Continuing Education Definitions
Continuing education for a Life and/or Accident and Sickness licensee must be directly related to life and accident and sickness insurance products or services, group insurance products or services, the operation of an insurance business, or a related discipline in the financial services industry provided the course includes an insurance component.
Life and Accident and Sickness agents must complete 15 CE credits for each licensing period (June 1st – May 31st); these credits must be accredited by Council. One hour of qualifying activity is equivalent to one CE credit.
For instructors, CE credits can be claimed annually for teaching / presenting time for insurance coursework. A letter from your employer, or the organization for which you presented, attesting to your teaching / presenting activity is required. The course must be completed through an Accredited Course Provider (ACP) as approved by the ICM, or individually approved by the ICM, and must be listed on the ICM website.
Compliance with insurance related legislation and regulatory requirements both Provincial (Manitoba) and Federal (e.g. Code of Conduct, the Insurance Act, Rules and Regulations, Privacy legislation, anti-terrorism or money laundering legislation, and replacement requirements) is acceptable and applicable towards the annual CE requirement.
Allowable Content:
Includes courses which address:
- Financial Planning
- Insurance Planning
- Estate Planning
- Tax Planning
- Retirement Planning
- Investment Planning
- Ethics
- Mental Health and Workplace Wellness topics, if the topic is deemed to be a relevant skill required to function efficiently as an insurance professional
Courses for the following designations if the individual course is accredited or offered through an Accredited Course Provider (ACP) with the Insurance Council of Manitoba:
- Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
- Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
- Certified Health Insurance Specialist (CHS)
- Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
- Certified Agricultural Farm Advisor (CAFA)
- Elder Planning Counselor Designation (EPC)
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Excluded Content:
Content excluded from allowable CE credits are programs based on:
- Promotion
- Motivation
- Computer training
- Selling skills
- How to maintain a client list
- Setting and meeting sales targets
- Prospecting including cold calls
- Recruiting clients
losing sales - Motivational techniques and speeches
- Maintaining a positive self-image
- Personal needs fulfilment
- Personal goal setting for the organization
- Personal achievement and balanced living
- Personal betterment
Partial credits may be applicable to seminars that include the above noted subjects, provided that there is substantial content which relates directly to the CE Definition for Life and Accident & Sickness.
Management Topics:
Examples of selections that might be eligible for continuing education credits follow. Remember that these must relate specifically to the insurance business and not general knowledge. For example, an accounting program that relates to reading agency financial statements would be acceptable whereby introduction to general accounting would not meet the requirement.
Legal/Licensing/E&O/Ethics
- Contract law as it relates to insurance and insurance transactions
- Legislative requirements for insurance agents – Insurance Act, its Regulations, its Rules and Code of Conduct
- Legal issues for insurance agencies
- Ethics
- Professional liability issues and programs
- Professional conduct
- Privacy legislation
- Current legal decisions
- Insurer selection and contracts
- Operating structures and affiliations
Planning Management/Continuity
- Business environment, management or organization
- Strategic planning
- Operations management
- Perpetuation & succession planning
- Purchase and sale of agency
- Policies and procedures
Human Resources
- Employment legislation
- Recruiting, selection, hiring, training, orientation, evaluation, and terminations
- Professional development management
- Employee supervision
- Accessibility
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Technology
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system
- Insurance policy processing – quote to cancellation
- Current technology issues e.g. telematics, cyber, generative AI
Accounting and Finance
- Insurance Accounting e.g. required to operate an agency
- Financial management
Marketing/Growth
- Developing a customer service program for your agency
- Principles and management of the claims process
- Communication skills e.g. difficult customers, overcoming objections
- Selection of Insurers and relation expectations
The objective of continuing education is to improve and increase the ability of the general insurance agent to deliver a high quality of performance, keeping abreast of current and emerging developments in the insurance industry.
Continuing education must be directly related to knowledge relevant to giving advice about general insurance products or services, including the claims process, or the operation of a general insurance business. This includes programs which are structured for the specific purpose of educating and providing skills to agents to communicate insurance matters effectively.
The focus of an agent/broker seminar should be analysis of risk and the use of insurance products or loss prevention/reduction programs to minimize/reduce the potential damages.
The focus of a management seminar should be knowledge relevant to the operation of an insurance business.
Agent/Broker Topics:
Examples of selections that might be eligible for continuing education credits follow.
- Identifying risk exposures and the alternative methods for handling risks with emphasis on address by insurance products.
