Insurance CE Course Descriptions
Below is a list of the insurance continuing education courses currently offered
by IRMI and a brief description of each. Most are approved for insurance CE
credit in every state, but check the course catalog for your state in our
insurance CE Learning
Center for verification. Our CRIS continuing education courses are not included
on this page; refer to the
CRIS-CE.com site for descriptions of the available CRIS courses. Our MLIS
continuing education courses are not included on this page; refer to the
MLIS-CE.com
site for descriptions of the available MLIS courses.
Insurance Continuing Education Courses from IRMI
Insurance CE Course Descriptions
This intermediate to advanced level course is an in-depth examination of
additional insured status under the CGL, umbrella and excess, automobile, commercial
property, and workers compensation insurance policies. The topic of additional
insured status is a challenging one. Many misconceptions result when adding
contracting parties to one another's insurance policies as additional insureds.
There is also the tug-of-war between insurers and indemnitors who want to limit
the scope of additional insured coverage under their policies and the indemnitees
who want to maximize coverage under the policies of the indemnitors. Added to
this, the interaction of additional insured status with indemnity clauses, insurance
requirements, and other contract provisions is unique and complex. These complications
have resulted in numerous coverage disputes and, consequently, a number of revisions
to standard insurance policy forms and additional insured endorsements. Litigation
continues unabated, however, and the controversy and confusion surrounding additional
insured status under primary and umbrella liability policies, indemnity agreements,
and certificates of insurance persists. The reasons for requiring, methods of
achieving, and problems associated with additional insured status under the
various policies are examined. This course is designed to assist insurance and
risk professionals in understanding how to develop more effective contractual
risk transfer programs and deal with coverage disputes that arise.
This course provides an introduction to agricultural insurance and risk management.
It opens with some basic U.S. agricultural statistics and then delves into an
overview of farm risk management. In order to be successful, a farmer has to
practice good management techniques, including proper risk management of all
phases of the farming operation. Sound risk management techniques include exposure
avoidance, loss control, contractual risk transfer, retention, and insurance.
From there, it analyzes in some depth property and casualty insurance products
for farmers. Proper insurance can include products from insurance bureaus such
as the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) and the American Association of
Insurance Services (AAIS). These entities promulgate a wide variety of insurance
products for farmers such as farm property coverage, farm liability coverage,
farm livestock coverage, farm umbrella coverage, as well as products for large
commercial farm corporations. A lesser amount of time is spent on insurance
products for agricultural-related businesses, such as grain processing plants
and agritourism businesses. The course concludes with an overview of private
and federal crop insurance, with a particular focus on products provided by
the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, a public entity .
This insurance CE course provides an introduction to commercial auto insurance,
focusing on the standard coverage forms developed for this line by Insurance
Services Office, Inc. (ISO). It examines some of the motor vehicle statutes,
the public policy issues behind the statutes, and the effect of these statutes
on various types of commercial auto coverages. The course takes a broad look
at some of the most common types of statutes, and also some of the most common
provisions of those statutes. From there, the course moves on to a detailed
analysis of the business auto coverage form, the motor carrier and truckers
coverage forms, and the garage coverage form. Following that is a review of
common endorsements to modify a policy's provisions, expand or restrict coverage,
add additional insureds, and tailor the policy to apply to specific types of
risks. For each of these coverage forms discussed, primary emphasis is on the
auto liability portion of the policy. Auto physical damage coverage is also
discussed. In addition, trailer interchange coverage and garagekeepers coverage
are explained.
This course provides an introduction to general liability insurance, focusing
on the standard coverage form developed for this line by Insurance Services
Office, Inc. (ISO). It explains the theory of legal liability, the ways in which
one person or organization can become legally liable to another, and the liability
risks that can—and cannot—be addressed through general liability insurance.
The course looks briefly at the historical development of general liability
coverage forms and the ways in which the ISO commercial general liability (CGL)
coverage form has evolved since its introduction in 1986. From this historical
perspective, the course then moves on to a detailed analysis of the CGL coverage
form, using the same organization as the form itself, as follows.
