Detailed List of CPCU Program Changes

Detailed List of CPCU Program Changes

by | May 16, 2023 | Announcements

The Institutes is making major changes to their CPCU® program requirements effective later this year. In this post, we’ll provide you the key details so that you can plan your journey, and not waste your time and money on courses that are no longer required.

The Institutes has an official FAQ page with details relating to these changes and is the official source of information for the CPCU® program.

On our own page, we will continue to share what we learn from The Institutes, so be sure to bookmark this post as well!

FAQs answered in this post

  1. How is the CPCU program changing? (includes changes to traditional path and ARM to CPCU path)
  2. When do the changes take effect?
  3. Will my credits transfer over? [updated June 9, 2023]
  4. Will the pricing change?
  5. Would I be able to pass the updated exam using the current course materials?
  6. If I am using The Institutes’ study materials but do not pass my exam by the key dates previously mentioned, will The Institutes provide a refund or credit to be used towards another set of their course materials or exam fees?
  7. When will the updated courses & CPCU 550 be available for purchase?
  8. What types of study materials will be available for purchase from The Institutes?
  9. How will course waivers apply? (multiple questions) 
  10. Is there any change to the test format?

(more…)

Choosing Your CPCU Elective

Choosing Your CPCU Elective

by | Feb 15, 2022 | Study Tips

Under the CPCU® program, all students must choose an elective course and pass the corresponding exam. In this article, we’ll talk about different approaches you can take when it comes to deciding which CPCU elective to take.

(more…)

Ultimate Guide to AINS®

Ultimate Guide to AINS®

by | Jan 6, 2022 | AINS 101, AINS 102, AINS 103, Study Tips

One way to advance your insurance career is to earn your Associate in Insurance (AINS®) designation. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the AINS program, including what to expect and what strategies you can use.

 

What’s in this post

insurance exam guides

Ace your AINS® & CPCU® exams with the help of our study materials!

Click to Learn More

What is AINS?

The Associate in Insurance (AINS) designation is a professional designation offered by The Institutes®. After completing the program, you will have a better understanding of how insurance policies work and can display the AINS designation on your business cards, resume, etc.

Having this designation shows that you have completed extra education, which often makes you a stronger candidate for hire or promotion. In addition, customers, colleagues, and business partners may feel more confident about working with you if they know that you have this additional knowledge.

 

What are the requirements for AINS?

To earn your AINS designation, you must pass individual exams for each of the following courses:

Is the AINS designation hard?

AINS is a relatively easy designation to earn, especially when compared to the CPCU designation (which is a much more challenging program). However, this does not mean you can easily pass with limited studying.

The exams are challenging enough that you need to diligently prepare for them. You should not try to cram or wing it, and instead devote an appropriate amount of study time to learn the concepts that you’ll be tested on. If you use well-designed study materials and go through enough practice questions to test your understanding, you should do fine on your exams.

Keep in mind that the exam for your elective course might be noticeably more difficult, depending on which elective you choose. Some electives will be harder than others, but they might still be worth choosing if the credit for that elective will also count towards another designation you are planning ot pursue.

How long does it take to get an AINS?

The amount of time needed to earn this designation can vary greatly between students. Mainly, it boils down to how quickly you can go through your study materials and learn the concepts.

If you sat down and watched all of the video lessons back to back, you could technically get through an entire AINS course in one day. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will have absorbed everything you learned. Most students find that they need to rewatch certain lessons, take notes, or do other things to fully grasp the concepts. Students should also invest the time to go through as many practice questions as they can, as it is a great way to test their understanding.

If students are willing to go with a very agressive study schedule and take no breaks, it is possible to get through each AINS course in about three to five days per course. However, a much more realistic timeframe is about two to four weeks per AINS course, especially if you have other commitments like work and family.

Based on the above, an extremely determined student who chooses as easier elective can probably complete the entire program in a month or so using a very vigorous study schedule. However, most students will take closer to three to nine months to earn their AINS designation.

Get a free study plan generator and CPCU progress tracker!

Join our mailing list and score these free tools.

 

 

What is the exam format?

