AInsurance Designations - Certification Explanations
 

You can be an agent with one of the prominent insurance designations and sit on your butt and do nothing. Or it is possible that you obtained one of the insurance designations, and three months later, due to lack of selling skills, was forced to drop out of the profession. Therefore two analysis tend to hold true. First, insurance designations by themselves do not provide a higher income or professional longevity. Secondly applying the certification skills obtained ambitiously, help agents with insurance designations obtain creditability and knowledge leading to a longer lasting higher income level.

Insurance Designation = CLU, Chartered Life Underwriter.  This is  universally the  recognized professional advisor certification given in the insurance industry. The study field consists of 8 college level examinations. The 5 required and 3 elective courses including estate planning and pensions, taxation and economics, life and health insurance, along with taxation and income replacement. The American College, is not a dormitory or full time style daily college, but since 1927  is devoted to providing educational certification. The American College currently provides CE studies in at least 8 areas beneficial to the insurance professional. Additional continuing education, experience, and ethics are required to maintain CLU certification. Qver 90,000 agents (included those retired), have achieved the CLU insurance designation. Although we can't give an exact figure, our internal analysis shows the, income earnings of an insurance professional CLU to be 25% to 35% higher than an agent with out any form of insurance certification.

Insurance Designation - LUTC or LUTCF. 80% of agents earning this certification use the letters LUFC, while the remainder use LUTCF. This is probably the easiest, and first insurance designation most life insurance agents earn. Given in classroom setting, it includes role-playing self-study, and examinations. The required 300 designation credits covers a very broad spectrum of  life and financial areas. This is probably the quickest insurance certification to earn, with many of the over 60,000 LUTCFs obtaining their insurance designation within their first 4 years of insurance experience. Although not a significant income increasing factor, LUTCFs have about  35% less career dropout  than other agents in their same experience category.

Insurance Designation = FSS. This rather new degree is the Financial Services Specialist and in often referred to as the financial services counterpart to the life service LUTCF. Courses are provide in a classroom format, and consist of 6 total courses with 3 of them being required and a choice of 3 elective courses. Here the emphasis is on financial and estate retirement planning, along with the products and investments used to service their client. Like many of the insurance designations, retaining certification requires periodically completing ethic seminars.

Insurance Designation = FIC. A Fraternal Insurance Counselor usually represents a Fraternal Insurance Company. The Fraternal Insurance Company is dedicated to the welfare of its members, with the members often having a common work-related, social, or religious bond. The members are required to buy life insurance "certificates", instead of policies. Meetings and social events reach out to members in need. Many FIC designated agents have already completed LUTCF qualifications and course cover estate planning, and sophisticated financial  plans. Some consider the FIC designation as important as the CLU. Financially, our analysis of agent income, shows an agent with FIC certification to have significantly higher income that an agent with the same time experience and no designation. However this income earning tends to be less than a similar CLU.

Insurance Designation = RHU. The Registered Health Underwriter is not the "CLU"  of Health Insurance, but is a highly trained and respected specialist. The three required courses the must be successfully completed cover disability income replacement, individual and group health and medical coverage, and long term care (ltc) insurance. With an exploding population of senior citizens, the long term care insurance market is in dire need of ethical and knowledgeable professionals. Rapidly increasing medical costs require that HSA, Health Savings Accounts, and Worksite Benefit Plans have qualified representatives to help individuals and groups. The RHU is required to complete at least 30 CE hours every couple years. There are over 6,000 RHUs, who have become both the knowledge and income leaders in their area.

Insurance Designation = CSA. This certification, Certified Senior Advisor, was relatively unknown until recently. It is very unique, as the focus is not on product knowledge. Instead it builds communication skills, so that both the agent and client understand the financial, health, and social impacts of senior age. Intense training is in senior health, financial, and effects of Social Security. The CSA training has three options: classroom style, self study, or online. The total certification process includes high emphasis on ethics, and the normal time period to complete is 6 months. While we will get arguments here, the insurance agent has 3 key initial directions and courses to start with. The is LUTCF for life, FSS for financial, and CSA for seniors. Expect to seem a big boom in Certified Senior Advisors.

Insurance Designation = CLTC. Certified in Long Term Care is the meaning. This is one of the fastest growing certifications that we have seen, and there is a reason. The training is not just beneficial to the senior health specialist, but just as important, if not more to the senior market financial specialist Therefore there are many CLUs and RHUs currently expanded their senior market knowlege but advancing toward CLTC certification. Not only do courses focus on selling long term care insurance, it covers governmental programs in effect, home care needs, and financial planning. It requires completing an eight part course in more. In additional, to uphold the high standards, a CLTC must go through a renewal every two years.
 




Frequent Insurance Designations
CLU = Chartered Life Underwriter
ChFC = Chartered Financial Consultant
LUTCF - LUTC Fellow Designation
RFP = Registered Financial Planner
RHU = Registered Health Underwriter
FIC -=Fraternal Insurance Counselor

Other common related insurance Designations
CSA = Certified Senior Advisor
CIC = Chartered Investment Advisor
FSS = Financial Services Specialist
CPC = Certified Pension Consultant
CEBS = Certified Employee Benefit Specialist
REBC = Registered Employee Benefits Consultant
CIC -Chartered Investment Counselor
CLTC =Certified in Long Term Care
AEP = Accredited Estate Planner
CSS =Certified Senior Specialist
CPA = Certified Public Accountant
RIA = Registered Investment Advisor (not really an insurance designation)

Less known financial & insurance designations
CAA - Certified Annuity Advisor
RFC =Registered Financial Consultant
LIFA - Licensed Insurance Financial Analyst
CEP =Certified Estate Planner
AFC = Accredited Financial Counselor
CFA = Chartered Financial Analyst
MSFS = Masters of Science in Financial Service
FLMI =Fellow Life Management Institute
CPC - Certified Pension Consultant
CAC - Certified Annuity Consultant
RFG = Registered Financial Gerontologist
FFSI = Fellow Financial Services Institute
CRP =Certified Risk Professional