- The Insuring Agreements, which define the scope of coverage and the
triggering incident—the occurrence of injury or damage, the offense, or
the making of a claim against the insured—which brings the policy's coverage
into play.
- Who Is an Insured, which enumerates the persons and organizations that
have "insured" status under the policy and on whose behalf covered claims
will be paid.
- Policy Exclusions, which limit the applicability of the insuring agreement
with respect to specific types of injury and damage.
- Limits of Insurance, which specify how much the policy will pay on behalf
of the insured for each covered claim.
- Policy Conditions, which define the rights and duties of insurer and
insured under the policy.
- Endorsements, written changes attached to the policy that modify its
provisions, expand or restrict coverage, add insured persons or organizations,
and tailor the policy's applicability to specific types of risk.
This insurance CE course discusses commercial lines insurance, which concerns
financial protection for businesses and corporations, as compared to personal
lines insurance which focuses on protection for individuals and families. Examples
of commercial lines policies include the building and personal property coverage
form, commercial general liability (CGL) policy, business auto policy (BAP),
and workers compensation policy.
This course is geared to individuals with little or no experience in the
field of insurance. For example, it begins with a general discussion about how
insurance operates and how it is defined as well as providing some basic insurance
terminology. The course also discusses contract principles and the distinctive
characteristics of insurance contracts.
The course then looks at some big picture issues, such as the operations
and practices of the insurance industry. This includes an overview of the role
of the agent and broker, the claims adjusting process, claims administration,
and underwriting practices. This is followed by a discussion of insurance regulation,
focusing on the role of the courts, statutory law, and the responsibilities
of the state's department of insurance.
The anatomy of an insurance policy is also reviewed, with discussions about
declarations, covered perils, exclusions, definitions, conditions, and endorsements.
The course then shifts its focus to different types of commercial lines insurance.
Property insurance policies are addressed first, with attention paid to the
building and personal property form. Liability policies such as the CGL insurance
policy and the commercial umbrella liability policy are then summarized. A brief
overview of professional liability policies is also provided. In addition, the
business auto policy (BAP) is reviewed; the course concludes with a discussion
of workers compensation insurance. The course does not cover life insurance,
health insurance, or employee benefits.
This introductory course will equip the student to meet eight educational
objectives, including an understanding of the following.
IRMI on Commercial Property Insurance is an intermediate- to advanced-level
insurance CE course about commercial property insurance, based on the standard
commercial property insurance forms developed by Insurance Services Office,
Inc. (ISO). It begins with an overview of some basic concepts and information
about commercial property insurance in general, and then proceeds to a fairly
detailed examination of the following standard commercial property forms:
- Building and personal property coverage form (CP 00 10)
- Causes of loss form—basic (CP 10 10)
- Causes of loss form—broad (CP 10 20)
- Causes of loss form—special (CP 10 30)
- Business income and extra expense coverage form (CP 00 30)
- Business income coverage form without extra expense (CP 00 32)
- Extra expense coverage form (CP 00 50)
- Business income from dependent properties—broad endorsement (CP 15 08)
- Business income from dependent properties—limited form endorsement (CP
15 09)
- Extra expense from dependent properties (CP 15 34)
- Utility services time element endorsement (CP 15 45)
In addition to examining the provisions of these forms, the course also addresses
coinsurance compliance and avoidance, how to select limits of insurance for
both direct damage and time element coverage, and how to correctly identify
major time element loss exposures.
This insurance course is designed to give a moderately experienced insurance
professional a thorough understanding of some of the basic concepts of commercial
umbrella and excess coverage. The course examines various coverage concepts
that are unique to umbrella policies including the potential severity of tort
claims, which gives rise to the need for umbrella and excess insurance. It defines
basic umbrella terms and concepts, delves into the theory behind umbrella and
excess coverage, explains the functions of umbrella and excess policies, and
illustrates the theoretical differences in the scope of umbrella and excess
coverage. The course describes how to examine a secondary policy and spot gaps
in the excess coverage. It examines in detail the coverage significance of an
umbrella insurer’s decision to use the phrase "ultimate net loss." The course
analyzes the way an umbrella policy "drops down" or responds when the underlying
limits are paid out over a series of claims. It describes the policyholder’s
basic duties to maintain underlying insurance and explains what can happen if
the underlying limits are not properly maintained. A number of topics relating
to the operation of umbrella/excess coverage limits are also addressed. Finally,
basic umbrella pricing methods, including the unit rate method, the percent
of underlying method, and the judgment rating method are analyzed and illustrated
with mathematical examples showing how an underwriter makes a pricing decision.
