NAPSLO and AAMGA provide specialized training to members

PROFESSIONAL education and competence are essential to the career of anyone in the insurance industry, but perhaps even more so to general agents, wholesalers and surplus-lines brokers. To provide the specialized training needed to navigate the E&S marketplace, and to recognize those best qualified to do so, two organizations have created professional designation programs specifically for this segment. Kurt C. Bingeman, CPCU, ASLI, RPLU, CIW, director of the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Inc., and Bernd G. “Bernie” Heinze, Esq., executive director of the American Association of Managing General Agents, described the programs, discussed recent changes to them and explained the benefits to those who take part in them.

Kurt Bingeman: The Insurance Institute of America offers the Associate in Surplus Lines (ASLI) designation, which was created with the help of the Derek Hughes/NAPSLO Educational Foundation Inc. To earn the ASLI, candidates must complete a total of four courses–two that focus exclusively on surplus lines and two from an approved list of electives–then pass corresponding national exams. They may prepare for an exam by attending a class, participating in a study group or studying independently.

The program, launched in 1995, was recently updated. Two new courses, ASLI 163-Surplus Lines Insurance Operations and ASLI 164-Surplus Lines Insurance Products, replace ASLI 161 and ASLI 162, the original core courses. ASLI 163 is a comprehensive overview of surplus-lines operations that covers most of the topics previously included in ASLI 161 and 162. ASLI 164 addresses product-related topics and is designed specifically for people working in surplus lines. Instead of taking elective courses from each of two categories, as in the past, students now will choose two electives from a single list of courses covering such topics as claims, underwriting, risk management, reinsurance and finance. Anyone who holds the Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) or Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation can skip the elective courses and earn the ALSI designation by passing only the ASLI 163 and 164 exams.

Study materials for the new core courses will be available this fall, and the Institutes will begin administering exams covering the new material in the January 15 to March 15 testing window. Students who have already begun the program may wish to finish it by the end of this year. Those who plan to start the new program can do so early next year.

Although the ASLI program is intended for general agents and wholesalers, it also can have great value for retail producers, and I think educators and legislators would benefit from it, too. It gives a great overview of the surplus-lines industry and an understanding of how it works. Many agents avoid excess-and-surplus-lines products because they don't understand them and are afraid to use them, which is unfortunate both for those agents and for their clients. An insured may need coverages that are available only in the E&S marketplace, so that client may not be adequately covered or may go to another agent to get the coverage, which opens the door for the second agent to take the rest of the client's business from the incumbent agent.

My agency strongly encourages continuing education. We pay for employees' textbooks and exam fees and offer incentive-based compensation. Everyone has an individual development plan, and we expect anyone working with E&S accounts to earn the ASLI designation. When they do, we give them $500 bonuses and increase their compensation percentages.

To learn more about the ASLI program, call the Institutes at (800) 644-2101 or go to www.napslo.org, click on “Foundation” on the home page, then select “ASLI” from the menu on the left side of the page.

Bernie Heinze: AAMGA offers its members a wide array of technical and personal development classes, as well as three professional designations.

The Certified Wholesale Insurance Specialist (CWIS) designation is suitable for all AAMGA's members. To qualify, a candidate must complete 120 hours of coursework in various educational programs, including some specific to surplus-lines and wholesale insurance, and write a project paper. To maintain the designation, a professional must complete at least 32 hours of wholesale-insurance-specific training every two years.

The Certified Insurance Wholesaler (CIW) designation was created for agency principals and their employees. It requires the same education and requalification criteria as does the CWIS.

An agency can earn the Certified Managing General Agency (CMGA) designation if each of its employees completes at least eight hours of continuing education each year. The agency then must requalify each year.

AAMGA conducts 45 to 50 classes each year, including seminars and stand-alone sessions. A total of 5,570 students from 744 agencies, brokerages, insurance and reinsurance companies, law firms, TPAs and other insurance entities attended AAMGA classes in 2005. This year we launched a professional development center to also offer non-technical classes that teach insurance ethics and other “soft skills” vital to insurance professionals. By attending, students can learn how to negotiate; read, write and understand a business plan; prepare and analyze financial reports; and create PowerPoint presentations.

At our University Weekend this month, we will offer 24 classes on topics ranging from the impact of global warming and climate change to cyber liability and identify theft. We've also scheduled a panel discussion on the new science of underwriting, a claims-and-litigation-management day, and an interactive technology exercise in which details about a hypothetical loss are gradually revealed, and audience members press buttons to determine whether the parties settle the case or it goes to trial. New this year is the Lloyd's and London Markets Insurance Test, or LLMIT. Completing the two-and-a-half-day session and passing the corresponding test will help members better understand the London marketplace, distinguish themselves from others transacting business there, and become better business partners to their colleagues, brokers and underwriters at Lloyd's.

All our continuing education offerings, from two-hour classes to multiday seminars, can be taught onsite. We can send an instructor to students' workplace to teach a class of almost any size–and often the cost is less than the employer would pay to send just one person to offsite training.

More information about AAMGA designations, our University Weekend and onsite training is available on our Web site (www.aamga.org).

President John F. Kennedy once said, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Likewise, we believe that enhancing the educational and professional competencies of AAMGA members will benefit the entire industry. People who are knowledgeable ask better questions, get better answers and write better risks.