RPLU CONTINUES TO GAIN ACCEPTANCE

Textbooks upgraded, Independent Part I being developed

The big news in the RPLU program this year is the development of new textbooks for Parts II through V. The new textbooks already have been published and put into use. "We've heard a lot of positive feedback about the new textbooks," says Ray Wahl, chairman of the Education Committee. "The students didn't have to deal with several texts for each section and seemed to really appreciate that."

Wahl, who is president of Executive Risk, Inc., Simsbury, Connecticut, said the number of RPLU exams passed the 2,000 mark in the first half of the year. "We expect that we probably will have the biggest graduating class ever at this year's Annual International Conference in Chicago." Wahl says there could be more than 80 people receiving the designation. "We hit 199 RPLUs at the end of last year." Because the graduating class is so large, PLUS is planning a separate, invitation-only ceremony at the annual conference. There also will be special recognition of all the graduates before the entire membership.

The big thing for the future, Wahl says, is "the effort toward developing our own Part I." Currently, students qualify for Part I, which deals with Commercial General Liability, by satisfying any of the following conditions:

* Completion of AU63 Course (Commercial Underwriting).

* An AU Designation.

* CPCU Part 4 (Commercial Insurance).

* An ARM Designation.

* A CPCU Designation.

* B.S. with a major in Insurance.

* Master's degree in Insurance.

In addition, candidates must submit a resume for examination which shows that for the past three years, they were engaged for a minimum of 30 hours a week in insurance activities acceptable to PLUS. The four parts administered by PLUS are: Part II--Professional Liability, General; Part III--Professional Liability, Non-Medical; Part IV--Professional Liability, Medical; and Part V--Directors and Officers, Fiduciary.

Wahl continues: "We have a fairly large number of people with the four parts we administer complete, but they don't meet the requirements for Part I. We've identified development of our own Part I as a priority."

Wahl adds that PLUS is extremely pleased with the acceptance of the RPLU. "It's been excellent. The companies are supporting our efforts by letting their employees take the courses. More are supporting with their dollars."

Wahl continues by commending the members of the committee for their time and effort. "A lot of personal time is burned by these people. The effort to change the textbooks was really quite large. Everything had to be redone. The questions for the exams needed to be changed to reflect the new texts, for example. I can't say enough about the commitment of these volunteers."

Wahl adds that PLUS' commitment, as noted in its Mission Statement, "to enhance the professionalism of its members through educational programs and seminars; to professionally address industry concerns with responsible positions and information campaigns; to assist membership in their endeavors to best serve clients; and to educate the public regarding professional liability," is clearly exemplified by its support of the RPLU program. "This program will cost PLUS about $100,000 this year," Wahl points out. "It's definitely not a money maker. We'd love to get it closer to break even.

We have in the area of 400 students enrolled at any given time. That's a lot of exams spread over a number of sites. We're trying to accommodate people as best we can, but that does cost money." He adds that one cost-cutting effort involves streamlining the order process so that orders now will go directly to IRMI (International Risk Management Institute) rather than going to the PLUS headquarters and then being forwarded to IRMI.

RPLU is designed as a self-study course. However, facilities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco are offering courses designed to help students with the RPLU exams. They are:

Insurance Educational Association

1201 Dove Street, Suite 570

Newport Beach, CA 92600

(800) 655-4432

IBA West

101 Market Street, Suite 702

San Francisco, CA 94105

(415) 957-1212

Insurance School of Chicago

175 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 2200

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 427-2320

The College of Insurance

101 Murray Street

New York, NY 10007

(212) 815-9201

Insurance Society of Philadelphia

546 Public Ledger Building

P.O. Box 1499

Philadelphia, PA 19105-1499

(215) 627-5306 *