This is an advanced level course—the material contained in this course is
aimed at insurance professionals who have been working in the property-casualty
insurance lines for some time, discussing issues that arise when insuring construction
contractors. The number and type of construction-related lawsuits continue to
swell, and the insurance products and methods of handling this risk have evolved
and grown accordingly. In addition to the more obvious risks contractors face—injury
to workers or third parties and damage to the property being constructed or
being used in construction—myriad legal, environmental, and contractual risks
also exist. Often, the contracts specify who will buy certain types of insurance,
as well as minimum coverage requirements. The construction contracts further
allocate responsibility for various types of risks and losses that might occur
in connection with the contracted work. Fundamental elements of a contractor's
insurance program—including builders risk insurance, general and umbrella liability
insurance, workers compensation and employers liability insurance, automobile
and contractors equipment insurance are examined in some detail, with an emphasis
on the unique applications of these coverages to contractors. The purpose and
function of owners and contractors protective liability insurance is also explained.
No discussion of contractors insurance would be complete without examining surety
bonds. The mechanics of bid, payment, and performance bonds are explained, including
the unique features that differentiate bonds from insurance policies. Underwriting
criteria are also be examined.
With a premise that ethics is good business, this CE course avoids academic
and philosophical discussions to focus on some of the practical considerations
for insurance agents, brokers, and adjusters. It discusses the concepts of ethical
behavior, conflicts of interest, and some of the real world ethics failures
that hit the headlines in recent years. The ways people can gain the trust and
confidence of others—and succeed in business—by demonstrating ethical behavior
are examined. It looks at the objectives of ethics codes, provides examples
of ethics codes, and gives guidance on how to draft an ethics code for a business.
Lastly, it challenges the reader to think about ethical decision-making with
real world case studies of various ethical dilemmas encountered in insurance
sales, claims, agency management, and underwriting.
This course is intended for insurance professionals at all levels of experience
and counts towards the mandatory ethics CE course requirement that many states
impose. Although the examples and case studies are specifically designed for
the property-casualty insurance industry, the concepts explored are also applicable
to life and health insurance agents and brokers.
What is meant by "ethics"? What does the term mean when in reference to the
insurance industry? Where do our ethical standards come from? How can they best
be applied in the everyday practice of insurance? These are among the questions
this course—Ethics in the P&C (Property and Casualty) Insurance Workplace—strives
to answer.
Following an intentionally brief discussion of ethics in general, this course
avoids academic and philosophical discussions to focus on some of the practical
considerations for insurance agents, brokers, adjusters, and other practitioners.
It discusses the examples of both ethical and unethical behavior, conflicts
of interest, and some of the real-world ethics failures that have made headlines
in recent years. It examines the objectives of ethics codes, provides several
examples of codes of ethics, and gives guidance on how to draft an ethics code
specific to any business or organization. Lastly, it challenges the reader to
think about ethical decision-making with real-world case studies on various
ethical dilemmas of the types encountered in insurance sales, claims, agency
management, and underwriting.
This course is intended for insurance professionals of all levels of experience.
Although the examples and case studies are specifically designed for the property-casualty
insurance industry, the concepts explored are also applicable to life and health
insurance agents and brokers.
This insurance continuing education course provides commentary on current
trends and issues in the field of property/casualty insurance, with an emphasis
on risk management, insurance, claims, and legal trends and issues. It meets
state elective CE requirements for Oklahoma. The course is a compilation of
articles written by Expert Commentators for the International Risk Management
Institute (IRMI) Web site—www.IRMI.com. These articles have been selected by
the IRMI editorial board as representative of some of the more significant events
and issues that are associated with the industry today. They offer insight and
information that insurance producers can apply in the field, to the benefit
of their clients and their practice.
