We're all lifelong learners. The insurance industry is changing fast, demanding that professionals at all levels constantly pursue new knowledge and update their skills. If you're not learning new things every day, you're getting left behind.

Forward-thinking organizations across all industries recognize the value of a lifelong commitment to learning and consider helping employees develop knowledge and skills a key strategic initiative. In fact, Google prioritizes the ability to learn ahead of all other traits, including experience and technical know-how, when it comes to hiring.

Lifelong learning benefits companies and individuals alike. Take this statistic for instance: 85 percent of individuals who earned their Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) designation from The Institutes say it's accelerated their careers.

But as the value organizations place on lifelong learning increases, simply pursuing lifelong learning isn't enough to set yourself apart from other continuing education devotees. In today's insurance landscape, lifelong learning must be strategic, blending industry fundamentals and emerging trends to create maximum value for individuals looking to grow their careers quickly and benefit their organizations.

Katrine Pertsovski, an ardent lifelong learner, used continuing education to pivot into a career in the insurance industry after majoring in mathematics and economics. She was confident in her quantitative skills, but felt she needed more industry expertise early in her career. So she earned her CPCU–and went on to earn a staggering 17 additional designations within a four-year period. She says the CPCU provided the foundation of industry knowledge she needed to successfully apply her analytical skills.

“I think when you start a job, you can sort of get by just doing the day-to-day stuff,” she said. “But as you progress in your career, you want to start thinking about how you can improve the product you are working on, and that's where the extra knowledge really comes into play.”

Lifelong learning begins at an early age

Research out of Stanford University reveals the appetite for lifelong learning doesn't develop in school or our first few years out of college. It develops when we're first learning how to learn.

In her research, psychologist Carol Dweck determined that there are two fundamental mindsets surrounding intelligence: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is static. As a result, they focus on confirming their existing intelligence rather than stepping out of their comfort zone and striving to reach their full potential.

Growth mindset individuals, on the other hand, believe intelligence can be molded and developed, so they constantly aspire to learn more. This in turn leads to a host of traits employers highly value, such as the ability to embrace challenges, learn from criticism and find inspiration in the success of others.

This divide in how we view learning can be found in children as young as four years old. In researching fixed and growth mindsets, Dweck discovered that some children preferred to redo puzzles they've already successfully completed, while others opted to have a go at more challenging puzzles—even if that meant failing. The kids who pushed themselves exhibited a growth mindset before they ever set foot in a classroom.

Finding the right opportunities

Yet even for individuals with a strong growth mindset, finding the right avenues to pursue ongoing education in an increasingly crowded lifelong learning space is an ongoing challenge. Today, there are more ways to pursue continued insurance knowledge than ever. Postgraduate degree programs, conferences, networking events, online resources, internal training programs and a variety of other education opportunities all compete for the limited attention and resources of today's insurance industry lifelong learner.

To cut through this clutter, organizations and individuals should take a collaborative approach to lifelong learning, with employers serving as active sponsors of ongoing education and employees favoring topics and resources that promise to grow their expertise in tactical areas that will benefit their companies overall. Research shows that, when done right, this implied agreement can be mutually beneficial to both employees and organizations. For example, in an EvoLLLution survey, 96 percent of employers said ongoing education has a positive impact on job performance, and 87 percent said ongoing education efforts impact compensation and salary.

With a wide variety of in-depth designations and industry associations, including The Institutes CPCU Society and customized learning options, The Institutes offer a unique opportunity for ongoing education that benefits both employers and employees. Designations like the Associate in General Insurance (AINS®) and the CPCU, recognized as the premier designation programs in the industry, provide a robust foundation of knowledge for insurance professionals. Programs like the Associate in Risk Management (ARM™), Cyber Risk Management and Associate in Insurance Data Analytics (AIDA™) allow industry practitioners to drill down into specific or emerging topics, becoming innovators and thought leaders on key topics within their organizations. Individuals earning designations can structure their study and exam schedules around personal and professional needs, allowing for flexible organizational support.

Pertsovski said she could not have started her ongoing education efforts without the support of her employer. In fact, hearing from other CPCUs at her company is what first made her aware of the CPCU designation. As she earned more designations and blended her analytical skills with an ever-increasing amount of industry knowledge, she remained steadfastly focused on improving her organization's products and processes. That focus on the benefits to the company resulted in three promotions in a short amount of time.

“You have to value learning,” she said. “That's true in any industry, but especially in the insurance world. There's so much to learn from a regulatory standpoint, from a pricing standpoint, from a product development standpoint. It's easy to assume things are done a certain way for a reason, but it's better to take a step back and think, 'How can I improve that?'”

To learn more about how you can benefit your career and your organization with some of the industry's most respected certifications and designations, visit The Institutes' website at www.TheInstitutes.org.

Special Reports /

Learning with a purpose: Why ongoing education must be strategic

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