As of January 1st, 2020, all students must attend classroom or web-based courses or purchase current educational materials from an approved General Level 1 Educator in order to be certified as having met the prerequisites to write the General Insurance Level 1 examination. When students register for the examination, the CIPR database will automatically be checked for a current student certification. Certifications are valid for a period of 1 year from the initial date of certification.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the General Insurance Level 1 Data Validation Project?
The intention of candidate examination is to ensure competency of new entrants into the General Insurance field. Low pass-rates have been an ongoing subject of concern with educators and industry stakeholders. A change in program approach (Data Validation Project) is now being delivered to ensure consistent education delivery and to improve student success rates.
What is the purpose of this Project?
As a result of consultation with general insurance educators, it was determined that without a mechanism to verify the declaration of course delivery provider made by students, data could not reliably be deemed accurate. (A student could enter any provider and still be admitted for testing.)
The gathering of performance metrics is intended to assist educators in tailoring course material/delivery to prospective general insurance level 1 examination registrants by way of providing success rates specific to each provider and course delivery method. The General Insurance Council will collaborate with educators and publish the examination results with transparency. Educators will be able to clearly identify if and where potential improvements may exist.
The General Insurance Council strives to ensure fair and transparent education delivery options for new entrants into the general insurance industry.
Who provides Data Validation?
Commercial Educators, Commercial Course Material Educators and Organizational Educators (herein all referred to as “Educators”) will mark students as Certified through their respective organizations’ Canadian Insurance Participant Registry (CIPR) administrative account.
How do Educators obtain CIPR access to complete student certification?
In order to participate as an authorized General Insurance Level 1 course provider you must complete Educator Registration Form and submit it via email to exams@abcouncil.ab.ca. Following registration, an administrative account will be issued by the Alberta Insurance Council. An on-boarding session will be offered to familiarize Educators with the CIPR website and process for qualifying students.
How long is a student certification valid for?
Certified status is valid for 1 year from the Certification Date indicated on the Educators’ Administrative CIPR account, which shall vary for each individual student.
When do examination registrants need Certified status in order to register for the General Level 1 exam?
Starting January 1st, 2020 all educators must enter a “certification date” for each student (by CIPR #) that attends a course or purchases educational materials from them. It will be required to identify one of three possible education delivery methods at the time of certification. This process “qualifies” the student to proceed with registration for a General Insurance Level 1 exam sitting.
What are the possible delivery methods that are tracked?
Classroom: This is a typical classroom setting with students and an instructor.
Web Delivery: This is a course that is delivered primarily online.
Self-Study: Only course materials have been sold or provided to the student.
Are Educators required to administer a “Certification” examination?
A qualifying examination is not required to receive Certified status. Only acknowledgement by an educator of the completion of a course or the purchase of material for self-study is required. Some Educators may choose voluntarily to ensure some level of competency according to their own standards and business model.
What should Educators’ courses, materials and training cover?
The Curriculum Design Document (CDD) and Executive Summary of the General Level 1 Examination are available on the AIC website and can be used as a guide to ensure adequate training and concepts are being delivered to students. In providing Certified status to students, the Educator is attesting that their course material and delivery strategy are mapped appropriately to the Curriculum Design Document.
Is there a standard minimum result required of Educators?
The intention is to collect accurate and verifiable data. There are currently no standard minimum results.
Who are considered Educators?
Commercial Educators: are self-declared General Insurance Commercial Educators who are listed on the AIC website.
Commercial Course Material Educators: are self-declared General Insurance Course Material Educators from whom any prospective student may obtain course material.
Organizational Education Educators: are self-declared General Level 1 Insurance Educators who have established training departments within their business and have a structured educational regime and proprietary material to support students in building insurance skills in alignment of the Curriculum Design Document. If an Educator is using Commercial Course Material from existing Educators, the students will be certified based on the material used.
All categories of Educators must declare that their courses and/or materials are mapped to the General Level 1 Curriculum Design Document (CDD) on the AIC website. They must be ready to provide evidence of the mapping to the General Insurance Council upon request.
In registering to deliver General Insurance Level 1 courses, the educator must also agree to performance metrics being posted.
How can my organization become an Educator if I am not already listed the Alberta Insurance Council website?
Organizations that are not currently listed on the AIC website as General Level 1 Educators must complete an Educator Registration Form and submit it via email to exams@abcouncil.ab.ca.
How will the AIC be made aware that the Student is Certified?
Once the Educator has identified the student as Certified on the CIPR administration portal, the AIC licensing portal ( https://licensing.abcouncil.ab.ca ) where students register for exams will directly interface with the data collected in CIPR. As soon as an Educator marks the student as Certified, the student can immediately register for an examination.
When is the earliest that an examination can be registered for?
Exam registration is available 30 calendar days in advance of any future examination date.
When is the latest date that students can register for an examination?
Examination registrations are based on availability up to the day of the examination.
When is the latest that an examination can be rescheduled?
In order to avoid forfeiture of examination fees, examinations must be rescheduled at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled examination.
What if the examination registrant does not have Certified status when they register for the examination?
January 1st, 2020 – Students will not be able to register for a General Licensing Level 1 examination if they have not been Certified by an educator as having taken some form of course or purchased current materials.