This insurance CE course provides an introduction to homeowners insurance,
focusing on the standard coverage developed for this line by Insurance Services
Office, Inc. (ISO). Although it discusses each of the six homeowners forms,
the chief focus is on the Homeowners 3 Special Form (HO 3) since this is the
most commonly-used policy form. Explanations of key areas in which these six
forms differ are also included. This course looks briefly at the historical
development of residential property coverage, including residential package
policies and the homeowners forms which first appeared in the 1950s. In addition,
eligibility requirements and policy organization and format are reviewed. The
remainder of this course focuses on the following HO 3 coverage form topics.
- Property coverages, such as the dwelling, other structures, personal
property, and loss of use
- Covered perils for the dwelling, other structures, and personal property
- General property exclusions
- Property conditions
- Liability coverages, including exclusions and conditions
- Key homeowners endorsements
- Loss scenarios are used throughout this analysis to facilitate understanding.
Insurance companies, producers, and the insurance-buying public must consider
many challenges when determining appropriate limits of insurance for a homeowners
or dwelling policy. This course focuses on issues relating to the valuation
of residential buildings and structures. It does not deal with the valuation
of personal property, nor does it directly address issues relating to loss of
use. It presumes a prior knowledge of dwelling and homeowners insurance and
discusses only the policy provisions that relate to the topic at hand. It defines
important terms and concepts related to valuation outlines the differences between
standard homeowners policies and dwelling property policies; it identifies variables
that affect a home's replacement value; it describes relevant endorsements and
circumstances under which they would be appropriate; and it gives a brief overview
of why wildfires present a special problem for homeowners.
This insurance CE course, focusing on the major countrywide homeowners endorsements,
is based primarily on the 2000 edition of the Insurance Services Office, Inc.
(ISO) Homeowners 3 Special Form (HO 3), since this is one of the most commonly-used
forms. Although many insurers use their own homeowners forms, most of these
are patterned closely to the ISO forms because the ISO language is court tested,
rates are easier to develop, and state approval processes are quickened. This
course analyzes the majority of the countrywide endorsements in addition to
the coverage form. The objectives for this course include an understanding of
the following.
- Some of the key property coverage gaps in the homeowners policy and
the property endorsements that can eliminate these gaps.
- Some of the key liability coverage gaps in the homeowners policy and
the property endorsements that can eliminate these gaps.
- The exclusions and limitations for business-related losses under the
homeowners policy and how the new home-based business endorsements can be
used to cover these types of loss exposures.
- Restrictive endorsements that insurers may require.
Homeowners: Liability Coverages
This course focuses on the liability coverage (Section II) of the Homeowners
3—Special Form. It addresses many of the personal liability loss exposures that
homeowners face. The two main areas—personal liability and medical payments
to others—are described in detail. The objectives for this course include an
understanding of the following.
- The basis of legal liability and the way in which homeowners insurance
functions to protect insureds from the financial consequences of that liability.
- The concepts of bodily injury, property damage, occurrence, and damages,
with detailed examples of each.
- Differentiation between personal liability and "medical payments to
others" coverages.
- All of the various personal liability and medical payments exclusions.
- Additional liability coverages, such as claim expenses and damage to
property of others.
- The ten conditions applicable to liability coverage
Homeowners: Property Coverages &
Covered Perils
This course focuses primarily on the property insurance coverage afforded
under the 2000 edition of the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) Homeowners
3 Special Form (HO 3), since this is one of the most commonly-used forms. Loss
scenarios are used throughout this analysis to facilitate understanding. The
objectives for this course include an understanding of the following.
- Overview and background of the homeowners program
- Differentiation of six ISO homeowners forms
- Eligibility requirements for the different homeowners forms
- Explanation of Coverage A (dwelling), Coverage B (other structures),
Coverage C (personal property), Coverage D (loss of use), and additional
property coverages
- Covered perils for the four basic property coverages ("Homeowners Covered
Perils")
Homeowners: Property Exclusions
& Conditions
The first part of this insurance CE course is composed of an analysis of
property exclusions found in the 2000 edition of the Insurance Services Office,
Inc. (ISO) Homeowners 3 Special Form (HO 3), and the second part is composed
of an analysis of property conditions found in the form.
