What’s The Best Way To Earn Your Insurance Ce Credits?

What’s the Best Way to Earn Your Insurance CE Credits?

by

Bruce Macmillian

Every state in the US requires insurance adjusters and agents to undergo continuing education and earn a minimum number of credits every few years in order to maintain their professional licensing. There are several different approaches offered by a multitude of vendors to address this need in the market.

Prior to the advent of the Internet, the only way credits could be earned was to physically attend classes in a location, usually away from the office. Today there are companies that specialize in providing online classes. When you compare the cost and convenience benefits to traditional methods of training, it would appear to make a lot of sense to investigate online continuing education as an option. Finding a company that offers CE training for insurance professionals is as simple as typing insurance continuing education credits into your browser search and sifting through the list of providers. The problem is how to choose the education provider that is right for you. Pricing is one factor that may enter into your decision making process, but it shouldn’t be the only one you use. Sometimes the price you see up front is not the price you end up paying, as there can be hidden fees and costs. To help simplify the process of selecting an online insurance continuing education program, below are some questions that each agent or adjuster should ask before selecting a vendor. What format is the course presented in? Some online courses consist of little more than transcribed text on the computer screen. It can be difficult to follow the material and stay focused on the content when it is presented in this way. If possible, view an online demo or try to take a sample course before committing to a specific vendor. If you find the material boring or hard to follow in the sample or demo, you will probably have a hard time getting much benefit from the actual courses. Are the courses presented as a series of slides? If so, can individual slides or groups of slides be printed? Do some of the slides include illustrations or diagrams? These kinds of features add interest and aid in understanding the material. Does the presentation include audio support? An audio track will provide additional reinforcement of the material when added to a quality visual presentation. Most people learn effectively by combining both visual and auditory input. It can be extremely helpful if a continuing education vendor can provide lessons that can be downloaded in a common audio format that can be loaded into an mp3 player or burned to a compact disc. Lessons can then be listened to and reviewed while doing household chores or driving, for example. Most people tend to learn effectively when courses are broken down into smaller lessons, like sections or chapters in a book. If these lessons are followed by sample questions, this can help the student to understand how much of the material they have retained, and it gives them an indication as to which areas may need further review. This can provide the confidence one needs to help decide when they are ready to take the final exam. Are there any hidden fees or charges? Some online courses require a fee to take the exam. If the person does not pass the exam on the first try, they are obligated to pay for another attempt. Some vendors, on the other hand, allow unlimited exam retakes at no charge. They also allow the student to retake the course as often as necessary to pass the exam. Remember, the whole point of taking the online insurance course is to successfully complete the exam and achieve the required insurance continuing education credits. Some courseware, on the other hand, seems to be structured more toward maximizing the income of the vendor. Another hidden fee may appear as an additional cost for filing the credits with the state insurance bureau. Many states allow the vendor to report the successful completion of a course and file the completed credits. Some vendors will charge an additional fee in order to do this, while others include this in the total cost of the course. Many states require insurance CE credits be completed on a periodic basis, typically every two years. Some vendors provide a means for the students to check on the status of their credits and be able to track them over time. You should inquire as to whether the vendor you are interested in using has an online interface whereby you can view your certifications and print a report on the credits achieved and when they were submitted to the state insurance division. This can be helpful, especially if you change employers during your career. If you are in the process of selecting a provider, we hope the information provided above will help you make a good choice regarding the provider of your insurance continuing education credits

Bruce MacMillian is the President and CEO of CEU.com. CEU offers multimedia-rich online courses to help licensed insurance professionals maintain their

online insurance continuing education credits

requirements.

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What’s the Best Way to Earn Your Insurance CE Credits?