  • All AINS exams are administered online by The Institutes
  • Time limit: 65 minutes
  • Number of questions: 50 questions
  • Question types: Multiple choice, fill in the blank, drag and drop
  • Passing score: 70% of higher

To begin your exam, you will log into your account on The Institutes’ website and then click on the appropriate button in the My Courses & Exams section. The exam is not proctored or recorded, but you will need to sign an attestation confirming that you will abide by all ethical guidelines.

 

How do you register for an exam?

Before you take each exam, you must first register for it and pay the exam fee. This can be done online at The Institutes’ website or by phone though their customer service line.

Exams must be taken sometime during one of the four available testing windows:

  • Quarter 1: January 15 to March 15
  • Quarter 2: April 15 to June 15
  • Quarter 3: July 15 to September 15
  • Quarter 4: October 15 to December 15

When you register for an exam, you must indicate which window you plan to take your exam in. For any given test window, you can register at any time before or during that window, but students will typically receive a significant discount if they registering before the first day of the testing window.

If you want to reschedule your test to a different test window, you can do so for an extra fee ($95 as of this writing). It is best to plan carefully so you can avoid incurring this extra charge.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

How much does the AINS exam cost?

As of this writing, the exam fee for each AINS course is $280, but you can get an $80 early bird discount by registering for your exam before the first day of the testing window (example: if you plan to take your exam during Quarter 1 and register before January 15, you will receive the discount).

The cost of the exam for your elective will vary depending on which elective you choose, but those typically have an early bird discount as well.

What is the AINS exam pass rate?

The Institutes no longer publishes pass rates for each specific course, but according to their frequently asked questions page, the average pass rate between all of The Institutes’ exams is 72.5%. Keep in mind that this includes non-AINS exams, which tend to be harder than the AINS ones, so the pass rate for the AINS courses is likely to be slightly higher than that percentage. In order to pass your exam, you need to score 70% or higher.

If you do not pass your exam, you can retake it, subject to the following limitations:

  • You must pay the exam fee again (if you schedule your retake for the same test window or a future one that hasn’t opened yet, you will receive the early bird discount mentioned above).
  • You may not exceed two test attempts per test window for each exam.
  • You may not exceed four test attempts per calendar year for each exam.

Tips for passing your exams

The best way to prepare for your exam is to study thoroughly and understand the material, but there are some additional strategies that can give you an extra edge. Click here to see a full list of our exam tips that you can use as you are taking your test.

What study materials should you use?

You are NOT required to use The Institutes’ study materials to prepare for your exam.

In fact, many students prefer using our study materials instead because they are much cheaper, provide more learning tools, and are easier to understand. Here is a comparison of how our full study programs differ from The Institutes’ courses:

How we compare to The Institutes

Save BIG and get more features!

 

 

Insurance Exam Guides

The Institutes
 

$169.99

$329.00
Length of access No expiration date One year from purchase date
Video lessons Full video library Some videos
(most lessons are text-only)
Searchable video transcripts
(read the content and jump to specific video sections)		 ✓  
Downloadable audio lessons
(streaming option also included)		 ✓  
Chapter quizzes ✓ ✓
Simulated exam (timed) Unlimited attempts One attempt
Study guide Comprehensive study guide Basic chapter outlines
Course updates Free lifetime updates
(when we update our content, you get the new material at no extra cost)		 No free updates
(you must repurchase to get updated content)

 

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

How to save money on study materials

Between the exam fees and paying for study materials, pursuing your designation is not a cheap endeavor. Fortunately, there are many ways to save money and make the journey more affordable. Click here to see a list of our top tips for saving money on your study materials.

 

Other helpful resources

Why our study programs work

Lots of companies offer study materials too, but here is why our study programs stand out:

 

See the concepts in action

You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.

Less is NOT always more

Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.

d

Learn AND remember

Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

About your instructor

Insurance Exam Guides (IEG) was founded by Stacy Trinh, CPCU®, who first started her teaching journey at the request of her co-workers who were preparing for their CPCU exams. Because of her reputation as an adept trainer and motivator, Stacy's co-workers had asked her to lead a class. The feedback on her sessions and study materials was overwhelming positive, and her students encouraged her to share what she had to offer with the rest of the CPCU community.

