance agent.”

“At the same time we will emphasize that they can do something that is useful to their community,” he said. PIIAWV will begin such a program over the next 12 to 18 months, putting together material and talking to students about the advantages of making the insurance industry a career choice.”

Marion said PIIAWV has 40 percent participation in post-licensing courses, for which it brings in experts to teach from all over the U.S. Every two years, West Virginia regulations require licensed agents to complete 24-hour continuing education classes. They sponsor an average of three post-licensing courses a year in major population centers, where about 150 to 200 agents take the courses each year.

PIIAWV promoted the idea of a continuing education requirement on a state level in 1992 and helped pass it by promoting a strong insurance educational requirement.

“The insurance industry has gotten more and more complex as time has gone on, you can’t be in this business without education being a continuous part of your work day,” Marion explained. “You are learning something somewhere about some part of the insurance business everywhere you go and everything you do.”

Marion emphasized that with a constantly changing array of insurance products and services being offered and the way carriers constantly change the way they do business, agents have an enormous education hurdle to overcome. He said it is a constant challenge and process for everyone in the agency, from the person who mans the reception desk, customer service, and right up the chain of command to the person who owns the agency.

“The growing trend in agency ranks is to want agency educational efforts tailored to their agency’s specific business activities,” Marion expl-ained. “The challenge for organizations like PIIAWV in the future is going to be to meet that need. We are going to have to find a way to take what they want directly into their agency.

“Being able to tailor insurance education to a specific agency’s needs is time and personnel intensive,” he said. “The best way for associations to offer that level of service is to have experienced education staff and that’s really difficult for small associations.

He said this can be accomplished in several ways, pointing to the Big I University as a “wonderful step” in that direction. He recognizes there are hurdles for to overcome, one of which is to establish seminars online that are tailored in a state-specific manner.

“The trick for people like me, in small associations is being able to tailor educational to a specific agency’s needs. This is a time and personnel intensive need, and the way to do that is to get a person on staff,” Marion said. “It can be done and I am moving in that direction — I expect to be able to do that within a year.”

Marion said it’s important to educate key front-line employees in agencies that handle functions like answering the phone and being service representatives.

“Our members are wrestling with customer service issues, they want their customer service teams to be more effective and that is going to be an educational challenge” he pointed out. “People misinterpret the role of customer service representatives, they think they are the people you call up to ask the odd question, those people understand coverage, coverage forms, products and services just as well in most if not every case as well as the producing agent does.”

Marion said a good customer services representatives can really help round out the account.

“If you call up your independent insurance agency because your automobile insurance renewal date is coming up, a good customer service rep will ask, ‘Well, you do have homeowner’s insurance don’t you?'” Marion explained. “‘Are you interested in talking about your life insurance policy?'” They will get to know the customer and if they find out a customer is operating a business out of his garage, they will ask, ‘Have you ever heard of an in-home commercial umbrella policy that would cover the contents of your business?’ They will help the customer improve his coverage and at the same time improve business for the agency.”

Marion explained the customer service rep takes over after a sale is consummated. Selling is not their primary role within an agency, it is taking care of the client after the policy is sold–it is a difficult job. Many have the same requirements as a regular agent.

Marion predicts major changes in the future educational requirements of the industry. “As the industry changes, so does educational needs” he concluded.

LAAIA courses
The Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies sponsors educational seminars four times a year, offering 12 credit hours throughout the year and at its annual convention offers up to 30 CE credits over four days, according to Dulce M. Suarez-Resnick, president and education president.

“We teach Institute courses (AIICPCU) with formal classes starting again in September,” explained Suarez-Resnick, who has been an instructor since 1992.

Suarez-Resnick said LAAIA is also working with the Independent Insurance Agents of Dade County, Fla., on a spin-off of the IIABA’s Invest Program called the Invest Academy, which will take the program to another level. The new program will churn out licensed CSRs.

“I’ve been involved with Invest since 1993, and at present Daniel Baptista and I are liaisons,” Suarez-Resnick said. “We feel this is a wonderful opportunity for the students as it gives them another career choice.

