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Target Markets University set to go online

Designation and curriculum are specific to program administrators

The Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA) has come a long way in a very short time. It began as a dream on the part of a handful of program administrators led by Glenn Clark, president of Rockwood Programs. Today, just six years later, the association boasts 200 MGA program specialists, 55 carrier partners and 55 vendor partners.

“In that short time, we have become a very valuable association,” says Clark. “We want to celebrate our uniqueness and carry that on to the next generation. We want to create a body of knowledge that demonstrates why program administrators need to focus on different issues.”

To that end, TMPAA is forming its own university, one that is designed for and dedicated to program administrators. Greg Thompson, CEO of Atlanta-based THOMCO, is heading up the initiative. Clark says he is the perfect choice because he was an early champion of the concept. “We have marshaled all our resources to support him,” Clark says.

“We want to create a designation for program administrators and for insurance company management,” says Thompson. “Target Markets is dedicated to assisting insurance program administrators to conduct their business more efficiently, with greater proficiency and profitability.

“To accomplish this, Target Markets provides its members support in five areas: technology, skills, meeting the markets, networking and cross-selling. It is the intent of the association to provide skills-based training to its members by offering a Program Administrators Accreditation curriculum through an online university.”

Thompson says that Insure-Learn, an insurance-specific training firm, is developing a Web-based training system for TMPAA. “Insure-Learn partners exclusively with insurance carriers, self-insurance pools and MGAs, targeting high-risk/high loss ratio lines of business. Using a combination of tactical engaging courseware with intuitive tracking and reporting software, Insure-Learn works closely with its clients to both reduce losses and enhance revenues.”

According to Thompson, Target Markets members will access the online university through a secure portal on the TMPAA Web site. The site will be Target Markets branded. The curriculum will consist of 12 courses that are approximately four hours in length apiece for a total of 48 hours of learning.

Topics are actuarial, marketing, human resources, claims, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, systems, leadership and culture, operations, strategic planning, negotiation, and underwriting.

“Courses will be geared to owners and senior management. The member will be engaged through the use of video and on-screen media,” says Thompson. “This is in contrast to the typical ‘page turner/clip art’ approach used by many continuing education sites.”

Thompson says each course will be presented by an on-screen expert, supported by slides and other on-screen graphics or animation as appropriate based on the subject matter. Each module will conclude with a short quiz to keep the learner engaged. Reference documents, case studies and links to reference sites will be available for more in-depth information. A final test will determine whether the learner has successfully completed the course, and a printable certificate will be electronically released through the member’s training home page.

“Questions will be pulled from a bank of questions and will be randomly displayed to eliminate the possibility of an ‘answer key’ that could be shared,” says Thompson. “Courses automatically bookmark, allowing the member to leave the training session and later pick up where he or she left off. The Target Markets navigation shell will be designed to provide on-screen recognition to carrier and vendor sponsors.”

The Target Markets training administrator will have access to an administrative panel to view student record reports, add/modify member profiles, send announcements, and add or maintain a resource library, according to Thompson.

“The Target Markets University is scalable and provides a vehicle to distribute future content to members such as Summit highlights, future Target Markets accreditations or resource library documents,” Thompson says. “Also, third-party courses can be added and tracked on the site. The software can also track classroom courses and on-the-job training, providing a ‘blended learning’ environment.”

Thompson says that TMPAA will provide subject matter for the courses, plus an expert presenter; content (on-camera presentation, PowerPoint slides and test questions); review and approval of completed courses; a member list for the online university database; and ongoing user maintenance of site. Insure-Learn will be responsible for a customized Target Markets course navigation shell; course development (project management, video production, graphics, audio, programming, and testing); online university software and ongoing upgrades; hosting (includes bandwidth for 1,000 users, technical maintenance, and nightly database backups), and member technical support, according to Thompson.

The online university will be operational with one course and all members loaded by the TMPAA October Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, according to Thompson. He will host the first course on MGA contracts, he says.

“Our goal is to raise industry standards for program administrators,” Thompson says, “and to assist them in managing their operations. We surveyed the association membership to determine whether they liked the idea of forming a university, and they were excited about it. We are funding the first course, but down the road we would like to get sponsorship from insurance carriers. One member carrier, Zurich, has already agreed to be a lead sponsor in support of this initiative. Our members are donating the time and the expertise. There will be a modest fee for people who take the course, probably between $100 and $200.

“This is a milestone for us,” Thompson remarks. “Ten years ago, there were not many program administrators. It was really a concept born in the 1990s. Now it is a growing trend. In many ways, it is a reflection of our entire economy, which is on the move toward specialization.”