Put your p&c knowledge to the test

P&C organizations are looking for knowledgeable insurance professionals to provide superior service to Canadians, and as a CIP grad you already have the valued technical knowledge. So how do you sharpen your professional edge after finishing your CIP designation?

You have a couple of options.

If you have a university degree and hold a CIP designation, put your strategic thinking skills and business knowledge to the ultimate test in the Institute’s Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation program. The online, six-course program offers a comprehensive business education with a unique p&c focus.

Don’t have a university degree, but still interested in keeping your options open for the FCIP down the road? The Advanced CIP is a four-course certificate program that gives you the business knowledge and critical thinking skills that can serve as a bridge to the FCIP.

Candidates and grads in the FCIP program say they have enjoyed grappling with some of the major issues facing Canadian p&c businesses today. Through it all, they gained a better understanding of themselves, their companies and the p&c industry as whole.

“My take on the FCIP is that it’s very well-rounded,” says Angela McIldoon (pictured left), manager of insurance operations support at the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC). “It covers everything from strategy, finance, leadership, risk management and emerging issues – all of the aspects you could expect to come across in your career.”

In the final “capstone” course, FCIP candidates apply everything they learn in the program to help provide a solution to a particular problem or issue facing their p&c organizations. Many FCIPs say the program helped them gain a broader picture of not only the p&c industry, but of their own companies as well.

“My exposure to individuals within the organization is one of the best parts of my story,” says McIldoon. “I had the great fortune of having access to individuals in finance, the CFO, and our director of corporate audit. I learned so incredibly much about the audit functions, risk, and the risk management profile. It sure gave me a whole other perspective on our organization.”

Melissa De Melo (pictured left), an account executive with Partners Indemnity Insurance, doesn’t have a university degree, but she was eager to get into the FCIP program so she took the Advanced CIP program to prepare her for the critical thinking skills that will serve her well in the FCIP.

“One thing I definitely learned, which I apply to my everyday life, is critical thinking,” De Melo says. “It just teaches you how to question, observe and research better. I think as an insurance broker, you have to advise clients on coverage, you have to understand what the client needs to insure, and you need to ask the right questions – you need to think critically. I think that’s one of the most important things I learned so far.”

You don’t have to be a CIP to take the Advanced CIP course on critical thinking, although industry experience is recommended for you to get the most out of it.

If you’re interested in hearing more about Angela McIldoon’s FCIP experiences, join our recorded webinar Let’s Chat: Your Options After the CIP . The webinar will be able to answer many questions you have about the FCIP.

If you’re interested in hearing more about Angela McIldoon’s FCIP experiences, join our recorded webinar Let’s Chat: Your Options After the CIP. The webinar will be able to answer many questions you have about the FCIP. 

You can hear more from Melissa De Melo and about the Advanced CIP certificate program in the recorded webinar, 3 Candid Student Stories, now posted on the Insurance Institute website. 

Admission and course registration is now open for FCIP courses in January 2017. More information about taking the FCIP is available online.

Registration is also open for Advanced CIP courses.