Aggressive competition, consumer demand for more professionalism and competence, the impact of technology, and the increasing complexity of insurance products makes education a key component of any professional agent's success. PIA Association for Nebraska & Iowa provides a variety of continuing education and professional development programs throughout the calendar year.

You and your agency can enjoy the following benefits of PIA's exceptional education programs:

• Greater knowledge, confidence and image
• Increased sales and renewals
• Decreased exposure to E&O
• Better-trained staff on your frontline

PIA also offers ethics courses that will meet your continuing education requirement and may earn a discount on your E&O insurance.

All Utica policyholders premium discounts are available by attending the following programs: CIC Agency Management, CISR Agency Operations, Dynamics of Service and E&O Seminars.

CIC is a Prestigious Designation and the Most Practical Continuing Education

The CIC program provides practical knowledge to enhance the careers and improve the bottom lines of property/casualty insurance professionals. This program has been the insurance industry's premier, proven source for practical, real-world education since 1969.



Designed to cover important aspects of the insurance field, each institute is 20 hours of instruction, followed by an optional examination.*

*Examinations are optional unless you wish to earn the CIC designation.


Helpful Study Tools
Preparing for CIC  (Download Reading Material)
Handbooks (Books available for purchase from The National Alliance)

CIC Requirements

The content of CIC Institutes is advanced and the examinations challenging, so you should have a good, fundamental understanding of the subject matter before attending.

Qualifications

Any one of the following qualifications makes you eligible to attend CIC institutes:

    Be a licensed agent, broker, adjuster, or solicitor; or
    Have at least two years of full-time experience in the insurance industry or as a risk management practitioner; or
    Have served as a full-time insurance faculty member at an accredited college or university.

To Earn the Designation, You Must:

    Take all five CIC institutes or four institutes and one Certified Risk Manager (CRM) course, and
    Pass all five CIC exams within five calendar years after you pass your first CIC exam, or
    Pass any four CIC exams plus any one of the five CRM exams within five calendar years after you pass your first CIC or CRM exam.

An inspiring professional faculty, five ONE-DAY courses, a curriculum that's tailored to your region--all these features make the CISR Program a truly superior education opportunity. An optional exam is given at the end of each classroom course. The exam is mandatory for CISR Online.

To earn the CISR designation, you must complete all five courses and pass the exams within three years. Then, to keep your designation, you must update each year with additional continuing education courses offered by The National Alliance.

The five CISR courses are:

    Insuring Commercial Casualty Exposures
    Insuring Commercial Property
    Insuring Personal Residential Property
    Insuring Personal Auto Exposures
    Agency Operations

Reading Guide - Prepping for Class

We are Happy to Announce!

William T. Hold Seminars Are Now
Available to All Insurance Professionals

These innovative 8 -hour courses are now available whether or not you are seeking or hold a designation. This means more educational choices for producers, account executives account managers, and all company and agency personnel.

More subjects, more opportunities, more educational choices....that’s what everyone is requesting.  The William T. Hold Seminars explore current and relevant topics for producers, account executives, and account managers.  The classroom agendas are created from more than 40 topics, ranging from personal lines to commercial lines to life and health to risk management.  The information is reinforced with excellent workbook materials and informal Q&A with the faculty -- experienced insurance industry professionals. 

All insurance professionals are eligible to attend
William T. Hold Seminars and benefit from the following:

CPIA is first-of-its kind, hands-on, how-to training. To earn the CPIA designation, candidates are required to participate in a series of three, one-day Insurance Success Seminars.

These Seminars are designed to enhance the ability of producers, sales support staff and company personnel to efficiently create and distribute effective insurance programs. Participants leave with ideas that will produce increased sales results immediately. In fact, The Insurance Success Seminars are guaranteed: Implement the principles covered in these sessions and experience a 20% increase in personal production within six months, or your registration fee will be refunded!

The three Insurance Success Seminars are entitled:

    Position for Success (CPIA 1)
    Implement for Success (CPIA 2)
    Sustain Success (CPIA 3)
 
Maintaining the CPIA Designation

Upon completion of the series of three Insurance Success Seminars, CPIA designation candidates are notified of their eligibility. Candidates are awarded the designation and will be notified by letter from the AIMS Society.  Diplomas are presented during the Annual Conferment Ceremony held in conjunction with the annual PRO-to-PRO.  If a new designee is unable to attend the ceremony, diplomas are mailed after the conference.

The AIMS Society’s Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) designation stands for professionalism, commitment to professional training and results, and technical knowledge. The designation does require a biennial update.  This update requirement can be satisfied through participation in any one of the three core Insurance Success Seminars,  participation in any one of the Advanced Insurance Success Seminars, by attending the AIMS Society’s annual PRO-to-PRO, or by maintaining Individual or Agency membership.

The CPSR (Certified Professional Service Representative)  is a nation-wide designation program for professional Service Representatives in the insurance field.  The designation requires in-depth training and testing in the areas of insurance agency operations, and one or both subjects of personal insurance coverages and commercial insurance coverages.

CPSR Designation Requirements
The CPSR designation comes in three varieties:

    Commercial Lines
    Personal Lines
    Multi-Lines

Both the Commercial Lines and the Personal Lines designations require the designation candidate pass exams on three modules:



The multi-lines designation requires passing each specialized module exam (Commercial Property, Commercial Liability, Residential Property, and Personal Auto) and the exam for the Agency Operations module.