- Techniques for improving written and verbal communication for customers and industry partners to determine and relay insurance strategies, implementation, and monitoring and modification
- Information gathering and needs evaluation
- Rate manual usage
- Insurance policy terms and wordings i.g. coverage
- Comparison of insurance policies
- Quotation assessment and selection of insurer
- Agent negotiation skills with consumers and insurers
- Insurer contracts including binding authority and agent legal obligations
- Contract law as it relates to insurance and insurance transactions
- Insurance policy maintenance
- Amendments to the policy
- Policy renewal process
- Conflict resolution
- Claims process – agent management
- Time and priority management
- Legislative requirements for insurance agents – Insurance Act, its Regulations, its Rules and Code of Conduct
- Legal issues for insurance agencies
- Ethics
- Professional liability issues and programs
- Professional conduct
- Privacy legislation
- Current legal decisions
- Evolving issues
- Mental Health and Workplace Wellness topics, if the topic is deemed to be a relevant skill required to function efficiently as an insurance professional
ICM recognizes that sales are a large part of an agent’s everyday activities and therefore sales knowledge and skills are a requirement for agents. While ICM encourages agents to engage in programs or courses as part of their insurance education, it has determined that the focus of continuing education credits will exclude activities such as programs and meetings primarily based on sales production, promotion and motivation.
While the health and welfare of agency employees is of concern in the workplace, it is not the subject for ICM continuing education credits.
Guidelines follow to assist licensees in clarifying whether material meets the definition where the activities include sales production, promotion or motivation.
The focus of the seminar will not be of the following nature:
- Selling skills
- How to maintain a client list
- Setting and meeting sales targets
- Prospecting including cold calls
- Recruiting clients
- Closing sales
- Motivational techniques and speeches
- Maintaining a positive self-image
- Personal needs fulfilment
- Personal goal setting for the organization
- Personal achievement and balanced living
- Personal betterment
- Stress management
Partial credits may be applicable to seminars that include the above noted subjects, provided that there is substantial content which relates directly to the topics included in Agent/Broker Topics.
Management Topics:
Examples of selections that might be eligible for continuing education credits follow. Remember that these must relate specifically to the insurance business and not general knowledge. For example, an accounting program that relates to reading agency financial statements would be acceptable whereby introduction to general accounting would not meet the requirement.
Legal/Licensing/E&O/Ethics
- Contract law as it relates to insurance and insurance transactions
- Legislative requirements for insurance agents – Insurance Act, its Regulations, its Rules and Code of Conduct
- Legal issues for insurance agencies
- Ethics
- Professional liability issues and programs
- Professional conduct
- Privacy legislation
- Current legal decisions
- Insurer selection and contracts
- Operating structures, affiliations and sub-brokers
Planning Management/Continuity
- Business environment, management or organization
- Strategic planning
- Operations management
- Perpetuation & succession planning
- Purchase and sale of agency
- Policies and procedures
Human Resources
- Employment legislation
- Recruiting, selection, hiring, training, orientation, evaluation, and terminations
- Professional development management
- Employee supervision
- Accessibility
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Technology
- Broker Management Systems Selection and Operation
- Insurance policy processing – quote to cancellation
- Current technology issues e.g. telematics, cyber, generative AI
Accounting and Finance
- Insurance Accounting e.g. required to operate an agency or as in bonding or business interruption application
- Financial management
Marketing/Growth
- Developing a customer service program for your agency
- Principles and management of the claims process
- Communication skills e.g. difficult customers, overcoming objections
- Selection of Insurers and relation expectations
The objective of continuing education is to improve and increase the ability of the Insurance Adjuster to deliver a high quality of performance, keeping abreast of current and emerging developments in the insurance industry.
Continuing education must be directly related to knowledge relevant to the adjustment of claims, including the claims process, or the operation of an adjusting firm; this includes curriculum which is structured for the specific purpose of educating and providing skills to adjust claims and communicate effectively.
The focus of an adjuster seminar should be the investigation of claims, assessment of damages, knowledge of applicable laws, including acts, regulations, and rules, and communication skills.
Adjuster Topics:
Examples of selections that might be eligible for continuing education credits are as follows:
- Investigative skills/techniques
- Interview Techniques/statement taking
- Negotiation skills/techniques
- Writing/reporting skills
- Physical damage assessment, scoping and/or estimating
- Changes in building codes, bylaws and/or materials
- Applicable Law, including current legal decisions
- Conflict resolution
- Legislative requirements for insurance adjusters
- Ethics
- Property and/or Casualty coverages, as it relates to insurance
- Accounting
- Planning Management/Continuity
- Human Resources
- Technology
- Business Development
Excluded Content:
Content excluded from allowable CE credits are programs based on:
- Promotion
- Motivation
- Recruiting clients
- Maintaining a positive self-image
- Personal needs fulfilment
- Personal goal setting for the organization
- Personal achievement and balanced living
- Personal betterment
Partial credits may be applicable to seminars that include the above noted subjects, provided that there is substantial content which relates directly to the CE Definition for Insurance Adjuster Licensees.
