Your CIP Society Designation Opens Doors

Opportunity knocks more frequently on the doors of insurance professionals with a CIP designation, said a recent survey through the Conference Board of Canada.

The Conference Board is an independent, not-for-profit organization specializing in business, education, economic and human resources research. Its survey collected the insights of more than 1,000 property and casualty insurance industry stakeholders in Canada.

Results showed the Insurance Institute of Canada’s CIP designation is your ticket to job opportunities within the p&c industry.

Seventy-one per cent of p&c employers surveyed said job candidates with a CIP designation were of more interest when recruiting. And in job postings for experienced professionals, seven out of ten employers either require or prefer a CIP designation.

Greg Thierman, CIP, CFE, of Crawford & Company in Kelowna, B.C., and a CIP Society National Established Leader recognized in 2010, is an example of the 80% of employees in the survey who agree that the CIP led to better career prospects.

Thierman first started in the p&c insurance industry after a career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, where he was quite familiar with the techniques of investigations, interviews and collecting evidence. With a CIP designation he was able to apply these techniques to claims situations, allowing him to rise quickly through the ranks in his company.

“Certainly the first two or three years, I was doing mostly investigations of arsons and fraudulent claims,” said Thierman, describing his first work in the industry at Adjusters Canada (since acquired by Crawford & Company in 1998). “But with my designation, I got more into the claims side. And then there was an opportunity to come here as the branch manager, and off we went.”

The Conference Board found that employers know that insurance professionals with CIPs are trusted by consumers, competent and provide excellent service to Canadians. For these reasons and more, almost 97% of industry employers provide some sort of support for the CIP designation.

Find out more about why your CIP designation is highly valued by industry employers and peers alike. Click here to read more of the Conference Board of Canada findings for CIP Society members.