Peaking? This fall, the CIP Society celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Since the CIP Society was launched in October 1998, the number of members has increased significantly.

From the first six months, when we had 2,200 graduates sign up and pay a small fee to be a member of the graduate community of the Institute, to the first year, when there were almost 5,000 members; to 2000, when we had almost 7,700 members enrolled.

To today: we are just above 18,100 members across every province and territory in Canada who have attained their Chartered Insurance Professional designation and maintain membership in the graduate community of the Insurance Institute.

Have we hit the peak in CIP Society membership, after twenty years of continuous growth?

We don’t think so. We think that supporting our community of graduate members within the Insurance Institute of Canada, over the last two decades, sets us up well to continue to support a growing community of graduates for another 20 years.

As your professional association, the CIP Society has continued to enhance its mandate of providing advanced learning opportunities, offering ongoing programs and services that bring value to graduate members, as well as raising awareness of the designations to consumers and career-seekers.

Our foremost value proposition is to provide you with opportunities to keep learning.

For example, the CIP Society National Council was instrumental in recommending to the Board of Governors of the Institute a rebranding of our historical P&C education designations into today’s CIP and FCIP and, more recently, to the Academic Council proposing the creation of the Advanced CIP program.

Improving your personal knowledge and comprehension of issues facing our customers, and on a collective level our industry, is absolutely vital to upholding the value you bring to your insurance role, in whatever area of the P&C industry you happen to be.

During the last year, the CIP Society has increased its offerings, and has provided a variety of low or no cost continuing education opportunities. The response to this has been obvious – convenience and low cost has led to an increase in members attending our national ADVANTAGE Live webinars for example.

More national ADVANTAGE Live webinars are being scheduled for winter and spring. That being said, in an effort to provide a variety of learning options, you will continue to find in-person local opportunities for graduates, as well.

Have we hit the peak for consumer awareness of the designation?

Unfortunately, we don’t think so. But we’ve had more than 400,000 views of our new campaign in less than 2 months.

The importance of raising awareness of the value of Chartered Insurance Professional designations is even more paramount now than ever.

While it is undisputable that the fast evolving changes in technology have given all consumers a new level of controlling and accessing the information they need for insurance protection decisions, your Society has been very active over the past months in creating greater awareness for the value that a chartered insurance professional can bring to consumers.

With the launch of a new consumer campaign, presented in a refreshed format, we have started communicating the value and expertise of the CIP designation to consumers using the positioning statement: “Prepared for More.” It is our hope that this new campaign will resonate with insurance consumers and deliver a message about why the designation matters when they interact with a professional in our industry.

Take a look at the campaign at: www.preparedformore.ca

Have we hit the peak in workforce growth for the industry?

Since my last quarterly Chair’s Message, I hope you have noted the release of a compelling new research report, A Changing Workforce: Implications of Technological Disruption for the Insurance Industry in Canada. (Note: this is the companion report released alongside the latest installment of the demographic research, Demographics of the P&C Insurance Industry in Canada, 2017 – 2027.)

The CIP Society is pleased to support the publication of the latest report in the Institute’s Emerging Issues Research Series, which identifies and informs us of the key trends that will shape the profession in the very near future.

The conclusions of this research are stark and significant. It is anticipated that some jobs will no longer exist as new technologies eliminate some of the entry-level positions in our current environment. Other roles will be comprised of very different elements. Our P&C workforce must change in its composition and abilities if we are to successfully meet the future needs of our customers.

Although the importance of certain roles is expected to decline, the greater need to recruit, develop and demonstrate new skills will drive further employment gains in our industry. The peak in workforce growth is still to come!

Advances in key technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, coupled with more use of Big Data, have already – and are expected to in the future – dramatically alter the P&C industry.

Big Data inherently will boost demands for those with skills and ability to collect, interpret and draw insights from the avalanche of new data collected in our business. The need for certain skillsets and areas of knowledge will – no surprise – have to change.

Ultimately, as an industry we must be proactive and adapt to the realities of an increasingly competitive talent market challenge.

As well as data and digital skills, there will be changes to critical workplace skills, such as customer service, innovation, and adaptability, that we will need to intertwine with core insurance knowledge.

As our customers increasingly value simplicity, speed, and a customized offering – characteristics already offered in many other facets of consumer life – customer service skills will continue to become more vital in our industry.

As the report concludes, there’s agreement among industry executives that technology will change our businesses, roles and job descriptions. And because of technology, there will continue to be overall employment growth in the P&C insurance industry in Canada.

I hope you see the value in this research report and that you look towards this and other offerings of your CIP Society to keep you informed in these new areas.

Can we peak your interest in giving us some feedback?

Our primary purpose in serving you as a graduate member is to make available an assortment of programs and services for your benefit. To continue to verify the value of these various benefits, we have traditionally surveyed you on an annual basis in the fall.

Last year, in recognition of the demographic research we had underway, this effort was deferred; however, in the coming weeks you will be able to provide us with direct feedback on what you think about current benefits and what else you want to see coming to you. Please take the opportunity to let us know what you think!

Finally . . .

As members of the most well-informed segment of our business, it is incumbent on us to reinforce the value of our professional education throughout the industry, and within the insurance consumers’ mind.

Our success in so doing will ensure our industry keeps growing, and the peak for p&c insurance professionals will remain in front of us for years to come.

Mike Kosturik, BA, FCIP
Chair, National CIP Society