This course analyzes the exclusions applicable to various types of property
(Section I) coverage. The property section coverages consist of the dwelling
(Coverage A), other structures (Coverage B), personal property (Coverage C),
and loss of use (Coverage D). The first nine exclusions apply to all four property
coverages. The second set of exclusions applies only to the dwelling and other
structures.
Upon completion of this course, you will have an understanding of the following:
- All 12 of the general property exclusions.
- All 18 of the conditions pertaining to property coverages.
- All 7 of the conditions pertaining to both property and liability coverages.
Hurricane Mitigation Measures for
Premium Discounts
Every licensed general lines agent and customer representative who is subject
to the required continuing education provisions in Florida Statutes 626.2815
must complete, as part of his or her required hours, 1 hour of continuing education
every 2 years on the subject of premium discounts available on property insurance
policies. This course is designed to meet that requirement. Insurance companies
issuing new or renewal Florida homeowners insurance policies are required to
let policyholders know they can get discounts if they strengthen their homes
against hurricane damage. All new and renewing customers must be informed as
to the exact discounts that apply specifically to their homes. The premium discounts
are based on various hurricane mitigation options described in this course.
In order to take advantage of the discounts, most homeowners will need a licensed
professional (general, residential, or building contractor; building inspector;
registered architect, engineer, or certified building code official) to inspect
the home to identify potential mitigation measures and legally verify improvements.
Insurance Law for P&C Professionals
This insurance CE course provides an overview of insurance laws relating
to the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry. Legal issues affect nearly
every aspect of the insurance transaction and a solid grounding in these concepts
assists the insurance professional in numerous ways, whether that person is
an agent, broker, adjuster, or underwriter. The intended audience of this course
is insurance professionals with a variety of experience who want to learn more
about the legal aspects of property and casualty insurance.
The course begins with an explanation of how insurance policies conform to
property law, initially focusing on the different types of property. The rights
and titles to property, bailments, security interests in property, and valuation
of damaged property are also discussed. The following chapter discusses legal
liability—a concept that is crucial to a proper understanding of liability insurance.
A large part of this section concentrates on the complex issue of negligence,
including the four elements of negligence and defenses in a negligence suit.
Agency law is a key area when it comes to legal principles for P&C insurance
professionals. The insurance transaction begins with the agent or broker, and
defining what these terms mean is the logical first step in reviewing the concept
of agency. Types of agency authority, categories of insurance agents, and the
differences between agents and brokers are all reviewed. A discussion of the
legal environment of underwriting follows, with an emphasis on the steps of
the insurance underwriting process and the legal restrictions that underwriters
face.
Following the underwriting discussion is a review of the legal environment
of the claims adjusting process, which covers the types of adjusters, the insured's
duties after a loss, the insurer's duties after a loss, the insurer's options
in responding to the claim, the process of resolving the claim, and related
legal issues. The course concludes with a review of key consumer laws, such
as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, insurance consumer bill of rights laws that
many jurisdictions have adopted, and fair claims settlement laws in general.
This course will equip the student to meet 6 educational objectives. These
objectives include an understanding of the following.
Legal Principles Affecting the P&C Insurance
Contract
This CE course provides an overview of legal principles as they apply to
the property and casualty (P&C) insurance contract. Legal issues affect nearly
every aspect of the insurance transaction and a solid grounding in these concepts
assists the insurance professional in numerous ways, whether that person is
an agent, broker, adjuster, or underwriter. The intended audience of this course
is insurance professionals with a variety of experience who want to learn more
about the legal aspects of property and casualty insurance transactions.
The course begins by discussing basic insurance concepts, including legal
and financial definitions of insurance. This chapter provides an explanation
of insurance terminology that will be particularly helpful for those fairly
new to the insurance business. Sources of law governing the property and casualty
insurance business are also examined, including statutory law, caselaw, and
administrative law. An overview of insurance regulation follows, dealing with
seminal court cases and legislative action affecting the P&C industry.
