CRIS Curriculum

The Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS^®) core curriculum is comprised of five basic-to-intermediate-level courses. All of the courses are directly focused on the unique risk management and insurance needs of construction projects and contractors. They are designed for construction industry financial executives, risk managers, insurance buyers, adjusters, and the insurance agents, brokers, and underwriters who serve the construction industry. Completing the core curriculum qualifies you to use the CRIS certification for 24 months and additional courses or seminars may be completed during that period and every 12 months thereafter to maintain the certification. Generally one online course or one approved seminar or conference will satisfy this renewal requirement.

If you are a newcomer to insurance, we recommend you start with the optional "Fundamentals of Construction Risk Management and Insurance" course. This is a basic course that will acquaint you with the risk management process, the insurance coverages that contractors typically buy, and how the insurance industry operates. While it will not count towards earning the CRIS certification, it will introduce important terminology and concepts used in the core curriculum, help you better understand construction insurance, risk finance, and contractual risk transfer, and give you a sound foundation for further learning.

Depending on your current level of knowledge of the subject matter, a CRIS course will typically take 6 to 10 hours to complete. The CRIS courses are intended to cover the essential elements of the subjects they address at a basic-to-intermediate level. Thus, the CRIS program will be an intensive learning experience for newcomers to commercial lines insurance, eliminate many important knowledge gaps for insurance professionals who have little experience with construction accounts, and be a helpful review of the fundamentals for seasoned construction risk and insurance professionals.

Several new online CRIS CE courses will be added each year and certain seminars and conferences will also qualify for reaccreditation. The CRIS CE courses will focus on specific issues, trends, and problems affecting contractors. The core courses and planned continuing education courses are listed and summarized below.

Optional CRIS Foundation Course

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Fundamentals of Construction Risk Management and Insurance

This optional foundation course was designed primarily for construction company employees who have little experience working with insurance. However, it would also be very helpful for someone who is beginning a career in the insurance industry. It provides a general overview of the risk management process, including the loss exposures of most concern to contractors and the risk management tools that are used to treat them. The property and casualty insurance coverages that contractors typically buy are described along with a description as to how they match up with the important exposures. Lastly, the operation of the insurance industry is reviewed from an insurance buyer's perspective to provide insight into the roles and responsibilities of underwriters, agents, brokers, and adjusters. This course is not required to obtain the CRIS certification. CE credit is available for this course.

» Course Outline

Required CRIS Core Courses

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Commercial Auto, Surety, CIPs, and Miscellaneous Lines

This course reviews the various types of insurance often needed by contractors that are not covered in the other core courses. This includes auto liability and physical damage, professional liability, pollution liability, employment practices liability, and directors and officers liability insurance. It also provides a basic review of claims-made and occurrence coverage triggers, wrap-up or controlled insurance programs (CIPs), and surety bonds.

» Course Outline
Commercial Liability Insurance for Contractors

This course provides a general overview of standard commercial general liability insurance and umbrella liability insurance, with specific attention to provisions that most affect coverage or create problems for some or all contractors. It covers elements required to trigger coverage, application of standard policy exclusions, and various standard endorsements, all within a construction context. Suggestions for modifying coverage to address potential coverage gaps and other problematic provisions are provided where appropriate.
» Course Outline
Contractual Risk Transfer in Construction

This course reviews the ways in which risk is allocated in construction contracts. In addition to a technical review of the types of techniques available, this course examines strategies for maximizing the effectiveness of risk transfers in construction contracts. Topics include indemnification provisions, waivers of subrogation, limitations of liability, insurance requirements, and some of the key areas of risk allocation in standard construction contracts. Tips for writing and negotiating fair and effective insurance requirements are provided where appropriate, as well as for verifying compliance with these requirements.
» Course Outline
Property Insurance for Contractors

This course focuses on builders risk and contractors equipment insurance, including suggestions for maximizing the effectiveness of the coverages. It also includes a review of important concepts with respect to insuring the contractor's office or other permanent property. Topics include covered and excluded property, covered and excluded perils, covered parties, and alternative methods of reporting covered values. Various policy provisions that impact the scope of coverage — such as subrogation, occupancy, and cancellation — are also examined. Suggestions for modifying coverage to address potential coverage gaps and other problematic provisions are provided where appropriate.
» Course Outline
Workers Compensation for Contractors

This course provides a general overview of standard workers compensation and employers liability insurance, with specific attention to provisions that most affect coverage or create problems for some or all contractors. In addition to the standard policy provisions, key statutes that impact contractors workers compensation exposure and costs, such as independent contractor liability, employee leasing, overtime pay, and various federal acts, are also addressed. Suggestions for modifying coverage to address potential coverage gaps and other problematic provisions are provided where appropriate.
» Course Outline

CRIS Reaccreditation Courses

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Additional Insured Issues

This course on additional insured issues in construction provides an introduction to important risk management and insurance concepts for all contracting parties to a construction project. It provides an overview of the ways in which insured status under another party’s insurance program can be used as a risk transfer technique and examines in detail the terms and conditions on which insured status is provided in all the major lines of construction insurance. While other lines are also addressed, particular emphasis is placed on additional insured status under general liability insurance, since that is where the most important contractual risk transfers are located. The course describes and analyzes standard endorsement language used to make owners, contractors, subcontractors, lessors, and design professionals insureds under another entity’s CGL policy. It explores complex and emerging coverage issues such as “other insurance” concerns; recent revisions to the most widely used CGL additional insured endorsements; problematic coverage exposures such as completed operations and third-party-over suits; and relevant caselaw interpreting the language under which additional insured status is provided.
» Course Outline
Contractors Pollution Liability

