The Chartered Insurance Professional Designation: a smart investment for employers and employees

OTTAWA, Aug. 18, 2015 /CNW/ - The Chartered Insurance Professional Designation provides tangible benefits to employees and employers, according to a new report by The Conference Board of Canada. The report, The Chartered Insurance Professional Designation: Creating Value for Employers and Employees, summarizes the findings of a Conference Board survey of 1,000 property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of the CIP designation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) Program is a key part of the school-to-work transition for professionals in the property and casualty insurance industry.
• 76 per cent of employers see a quantifiable return on investment in the CIP Program.
• Those who hold a CIP designation earn an average annual wage premium of about $8,000 per year more than their colleagues without the designation.
• 77 per cent of employers report that employees with CIP designations offer higher quality service.

Industry support for the program is high, with 97 per cent of employers offering incentives (such as paying for courses or time off) to undertake the program. What is more, 76 per cent of employers report a quantifiable return on their investments in the CIP program. The return comes primarily in the form of employees who offer higher quality service (77 per cent of respondents), and more competent employees (73 per cent) according to their employers. Other benefits cited by employers include lower employee turnover and higher productivity.

Likewise, employees indicated that the CIP Program leads to better career prospects and wages. This sentiment was echoed by the 79 per cent of surveyed employers who agree that candidates with a CIP designation are more attractive potential hires. As a result, those with a designation can expect to earn $8,000 more a year on average than their colleagues with similar experience without the designation.

"Canada's property and casualty insurance industry is a growing sector that offers well-paying jobs," said Michael Burt, Director Industrial Economic Trends, The Conference Board of Canada. "However, it is complex industry and the path toward becoming qualified is not offered in the mainstream post-secondary education system."

Indeed, the report found that about 60 per cent of industry professionals felt they needed further education and training to prepare them for the challenges of the P&C industry such as brokerage, underwriting, and adjusting. The industry sees the CIP Program as a key bridge between the more generalized skills and knowledge acquired in university or college, and industry-specific skills required in the P&C industry.

There were 18,542 professionals enrolled in the program in 2014 with approximately 900 graduates per year.

The report, The Chartered Insurance Professional Designation: Creating Value for Employers and Employees, was commissioned by the Insurance Institute of Canada.

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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

Juline Ranger, Associate Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 431, E-mail: [email protected]; Yvonne Squires, Communications Specialist, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 221, E-mail: [email protected]