WHAT IS CIP?

CIP stands for Chartered Insurance Professional, and CIP holders are very well respected in all aspects of the insurance industry.  The CIP designation is an advantage no matter which area of insurance you choose to enter: broker/agent, underwriting, or claims adjusting.

But to get your CIP designation, you need to pass a series of exams.  But if you already hold some other licenses/designations within the insurance industry, you’re in luck!  You’re exempt from taking certain courses.

I HAVE A CAIB DESIGNATION

The CAIB acronym stands for Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker, its similar to the CIP designation but it’s more geared towards those who intend to build a career on the broker/agent side.  Many people start with the CAIB Designation and then move on to CIP.  I personally recommend this path as well and it doesn’t take a lot of extra work because you are exempted from a long list of CIP exams.

If you hold a CAIB Designation, you can apply for course credits for:

• C11: Principles and Practice of Insurance (Mandatory Course);
• C130: Essential Skills for the Insurance Broker and Agent (Applied Professional Course); and
• 1 unspecified elective course of your choice

I HAVE A PROVINCIAL GENERAL INSURANCE BROKERS/AGENTS LICENSE

If you hold any provincial general insurance license, you can apply for course credit for C11: Principles and Practices of Insurance.  This means even if you hold a Level 1 license, you are able to skip this course on your way to getting your CIP Designation.

If you want to become an underwriter, I always recommend students get their Level 1 General Insurance license first.  It’s one of the easier licenses to get and it allows them to get some exposure to the insurance industry while they work on the other CIP courses.  You’re also not wasting time because it exempts you from 1 exam anyways.

I HAVE A PROVINCIAL LIFE INSURANCE LICENCE

If you’ve completed a Life License Qualification Program (LLQP) and got your Provincial Life License, you can apply for course credits for C66: Financial Service Essentials.

I hope this is able to help some of you when deciding which licensing/educational path to follow.  In my experience, the most popular route is the CAIB examination route.  Most people start in the insurance industry on the broker side either with a Level 1 or 2 license (sometimes CAIB) and then transition into other areas like claims adjusting or underwriting.

If you’d like to learn more about the different career options available, I wrote an article about it for Insuranceopedia.  Take a look here or get in touch with me for a more in-depth conversation.