LAAIA has participated on the CPCU Society’s Diversity Task Force, which last October was voted to become an actual standing committee to discuss educating minority agents and providing them with an opportunity to further their education. The program also helps them provide quality products and services to their clients.

Suarez-Resnick feels the Invest Academy pilot program is very important for students and the industry. Miami-Dade County will kick-off the pilot program in August. Suarez-Resnick predicts that if the program is a success they will model it for the entire state and eventually on a national level.

“LAAIA has offered to help develop this new program by providing instructors, having our agency members and associate members participate in an apprenticeship program,” Suarez-Resnick concluded.

Alabama promotes technical education

“Education plays a critical role for both the new and experienced agent,” Ted A. Kinney, director of education and technical affairs for the Alabama Independent Insurance Agents explained. “The insurance industry is getting more technically difficult every day and agents without technical competence will not survive.”

Kinney said education improves the agents’ knowledge while protecting them from errors and omissions suits.

More than 2,400 agents took AIIA courses in 2004 and according to Kinney, the trend continues.

“In addition to our national designation programs (CIC and CISR), we also offer pre-licensing education, E&O training, self-study programs and ‘road shows’ featuring nationally known instructors,” Kinney said. “We also offer quality programs at our Young Agents Conference, Annual Convention and Small and Rural Agents Conference.

NC, more than the basics
“We believe in giving a quality educational experience, not just a way for someone to get their continuing education hours,” Vince Sorgi Jr., Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina director of education explained. “For the new agent, education is a way for them to shorten the ‘learning curve’ that naturally occurs when someone begins a new profession.

“New agents have a myriad of complex policies and coverages to learn and education can help this process move much faster. For the experienced agent, continuing education can not only serve as a ‘brush up’ of knowledge they already have, but it often can show them a new way of looking at a coverage or a policy that they didn’t see before.”

Sorgi has heard many agents say, “No matter how many classes I go to, it always seems that I learn something new each time.” Sorgi said that, “as someone involved in insurance education, this is very gratifying to hear.”

He said it is hard to put a number on how many individual agents have attended our CE courses. “Since the fiscal year began on Sept. 1, 2004, more than 7,000 agents have received CE credit at either our classes, conferences or convention, Sorgi said. “Some of these are repeats, in other words if one agent takes three courses, we count him three times.”

Sorgi said the “Invest” program has been implemented in North Carolina high schools to encourage students to look at a career in insurance. He said the program teaches students about “real-life” insurance issues, education most high school-age youth do not receive.

“Even if they do not pursue insurance as a career, we have made them better consumers,” Sorgi concluded.

Gateway brings in FAIA instructors
David D. Stanton, managing director of Gateway Insurance in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said education is so important that his company has Big I instructors come to his agency every year every and teach two-day CE classes for his employees. Gateway has 70 employees in its Fort Lauderdale office and 50 employees in other South Florida offices.

Gateway sponsors these courses for about 75 percent of its employees, anyone who sells or advises customers about their coverage. A FAIA instructor teaches four, two-day sessions in which half a Gateway department participates in each day, not affecting agency business, but giving all employees the opportunity to complete their training.

“Many of our employees consider our training policies to be a perk to joining our company,” Stanton explained. “We also encourage our account managers to continue their education and obtain professional designations.”

Gateway, a RiskProNet member for two years, has found its networking and practice groups are a major educational benefit.

“Education is not just in the classroom,” Stanton explained. “RiskPro Net members participate in regular telecommunications conferences, called practice groups, in which agency principals and employees discuss how to build business and changes in the marketplace.”

Once a month Gateway employees participate in a RiskPro Net practice group on construction industry risks, construction coverage problems and surety issues. Stanton said that such practice groups are so well accepted that they usually have 100 percent participation.

Ga. agency has elaborate program
J. Smith Lanier & Co., a RiskProNet member in West Point, Ga., takes a formal approach to training: In 2001 it established what it calls the J. Smith Lanier & Co. University, or JSLU.

The company offers six formal classes a month, either in a classroom setting or via a Webcast, and has thousands of classes that employees can take over the Internet or as a correspondence course on their own schedule. Topics include computer training, developmental classes and leadership development, as well as more insurance-specific courses and designations. Virtually all of the agency’s 450 employees enrolled classes last year, with most taking several courses.