Since then, Stacy created a library of study materials for both CPCU® and AINS® that have helped thousands of students pass their exams. As an accounting major and former claims adjuster, her style of instruction incorporates both a financial and operational perspective that makes her study materials well-rounded. She looks forward to helping many more students continue to succeed, including you!

Disclaimers: The Institutes, CPCU®, and AINS® are trademarks of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, d/b/a The Institutes. InsuranceExamGuides.com is not affiliated or associated with The Institutes in any way, and The Institutes do not endorse, approve, support, or otherwise recognize InsuranceExamGuides.com or its products or services. CPCU® and AINS® are registered trademarks of The Institutes. All rights reserved.

Ultimate Guide to CPCU®

Ultimate Guide to CPCU®

by | Dec 26, 2021 | CPCU 410, CPCU 500, CPCU 520, CPCU 530, CPCU 540, CPCU 555, CPCU 556, CPCU 557, Study Tips

Completing the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) program is one of the best ways to advance your insurance career, but the program can be expensive and challenging. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the CPCU program.

 

What’s in this post

insurance exam guides

Ace your AINS® & CPCU® exams with the help of our study materials!

Click to Learn More

What is the CPCU program?

The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) is a professional designation offered by an organization called The Institutes. After completing the program, you will have a solid understanding of how insurance industry works and can display the CPCU designation on your business cards, resume, etc.

Having this designation shows that you have done extra education, which can make you a stronger candidate for hire or promotion. Also, this might give customers, colleagues, and business partners more confidence in working with you because they know you have this foundational knowledge.

Is getting a CPCU worth it?

Getting the designation is not cheap, and you will need to invest a lot of study time to complete the program. As such, it is important to think about whether the benefits of the designation will outweigh the costs.

We have an entire article dedicated to helping you decide if pursuing the designation would be worth it for you. The article covers:

  • What benefits are associated with the designation
  • How likely you are to actually realize those benefits
  • Who SHOULD pursue the designation
  • Who SHOULD NOT pursue the designation

To read the full article, click here.

 

What are the requirements for CPCU?

Traditional path

The traditional path, which most students take, requires you to pass individual exams for each of the following courses:

ARM to CPCU path path

There is also an alternative path called the ARM to CPCU program that allows you to bypass some of the core CPCU courses from the traditional path. Once you are done with this path, you will have two designations:

  • Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation
  • Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation at the same time

This path requires you to pass individual exams for each of the following courses:

Other requirements

Regardless of which path you choose, in addition to passing the required exams, you must also:

  • Have at least two years of experience in risk management or insurance

  • Pay a matriculation fee to The Institutes

Get a free study plan generator and CPCU progress tracker!

Join our mailing list and score these free tools.


 

How much does a CPCU cost?

There are three types of expenses that you will incur while pursuing your designation:

For a detailed discussion of the exam fees and the cost of study materials, click on the links above to jump straight to those portions of this article.

As of this writing, The Institutes charges a $90 matriculation fee to all students that can be paid at any time. The purpose of this fee is to cover the administrative costs of maintaining your student records. It is usually best to wait until you’ve passed all of your exams, just in case you decide later down the line that the program isn’t right for you.

 

What is the CPCU exam format?

  • All CPCU exams are administered online by The Institutes
  • Time limit: 65 minutes
  • Number of questions: 50 questions
  • Question types: Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop
  • Passing score: 70% of higher

To begin your exam, you must log-in to your account on The Institutes’ website and then click on the appropriate button in the “My Courses & Exams” section. The exam is not proctored or recorded, but you will need to sign an attestation that you will abide by all ethical guidelines.

 

How do you register for a CPCU exam?

Before you take each exam, you must register for it first and pay the exam fee. This can be done online at The Institutes’ website or by phone though their customer service line.

Exams must be taken sometime during the four available testing windows:

  • Quarter 1: January 15 to March 15
  • Quarter 2: April 15 to June 15
  • Quarter 3: July 15 to September 15
  • Quarter 4: October 15 to December 15

When you register for an exam, you must indicate which window you plan to take your exam in. For any given test window, you can register at any time before or during that window, but The Institutes will typically offer students a significant discount for registering before the first day of the testing window.