This contractors pollution liability course was developed to examine the scope of contractors’ pollution liabilities, including the legal theories upon which they are based. Pollution risks present unique challenges for contractors. While some pollution incidents are immediately apparent, others occur slowly, often undiscovered, for a period of time. In many cases, these damages may fall within the pollution exclusions of their commercial insurance policies. The scope of coverage for these risks under basic policies—including the standard commercial general liability (CGL), business auto, and umbrella policies—is examined in some detail, with specific attention to the risks that are not covered under these policies. Finally, the course takes an in-depth look at contractors pollution liability insurance and the scope of coverage available under these policies. Contractors pollution liability insurance is a nonstandard line of coverage; therefore, policy terms vary from one form to another. This course examines both the many similarities in these policies and the significant differences that can have a profound impact on a contractor’s coverage. A detailed overview of the purpose and function of contractors pollution liability insurance is provided, including a discussion of coverage triggers, covered damages, exclusions, and policy conditions, to name a few.
» Course Outline
Controlled Insurance Programs

This course provides a basic understanding of controlled insurance programs (CIPs), commonly referred to as “wrap-ups,” as they are currently used in the United States. It discusses owner controlled programs (OCIPs) and contractor controlled insurance programs (CCIPs), outlining the requirements for a CIP to be feasible, possible problems that may arise and how to avoid them, the important insurance coverage issues for sponsors and participating contractors to consider, and administrative and safety programs that must be implemented to ensure success. The text seeks to maintain a balanced perspective, discussing sponsorship from both an owner’s and contractor’s viewpoints and including much information on the issues often encountered by participating contractors, along with suggestions for resolving them. Thus, this course should be helpful to those who are considering the possibility of sponsoring a CIP as well as those who work on projects insured in CIPs.
» Course Outline
Design-Build Risks and Insurance

This design-build risk and insurance course was developed to provide an introduction to important risk management techniques and concepts for design-build construction project participants. It provides a general overview of the design-build construction project delivery method, including the advantages and potential disadvantages of this approach for both project owners and the design-build team. Specific attention is given to the risks encountered in design-build construction with an emphasis on those provisions that present unique or non traditional risk allocations. Significant attention is given to the scope of coverage contractors have for these risks in their basic insurance program, as well as their professional liability insurance policies. A detailed overview of the purpose and function of contractors professional liability insurance and architects and engineers professional liability insurance is provided, including a discussion of coverage triggers, covered damages, exclusions, and policy conditions, to name a few.
» Course Outline
Umbrella Liability Insurance for Contractors

This course provides a detailed understanding of the workings of commercial umbrella and excess coverage, with an emphasis on how the coverage terms and provisions apply to construction contractors. The litigious nature of American society arguably makes a commercial umbrella policy the most important kind of insurance policy that a business can purchase. But umbrella policies are unique in that they provide coverage after a primary policy has been exhausted by the payment of claims. This course examines various coverage concepts that are unique to umbrella policies, including the following: the various ways an umbrella policy might organize coverage; the scope of coverage provided by an umbrella policy insuring agreement; common limitations and restrictions imposed on contractors; the importance of examining the terms of the contractors limitations endorsement; how an umbrella policy’s attachment point may be adjusted over time; the meaning of follow form coverage and the areas of coverage in a contractor’s umbrella policy; how umbrella policy limits and self-insured retentions apply; the difference between horizontal and vertical exhaustion of policy limits; the conflicts between construction contract provisions and umbrella policy conditions; and the impact of a failure to maintaining underlying coverages.
» Course Outline
Understanding Construction Insurance Rates and Premiums

This commercial insurance rating course is a basic course that is appropriate for those who buy insurance on behalf of construction firms, new entrants into the insurance industry, and as a refresher course for those who are familiar with rating processes. It provides an introduction to commercial property and casualty rating techniques and concepts, with an overview of the rating process in general. It also looks at important insurance advisory organizations and the statistical information they use to develop rates in many of the standard property and casualty lines. Significant attention is given to the rating of commercial auto, commercial general liability, workers compensation (including experience rating and retrospective rating), and commercial property insurance, including a consideration of the rating rules which most insurers follow when rating these coverage lines. Attention is given to several methods of rating umbrella insurance and also to contractors equipment and builders risk insurance, lines of coverage where rating is less structured than it is for commercial auto and workers compensation. For purposes of this course, it is less important that the student actually be able to rate an insurance policy than it is to understand the components of the rating process where errors often occur that lead to incorrect premiums. The overall goal is to provide adequate knowledge to know when to ask questions and to be able to ask them intelligently.
» Course Outline

Planned CRIS Continuing Education Courses

Contract Bonding
Contractors Professional Liability Insurance
Insurance for Construction Defects
Risk Control Basics
Risk Finance for Contractors

Approved Seminars and Conferences

More information about approved seminars and conferences can be found on the reaccreditation page.