For many insurance professionals, The Institutes’ AINS® program is one of the first programs they will consider when looking into obtaining an insurance designation. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know to figure out if the program is right for you, and give you tips on how to pass the exam.
What’s in this post
- About AINS 101
- Tips for passing the AINS 101 exam
- About our FREE AINS 101 online course
- About our AINS 101 study guide
- Buy our AINS 101 study guide
Get access to our FREE study program for AINS 101!
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What is the AINS program?
The Associate in Insurance (AINS) is a professional designation is offered by The Institutes. After completing the program, you will have a basic understanding of how insurance industry works and can display the AINS designation on your business cards, resume, etc.
Having this designation shows that you’ve completed this extra education, which often makes you stronger candidate for hire or promotion. Also, customers, colleagues, and business partners will often feel more confident to work with you because they know you have this foundational knowledge.
To earn your AINS designation, you’ll need to take AINS 101, a concentration class (AINS 102 or AINS 103), and an elective class (see The Institutes’ website for list of eligible electives).
AINS 101 Study Guide e-Bundle - Only $29.99
The perfect supplement to our FREE AINS 101 study program (or any other AINS 101 course)
- Supplemental study aid that summarizes all of the course content
- For use with any AINS 101: Increasing Your Insurance IQ [1st edition] course
- Includes:
- Study guide
- BONUS: Formulas Module (explains each formula from the course)
- Delivered by email as downloadable PDF
- For buyer's personal use only (non-transferrable and not for resale)
How does AINS compare to CPCU?
One of the most popular and well-respected designations in the insurance industry is the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation. Some students will choose to pursue their CPCU after completing the AINS program, or they might skip the AINS program altogether and go straight to doing the CPCU program. The two designations are separate, and you can choose to earn one without earning the other.
In terms of how they compare, the CPCU program is:
- Much harder
- Requires more classes
- More highly-regarded in the insurance industry
The benefit of doing the AINS program first is that you can get a feel for how The Institutes’ programs work and what it is like to sit for an exam. Also, some of the AINS courses can count towards the CPCU designation. However, it is important to note that the CPCU program is significantly more challenging and will require a lot more time. Each student should decide which designation(s) are right for them.
What is AINS 101?
AINS 101: Increasing Your Insurance IQ is the core course that is required for the AINS program. The purpose of this course is to give you a broad overview of many aspects relating to insurance (see later section for a list of covered topics).
About the AINS 101 exam
In order to demonstrate that you have understood the material from this course, you will need to pass an online exam administered by The Institutes.
You must go through The Institutes' website to purchase and formally register for your exam. When registering, you must indicate which test window you plan to take the exam during. The four test windows that are available every year are:
- January 15 to March 15
- April 15 to June 15
- July 15 to September 15
- October 15 to December 15
You may pay for your exam fee at any time, and those who register before the test window opens will usually receive a discount. However, you can only launch the exam and complete it during the test window you chose at the time of purchase. If you need to reschedule your exam, a new fee will apply.
The exam consists of 50 questions that cover all the chapters from the course, with a time limit of 65 minutes. The exam is done online, and you must get a score of 70% or better to pass. You may retake the exam (and pay a new fee) if you do not pass, but please check The Institutes' policies regarding how often and how soon you can retake the exam, as that may change from time to time.
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Topics Covered in AINS 101
Chapter 1: Why Do We Have Insurance?
- Introduction to Insurance
- Types of Insurance
- Types of Insurers
- How Risk Management Has Evolved
Chapter 2: How Do Insurers Succeed?
- Insurance Regulations
- Insurer Financial Statements
- Underwriting Ratios
- Insurance Marketing
Chapter 3: How Does Underwriting Work?
- Overview of Underwriting Department
- Underwriting Activities
- Underwriting Process
- How to Determine a Policy Premium
Chapter 4: How Do Insurers Handle Claims?
- Overview of the Claims Department
- Claims Handling Process
- Property Claims
- Liability Claims
Chapter 5: How Do Insurers Reach Customers?
- Sales & Producers
- Customer Service Representatives
- Risk Consulting
Chapter 6: What Goes Into an Insurance Policy?
- Ideally Insurable Loss Exposures
- Characteristics of Insurance Policies
- Insurance Policy Structure
- Insurance Policy Provisions
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Tips for passing your AINS 101 exam
1) Know your definitions
There are lots of definitions in this course. It is important to be familiar with all of them, and you should review them all again right before you take your exam. One way to effective review is to use our study guides.
2) Don’t waste too much time on long questions or questions that you are stuck on
Every test question is worth only one point, no matter how simple or complex it is. If you find that you are spending a lot of time on one particular problem, you are better off guessing for now and using the option to flag the question so you can return to it later. You don’t want to spend so much time that you run out of time before you can get to all the other questions that might have been easier for you to score points on.
3) Put an answer for every question
You do not get minus points for getting a question wrong, so don’t leave any questions blank.
4) Get as much practice as possible
The best way to ensure that you know how to apply the concepts you learning is to practice doing so, and practice quizzes are the perfect way to do this. On top of that, doing practice questions gets you comfortable with seeing the concepts in the same question-answer format you will see on your exam.
Both the Institutes’ online course and our FREE online course for AINS 101 includes tons of practice questions. The Institutes’ also offers a separate Smart QuizMe app that includes an entire bank of practice questions for every course. The app is free to download but you need to pay a small fee (about $10 per course at the time of this writing) to access the full bank of questions for any particular course.
5) Aim to understand the practice questions and not just memorize them
The questions on the actual exam are not made up of the practice questions, so you cannot just rely on memorizing those answers for any practice quizzes and simulated exams you take. Read each explanation and re-review the material until you understand why you got a question wrong.
6) Don’t rely solely on The Institutes’ study materials
The Institutes’ way of explaining things is not necessarily the best way, so take advantage of other resources available to you. Some students don’t use The Institutes’ study materials at all and prefer to go with another study option, such as our comprehensive online courses. We use plain English to explain all of the concepts, include helpful illustrations that help you see how a concept works, and show you how different elements of something relate to one another.
You can also turn to Google and YouTube to look for explanations and examples from other sources too.
7) Join The Institutes’ Chat Facebook group
Join The Institutes’ Chat Facebook group to find fellow AINS students. The group members can provide you with feedback on test questions that might be stumping you, give you professional tips for propelling your insurance career, and provide moral support and motivation.
Get access to our FREE study program for AINS 101!
Join our mailing list to get access to our program registration page. Program includes:
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About our FREE online course for AINS 101
We offer a FREE online course for AINS 101 that anyone can sign up for, no purchase required! Our course includes:
- Video lessons (with full transcripts and searchable captions)
- Streaming audio-only option (so you can learn on the go)
- Practice quizzes
- Full-length practice exam
To receive your registration link, sign up for our mailing list above and get started studying for FREE!
About our AINS 101 study guide
Learning the content is one challenge, and remembering it all when it is time to take your test is the other big hurdle. Our famous study guides are the best supplemental study aid to refresh your memory of everything you’ve learned.
Why Our Study Guides Work
Learning the material is just the first step. You need a way to refresh yourself on the content because there is so much to remember.
We created our signature study guides to help you quickly and easily review everything you've learned:
Focus on the right things
We condense every chapter to a few pages each, so you can focus on what you need to know.
Understand the key concepts
We provide extra examples & bonus materials to help you understand the trickier concepts.
See how it all relates
Our outlines are super organized and make it easy to see how the concepts relate to each other.
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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.