The course then shifts gears and deals with characteristics of contracts
in general, applying insurance examples within the discussion. Note that most
of the examples throughout this course deal with personal lines issues, with
a smattering of smaller commercial account scenarios. A solid grounding in contract
terminology is provided in this chapter. This discussion then drills down into
the distinctive characteristics of insurance contracts and how these differ
from contracts in general. Seven distinctive characteristics of insurance contracts
are reviewed.
The anatomy of an insurance policy is also addressed, including a discussion
of the declarations page, insuring agreement, exclusions, definitions, conditions,
and endorsements. The course concludes with a discussion about several important
rules of policy interpretation, such as the "plain meaning" rule and the challenges
of construing words in a series.
Litigation Management
Designed for claims professionals, this insurance CE course offers concrete
tactics and strategies to obtain and maintain quality legal services at minimum
cost. Many of these strategies will also enhance the level of intelligent, professional
advice you receive from attorneys. The course will give you the know-how you
need to overcome a sense of vulnerability and exploitation when dealing with
outside legal counsel.
This continuing education course will give you the information you need to
successfully use your management skills to obtain better, faster, and less costly
legal services. It can help you save money by extracting maximum value from
your use of legal services. It is intended to be a practical reference for the
active practitioner.
National Flood Insurance Program:
What You Must Know
This course provides an introduction to flood insurance, focusing on the
standard coverage found in the NFIP forms. It is predicated on the recommended
outline provided by FEMA for flood insurance training for insurance agents.
The course begins with an overview of the NFIP. It then discusses key areas
such as flood maps and rating, general rules such as eligibility of the key
flood forms, covered property and additional coverages provided under the forms,
and the covered peril and other provisions. It concludes with a discussion of
the claims handling process, the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004, and agent
resources.
This course focuses on flood insurance, as provided through the National
Flood Insurance Plan. The objectives for this course include providing the student
an understanding of the following.
- The types of floods, national statistics, and loss control measures
concerning this peril
- NFIP background and overview of the program
- Flood maps and basic rating provisions
- General rules including application procedures
- Types of flood policies and eligibility requirements for each
- Covered building property and covered personal property under the flood
policy
- Additional coverages, such as debris removal and increased cost of compliance
- Covered perils and exclusions
- Valuation and coinsurance provisions
- Claims handling process
- Requirements of the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004
Personal Auto Insurance
This continuing education course provides an introduction to personal auto
insurance, focusing on the standard coverage developed for this line by Insurance
Services Office, Inc. (ISO). This standard coverage is provided by the 1998
edition of the Personal Auto Policy (PP 00 01), the most commonly used edition
upon which many of the insurer forms are predicated.
This course looks briefly at the historical development of personal auto
insurance, including an analysis of key rules, such as eligibility and use classifications.
The majority of this course focuses on the coverages provided by the Personal
Auto Policy (PAP), including the following.
- Liability coverage (Part A), including the duty to defend provision
and supplementary payments
- Medical Payments coverage (Part B), including the insuring agreement
and an analysis of each of the exclusions
- Uninsured Motorists coverage (Part C), including a discussion of the
"uninsured motor vehicle" definition
- Physical Damage coverage (Part D), including an analysis of collision
coverage and "other than collision" coverage
- Duties After an Accident or Loss (Part E) conditions
- General Provisions (Part F), which includes an analysis of each of the
12 conditions
- Countrywide personal auto endorsements
Loss scenarios and examples are used throughout this analysis to facilitate
understanding.
Personal Inland Marine Insurance
This intermediate level course provides an introduction to personal inland
marine insurance, with emphasis on the filed coverage forms developed for this
line by the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS) and Insurance
Services Office (ISO). The ISO forms discussed here are the new 2002 edition
personal inland marine forms filed in various states during 2003 with effective
dates during 2003 and 2004. The CE course begins by briefly examining the nature
and evolution of inland marine insurance, discussing its general coverage features,
and examining the gaps in homeowners coverage that can create a need for personal
inland marine insurance. With that as a background, the course examines in detail
the coverages available under standard personal inland marine insurance policies,
or floaters. Within each category, the course examines the exposures, reviews
their treatment under homeowners policies, discusses coverages in depth, and
describes considerations relevant to underwriting and selling each particular
type of personal inland marine insurance. Emphasis is placed on the coverages—such
as jewelry coverage—that account for the most premium volume.
