Tips for Earning Your Insurance Continuing Education Credits Through an Online Provider
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.
Just a few years ago, there were very few choices other than physically attending classes and taking written exams to obtain the appropriate credits with which to retain your professional status. Within the last decade, online training vendors have appeared and are widely accepted because of the benefits that they can offer the busy professional. These benefits include lower costs of training and flexibility of learning. Since most people own and know how to use a computer, being able to learn at ones own pace without taking time off from work is a huge advantage over traditional classroom training.
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.
In order to assist you in your search for an online CE insurance provider, you should ask the following questions before making a final decision as to which company to use when looking to earn your CE credits.
Online learning can be delivered in several different ways. You should investigate what formats are being offered through each of the providers. If the presentation is in a simple text format, it may be difficult to follow and stay focused on the material. Try to take an online demo so that you can get a feel for how each presentation will be delivered. If you find that you cant follow the course material well, it is highly likely that you will have problems with the other classes that are offered as well.
If the presentation is in a slide format, such as a Powerpoint presentation, do the slides contain diagrams or images which help to reinforce the textual content? These kinds of presentations can be very useful in helping the student understand the course 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.
Are courses divided into modules? People tend to learn in chunks. That is why books have chapters and courses have lessons. A well-designed online insurance CE course will have sample questions at the end of each module to reinforce the learning experience. While these questions are optional, they provide an indication as to the level of information that has been retained. In this way, the person taking the course will have a better estimate of whether they are ready to take the exam.
Another important area to investigate is the total cost of the course. Some vendors charge fees over and above the cost of the actual course, such as an additional fee to take the exam. If the exam is not passed successfully, does the course provider allow for free retakes? The whole reason for completing a course successfully is to obtain the insurance CE credits that are required in order to retain your professional license. Be certain that the price you are quoted includes the price of the exam and includes the cost of retakes, if necessary.
Another factor to consider is the cost of filing your insurance CE credits with the state insurance department. Is this included in the cost of your course? Many states allow for the course provider to report the credits but often a fee is charged for this service. Other vendors will include this fee in the cost of the course, for some it is a hidden charge that you don’t find out about until you have already purchased your course materials.
Does the vendor provide a way for the student to check the status of their insurance CE credits? Most states require insurance CE credits to be attained every two years. It is easy to forget which courses one has taken and completed as time goes by. Some vendors provide an interface that allows the student to login, view their completion certificates online, and generate a report on when credits were issued and reported to the state. This gives the student an individualized compliance record that can be very useful, particularly when changing employers.
When searching for an insurance continuing education provider, you should ask questions that will help you find the one that best meets your cost, content, and convenience needs.
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.
