COMMIT TO YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

By the American Insurance Marketing & Sales Society

As licensed insurance professionals, we are mandated to adhere to continuing education requirements to maintain the right to practice. However, many view CE as a burden rather than an opportunity to further build their knowledge base.

CONTINUING EDUCATION – REQUIRED OR INSPIRED?

The most typical state continuing education requirement is 24 hours of CE every two years, with three of the hours pertaining to ethics. When you think about what you can accomplish with 24 hours of dedicated attention to a subject or activity, the results can be life changing. For example, you could walk around the island of Manhattan, bike from Miami to Key West, watch two full seasons of “House of Cards”, or completely remodel a room in your home.

Now, consider the impact on your insurance career if you regularly devote 24 hours to quality educational experiences. By investing this time in your professional development, imagine how you could excel. Five benefits of taking a more inspired approach to continuing education requirements include:

1. EXPANSION OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE

Use continuing education opportunities to learn a new niche market, uncover the nuances of how coverages can apply to risk, and increase your expertise. Actively and intentionally seeking ways to expand your knowledge will prove beneficial to your long-term success.

2. INCREASED CONFIDENCE AND CREDIBILITY

Increasing your skills and professional expertise will boost your confidence. The insurance industry is full of professional designations. These designations are an outward display of dedication to the industry, commitment to professional development, and certification of a specific level of knowledge. By achieving a designation, you increase your credibility with prospects, clients, and peers.

3. INCREASED EARNING POTENTIAL

Honing your skills and expanding your knowledge level can boost your earning potential and increase your future career options. By achieving and maintaining professional designations and licenses, you are investing in yourself and increasing your value.

4. NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

Participating in industry meetings, workshops, conferences, and other events increases your exposure to other people within the industry. When you decide you are ready to further your career or branch out into a new discipline, your professional network will come in handy.

5. STAYING CURRENT ON INDUSTRY TRENDS

The exchange of ideas during classes, meetings, and events provides great exposure to up-to-date information on regulatory changes impacting the industry, trends that are shaping client expectations, innovation that is driving technology changes, and other world happenings that require adjustments to current and future operating plans. Every industry is constantly evolving, and we must continue to expand our knowledge, learn new practices and techniques, and embrace new technology to best serve the changing needs of our clients.

Take your professionalism to a new level. Be intentional about the classes you take and the events in which you participate. By having a personal development learning plan, you can leverage the time “required” to keep licenses and certifications current by engaging in quality programs that truly further your education and skills while inspiring you to reach new goals and achievements.

IT’S NOT THE HOURS YOU PUT IN

In the words of Sam Ewing, former baseball player for the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays, “It’s not the hours you put in your work that counts, it’s the work you put in the hours.”

This succinctly sums up the commitment insurance professionals should make to their professional development. It’s more than putting in the CE hours. It’s about intentionally finding opportunities to explore and expand with a curious mind and a passionate attitude.

By supporting an approach to professional development that inspires, rather than requires, the insurance industry will continue to evolve and innovate.

Contributed by the American Insurance Marketing & Sales Society (AIMS). The AIMS Society offers programs and services that help insurance agents build their marketing and sales expertise. Successfully deploying a meaningful and engaging professional development program is a common discussion topic among members of AIMS and during Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) seminars. Specifically, CPIA 3: Sustain Success, addresses the concept of having a well-crafted continuing education plan for all employees. To learn more about the AIMS Society and the CPIA designation, visit aimssociety.org.