If you want to reschedule your test to a different test window, you can do so for an extra fee ($95, as of this writing). It is best to plan carefully so you can avoid incurring this extra charge.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

 

How much does the CPCU exam cost?

As of this writing, the exam fee for each CPCU course is $380, but you can get an $80 early bird discount by registering for your exam before the first day of the testing window (ex: if you plan to take your exam during Quarter 1 and register before January 15, you will receive the discount).

The cost of the exam for your elective will vary depending on which elective you choose, but the exam fees for elective courses tend to be slightly cheaper than the exam fee for a CPCU course. The fees for elective exams tend to range from $210 to $285 for most of those courses.

What is the CPCU exam pass rate?

The Institutes no longer publishes pass rates for each specific course, but according to their frequently asked questions, the average pass rate between all exams is 72.5%. Keep in mind that this includes non-CPCU exams, which tend to be easier than the CPCU exams, so the pass rate for the CPCU-specific courses is likely to be slightly lower than that. In order to pass your exam, you need a score of at least 70% or higher.

If you do not pass your exam, you can retake it subject to the following limitations:

  • You must pay the exam fee again (if you schedule your retake for the same test window or a future one that hasn’t opened yet, you may qualify for the early bird discount again)
  • You may only reattempt the same exam up to four times per year
  • If you wish to reattempt the exam in the same test window, you are only allowed one extra retake per window

Tips for passing your CPCU exams

The best way to prepare for your exam is to thoroughly study the material, but we do have a few additional strategies that can give you an extra edge. Check out our “Ultimate Guide to CPCU _” blog series to see a list of strategies for each specific course. 

 

What CPCU study materials should you use?

You are NOT required to use The Institutes’ study materials to prepare for your exam.

In fact, many students prefer using our study materials instead because they are much cheaper, provide more learning tools, and are easier to understand.

How we compare to The Institutes (CPCU®)

Save BIG and get more features!

 

 

Insurance Exam Guides

The Institutes
 

$169.99

$399.00
Length of access No expiration date One year from purchase date
Video lessons Full video library Some videos
(most lessons are text-only)
Searchable video transcripts
(read the content and jump to specific video sections)		 ✓  
Downloadable audio lessons
(streaming option also included)
 ✓  
Chapter quizzes ✓ ✓
Simulated exam (timed) Unlimited attempts One attempt
Study guide Comprehensive study guide Basic chapter outlines
Course updates Free lifetime updates
(when we update our content, you get the new material at no extra cost)		 No free updates
(you must repurchase to get updated content)

 

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

How to save money on CPCU study materials

Between the exam fees and paying for study materials, pursuing your designation is not a cheap endeavor. Fortunately, there are many ways to save money and make the journey more affordable. Click here to see a list of our top tips for saving money on your study materials.

 

Other helpful resources

Why our study programs work

Lots of companies offer study materials too, but here is why our study programs stand out:

 

See the concepts in action

You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.

Less is NOT always more

Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.

d

Learn AND remember

Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Choose Your Course

About your instructor

Insurance Exam Guides (IEG) was founded by Stacy Trinh, CPCU®, who first started her teaching journey at the request of her co-workers who were preparing for their CPCU exams. Because of her reputation as an adept trainer and motivator, Stacy's co-workers had asked her to lead a class. The feedback on her sessions and study materials was overwhelming positive, and her students encouraged her to share what she had to offer with the rest of the CPCU community.

Since then, Stacy created a library of study materials for both CPCU® and AINS® that have helped thousands of students pass their exams. As an accounting major and former claims adjuster, her style of instruction incorporates both a financial and operational perspective that makes her study materials well-rounded. She looks forward to helping many more students continue to succeed, including you!

Disclaimers: The Institutes, CPCU®, and AINS® are trademarks of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, d/b/a The Institutes. InsuranceExamGuides.com is not affiliated or associated with The Institutes in any way, and The Institutes do not endorse, approve, support, or otherwise recognize InsuranceExamGuides.com or its products or services. CPCU® and AINS® are registered trademarks of The Institutes. All rights reserved.