IBABC launches training program for new brokers

The Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. (IBABC), with the support of RSA and CNS, has launched the New Broker Essential Skills certificate program.
IBABC unveiled the new program at its annual conference and trade show in Victoria on June 18.
The program provides entry-level licensees with the technical knowledge, customer-service skills and learning habits that are the foundation of a successful career in the property and casualty insurance industry, an IBABC release says.
It’s designed for junior licensees employed by a B.C. brokerage who have less than four years of experience in the industry.
The program:
•requires students to acquire a personal broker mentor to guide them along the way;
•incorporates some Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) licensing/designation courses into the program syllabus;
•requires students to take the online course ‘Customer Service for the Insurance Professional;’
•requires students to complete five seminars designed specifically for the program covering E&O avoidance; broker management systems; ethics; claims reporting and fraud indicators; and
•requires students to choose between personal lines and commercial lines as a study stream and augment CAIB courses with additional seminars on policy wordings, insurance valuations and issues specific to those lines of insurance.
Richard Pindral, IBABC’s president, described the program as “a turn-key training program that gets new employees well on their way to an insurance designation and provides a systematic learning approach for the more intangible skills a broker needs.
“I think it will become a cornerstone of brokerage training programs for entry-level licensees.”
The program is made possible by a $250,000 contribution from CNS (which was acquired by the RSA Group in 2008).