Personal Lines 101
This continuing education course provides an introduction to personal lines
insurance, which concerns financial protection for individuals and families,
as compared to commercial lines insurance which focuses on protection for businesses
and corporations. Examples of personal lines policies include homeowners, personal
auto, and motor home insurance.
This course is geared to individuals with little or no experience in the
field of insurance. It begins with a general discussion about how insurance
operates and how it is defined as well as providing some basic insurance terminology.
The course also discusses contract principles and the distinctive characteristics
of insurance contracts.
The course then looks at some big picture issues, such as the operations
and practices of the insurance industry. This includes an overview of the role
of the agent, the claims adjusting process, claims administration, and underwriting
practices. This is followed by a discussion of insurance regulation, focusing
on the role of the courts, statutory law, and the responsibilities of state
insurance regulators.
The anatomy of an insurance policy is also reviewed, with discussions about
declarations, covered perils, exclusions, definitions, conditions, and endorsements.
The course then shifts its focus to different types of personal lines insurance.
The main attention is on homeowners insurance and the personal auto policy.
The course concludes with shorter discussions about personal umbrella, personal
inland marine, watercraft, mobile home, motor home, dwelling, and farmowners
insurance policies. The course does not cover life and health insurance.
Personal Lines Insurance Terms
Insurance professionals have developed a language of their own. This basic
level CE course for those relatively new to the industry provides a compendium
of common insurance and risk management terms used in the personal lines insurance.
There are many unique terms used to describe risks, insurance coverages, and
risk management techniques. Many everyday words also have special meanings within
an insurance or risk management context. This continuing education course arranges
common personal lines terms alphabetically into 19 sections. The course will
provide the student with a better understanding of common personal lines terms
to enable him or her to use appropriate and accurate terminology for personal
lines business.
Personal Umbrella Insurance
This CE course provides an introduction to personal umbrella insurance. Because
insurers use a wide variety of personal umbrella insurance forms, this course
does not concentrate on one single form. Rather, it highlights the characteristics
typical of personal umbrella forms in general, and it mentions many of the variations
that appear in different policies.
Specifically, the course provides an overview of personal umbrella liability
insurance, illustrates various ways of looking at the consumer needs that are
addressed with personal umbrella insurance and explains why an umbrella is usually
the best way to meet those needs. It also examines the structure of the personal
umbrella policy and the specific coverages available. The course includes an
overview of the personal umbrella market including underwriting, pricing, and
selling umbrella policies.
While it seems intimidating to many businesspeople—possibly because of the
unique vocabulary that risk and insurance professionals use—the risk management
process is not really difficult to understand. It is simply a common-sense approach
to using a number of readily available tools to handle an organization's risk
in the most cost-efficient manner possible. To be truly successful, however,
risk management must permeate an organization. A risk manager or even a department
full of risk managers cannot maximize the benefits of the process without the
understanding, cooperation, and active support of others within the organization.
To be truly effective, an organization's risk management program must be actively
supported by its top management.
Thus, one of the most important roles of risk professionals is educating
others within their organizations (or their clients' organizations) about the
process and how to properly apply it. This course provides a simple and easy-to-read
explanation of the risk management process—a guide that those starting out in
the insurance industry, or business and financial managers who want to become
more knowledgeable, can use to acquaint them with the risk management process.
This introductory level course is designed to provide detailed information
on workers compensation and employers liability insurance. It begins with an
introduction to workers compensation, explaining how the law has evolved from
1902 on. Today's state WC laws are examined, including who is covered and under
what circumstances.
Next is the workers compensation policy itself. A main focus is on the National
Council on Compensation (NCCI) standard workers compensation and employers liability
policy form, which is used in the vast majority of states to cover this exposure.
There is an overview of the workers compensation marketplace-the various
ways WC insurance is purchased in the states and alternatives to insurance.
The continuing education course also covers the ins and outs of workers compensation
experience rating, how employee leasing affects workers compensation requirements,
and how medical cost containment works to reduce WC insurance costs.