“We’ve found formalizing the program allows us to offer a broader range of courses, and also sends a strong message that we believe training is important,” explained Lorie Yauney, vice president of human resources and training.

JSLU uses in-house trainers and instructors, as well as non-JSLU instructors, advisors, and insurance organizations. Through the automated system, employees can search and register for available classes, enroll and complete an online course for CE, and view their progress and courses.

PIAFL: Education must stay current
“The insurance industry is evolving rapidly and it takes an effort to keep abreast of all the changes,” explained Kevin Phalen, Professional Insurance Agents of Florida director of Education. “Aggressive competition, consumer demand for more professionalism and competence, the impact of technology, and the increasing complexity of insurance products makes education a key component of any professional agent’s success, whether the agent is seasoned or a novice.”

PIA sponsors Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) designation programs in Florida.

The CIC program provides practical knowledge to enhance the careers and improve the bottom lines of property/casualty insurance professionals. It is more advanced than the typical insurance continuing education program, but steers clear of arcane, theoretical information, focusing instead on useful information.

The CISR program is designed for insurance agency personnel, including agents and customer service reps and stresses an understanding and analysis of risks, exposures and coverages; freedom from errors and omissions (E&O) claims; cross-selling and account rounding; and a practical knowledge of insurance products. You can take some or all of the CISR class online. PIA even does in-house classes if an agency requests it.

For seasoned professionals
Advanced Learning Seminars (ALS), exclusive for CISR designees, provide attendees with a more advanced and varied class.

Each ALS is planned individually, so there is no standard curriculum. The ALS is intended to cover timely and pressing topics not covered in the five regular CISR classes, or to cover a more advanced version of something that is touched on in one of the regular classes.

Ruble Seminars are special two-and-a-half day courses exclusively for CIC designees. It’s a way for CICs to get more variety while satisfying annual update requirements without having to take the same five institutes over and over again. Different topics are available at Ruble Seminars that are not covered at the regular institutes, or they may include a more advanced version of a topic that is covered at an institute.

In addition, state-mandated Ethics courses are offered, taken by 288 insurance professionals in 2005. They learn about ethics, obtain CE credit, meet DFS’s mandatory CE requirements, and obtain Utica E&O premium credit. Attendees are given a historical view of ethics; and learn about current standards in professional ethics, statutes regulating the conduct of insurance practitioners in Florida, and the legal obligations insurance agents owe to their clients and their companies, including practical E&O loss-prevention issues.

Phalen said the education portion of PIA of Florida’s Web site (piafl.org) offers good overall view of licensing and educational opportunities:

Phalen said a good introduction to the insurance industry is PIA of Florida’s Dynamics of Service class, an agency-tested training system designed to increase performance, professionalism, and job satisfaction throughout an agency. The class concentrates on insurance-specific customer service training, with a special focus on customer service issues, including account development and E&O loss prevention. Many experienced professionals can learn from taking this class–as a matter of fact, CISR designees can use it as an update.

Another good introductory course is the CISR Agency Operations class, which helps shows individuals how to become an indispensable team player. Understanding how agencies operate is essential training for insurance agency personnel and as a result, attendees will work with enhanced self-assurance and a greater understanding of the dynamics within insurance organizations. Topics include internal operations, enhancing staff skills, professional responsibility, the insurance marketplace, internal systems and streamlining processing.

Like the ethics course, Agency Operations and Dynamics of Service classes qualify for a 5 percent premium discount for Utica E&O policyholders.

Bob Fowinkle, owner of Moore Fowinkle & Schroer Agency in Bradenton commented, “I’ve been to many, many insurance classes and seminars, and without a doubt, the CIC program is the most powerful set of courses I’ve ever taken. The CIC program has the best daily application to insurance matters for an agency.”

According to Tom Odiorne, vice president, Odiorne Insurance Agency Inc., Brandon, Fla., “PIA’s education programs are the classes of choice for Odiorne Insurance. The professional designation and continuing education classes provide current and up-to-date education for the staff and agents.”