Designation Information
AIIA offers various continuing education classes and some of those classes provide certain professional designations.
CERTIFIED INSURANCE COUNSELOR - CIC
Becoming a CIC is a pledge to meet the challenge of lifelong professional continuing education. Practical and relevant knowledge gained keeps the CIC more competitive in meeting the changing needs of clients and the industry.
The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to professional insurance education for over 45 years. The CIC Program is designed to meet the practicing insurance professional’s need for technical knowledge in all areas of the insurance industry. There are more than 65,000 participants in the CIC Program; over 30,000 hold the prestigious CIC designation.
The CIC Institute is comprised of five 2 day courses including: Personal Lines / Commercial Casualty / Commercial Property / Life and Health / Agency Management.Each institute consists of 2 days of intensive classroom instruction followed by a rigorous essay examination. The examination need not be passed to receive the continuing education credit for the seminar. The successful completion of five examinations within a five-year period earns the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation and the right to attend the James K. Ruble Seminars, an annual seminar established for CIC designees to maintain their designation.
CIC courses are recognized nationally by all Insurance Departments as meeting the requirements for continuing education and are therefore exempt from filing CE hours as long as their CIC designation is current. If using a CIC Seminar for CE credit, it is approved for 16 hours CE. Only Alabama CICs who received their designation prior to January 1, 2013, are exempt from CE as long as they are in good standing with the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (formerly The National Alliance).
A note from Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (formerly The National Alliance):
Ruble Graduate Seminars are exclusive to dues-paid designees only.
Please remember Ruble Graduate Seminars are designed exclusively for designees, and only those holding a designation are eligible to register. Additionally, to receive update credit, designees must have paid their dues in full for that calendar year. This policy helps the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (formerly The National Alliance) maintain the advanced focus of the program and continue delivering specialized content tailored to our designated professionals.
Moving forward, any designee without current dues at the time of data share/registration will receive an email reminder to pay their dues. A similar communication will also be sent out after the Ruble course concludes. Thank you for your ongoing for helping us maintain the quality and integrity of the Ruble Graduate Seminars. If you have any questions about these requirements, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
CERTIFIED INSURANCE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE - CISR
The Society of Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1986 by a group of highly dedicated Certified Insurance Counselors in Kansas. In 1987, the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors, in Austin, Texas, assumed responsibility for the CISR program as part of its intent to create a comprehensive and enduring system of education for all segments of the industry. The CISR Program joined CIC institutes as a vital part of The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, which updated its name to Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (RIEA) in 2024.
The CISR Program is first and foremost a practical program, stressing freedom from E&O claims and the understanding and analysis of risks and exposures. The CISR program is for anyone who wishes to develop their technical skills regarding the various insurance products we offer our clients. The CISR program is comprised of nine one-day courses including: Agency Operations / Insuring Personal Residential Property / Insuring Personal Auto Exposures / Insuring Commercial Casualty Exposures 1 / Insuring Commercial Casualty Exposures 2 / Insuring Commercial Property Exposures / Miscellaneous Personal Lines / Life and Health / and Introduction to Risk Management. Students can choose any 5 of the 9 to attain the designation. Those desiring to attain the CISR “Elite” designation must take all 9 courses and pass the examination. Once you’ve completed and passed all nine CISR (the first five course within three years and the remaining four courses within an additional three years), you will earn the highest recognition for those in customer service anywhere. With this new status, CISR Elite designees will receive a new pin, a special diploma.
An examination is administered at the conclusion of each course. Those successfully passing all 5 examinations within 3 years earn the CISR designation. The exam need not be taken to obtain continuing education hours shown for the seminar. Topics have been selected and developed around national standards applicable to all states. The Program has inherent flexibility to allow for each state’s unique insurance coverages and regulations. CISR’s may also take the William T. Hold Seminar to update their designation on topics that change on an annual basis. Anyone may now attend a William T. Hold seminar previously open to CISR’s only. CISR courses are recognized nationally by all Insurance Departments as meeting the requirements for continuing education. Check with the Insurance Department in each of the states you are licensed with to determine the number of hours afforded for each course as well as for any restrictions that may be imposed by that state on their continuing education requirements.
CISR courses are approved for 7 CE credit hours. CISR Agency Operations is approved for 7 CE credits hours including 1-hour of ethics.
CERTIFIED RISK MANAGER – CRM
The Certified Risk Managers International (CRM) designation demonstrates knowledge in all areas of managing risks, hazards, and exposures. Five courses provide an in-depth knowledge of highest priorities – identifying, analyzing, controlling, financing, and administering operational risks – as well as political risks, catastrophic loss exposures, third-party exposures, fiduciary exposures, employee injury exposures, juridical risks, legal risks, and more – whether insurable or not. Skills learned make you more proactive and valuable to your organization in discovering how risks can interrupt the flow of earnings and how to protect against it.
CRM courses feature highly experienced instructors, skilled at making the most sophisticated subject interesting and directly applicable. Curricula developed by leading risk management practitioners and recognized as the most practical in the industry are regularly reviewed to ensure the CRM program’s ongoing integrity and practicality.
To earn the CRM designation one must take all five CRM courses and pass the exams within five after completion of the first exam. The five courses offered are Principles of Risk Management / Analysis of Risk / Control of Risk / Financing of Risk / and Practice of Risk Management.
Register for the CRM course at www.scic.com. Use code: AIIA