A learning experience

The National Alliance offers advanced risk management courses

ByAuthor

Risk management as a profession has been expanding rapidly over the past five or six years. As a result, there has been a major shift in the risk management landscape, as it moves from the close confines of an insurance-related profession to a more holistic approach. This more holistic approach has become known as enterprise risk management (ERM). And while there are certainly many positive aspects to this move, risk management practitioners are frequently finding appropriate training/retraining difficult to come by.

One of the more respected risk management training programs is offered by The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research (The National Alliance). Originally started in 1969 by William T. Hold, Ph.D., CIC, CPCU, CLU, to assist a group of independent insurance agents in Texas, the program has been broadened in its scope of services in order to meet customer needs. The original product that was introduced by Hold has become the Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) program. The CIC has served as the foundation and cornerstone of The National Alliance's current educational offerings.

Broadening the base

Not satisfied with developing one of the premier national insurance agent programs, The National Alliance began to formulate plans to offer a similar national risk management educational program. Even in the early days of The National Alliance, notes Priscilla H. Oehlert, CIC, CRM, ARM, vice president of advanced program development, "It was apparent there was a need for a comprehensive risk management-specific offering." Subsequently, The National Alliance designed a program that leads to The Certified Risk Managers International (CRM) designation, and it requires a designee to demonstrate a current knowledge in all areas of managing risks, hazards and exposures. The course work consists of five specific courses, according to Oehlert. These include the following:

• Principles of Risk Management

• Analysis of Risk

• Control of Risk

• Financing of Risk

• Practice of Risk Management

Hold, who is the president and CEO of The National Alliance, points out that each of the courses encompasses "two-and-a-half days of relevant instruction in the chosen subject matter." At the conclusion of each of the course segments, an exam is scheduled to test for comprehension. All five CRM courses, along with subsequently passed exams, must be completed within a five-calendar-year window, after the completion of the first exam.

In order to begin the course work, a participant must have two years of risk management-related work experience, Hold explains. He says that over time, "We have found that in order to be effective at teaching, we have to know our audience." This means that in order to keep the students engaged, they all need to be starting at about the same level of experience. Thus, he notes, they will "have a minimum understanding of basic risk management knowledge."

One of the areas that The National Alliance is justifiably proud of has been its ability to update and revamp the curriculum as needed. Hold says, "We are always making the program better and keeping it relevant." And it has paid big dividends because, "We can take a 'best practices' approach and stay ahead of the curve." The primary reason for this is the fact that The National Alliance "does not have a big investment in textbooks." Rather, Hold says, "We use a 'notebook' approach that we can change at will. We don't have to worry about trying to sell outdated textbooks that may no longer contain current information."

Another aspect of The National Alliance's program that separates it from most of the others is "a commitment to continuing education," notes Hold. And he says, "This is a very important aspect and differentiator of all of our programs. It was one of our earliest decisions in the business model we established for the CIC program." The requirement is that a designee must complete an annual update of 20 hours to maintain his or her designation. By maintaining the continuing educational requirement, The National Alliance is able to assure that each designee keeps abreast with recent and relevant information on various risk management topics.

While Hold indicates that this aspect of the program was subject to some early criticism regarding the reoccurring fees, it has since proven itself invaluable. The knowledge base of all designees is always current and up to date with the newest industry-related topics.

Beyond the basics

Building on the success of the CRM program, The National Alliance has recently developed an advanced risk management program. The express purpose of the advanced program is to give CRMs an opportunity to take their risk management education to a higher level.

"The program was established in response to a strong desire by CRMs to develop a greater understanding of the current state of risk management," Oehlert points out. "This program has frequently been requested and, since its inception, it has met all of its budgeted attendance goals." Included in the curriculum are topics such as financial statement analysis for risk managers, negotiating contracts for risk transfer, disaster preparedness planning, alternative risk financing and, of course, ERM.

The 2011 advanced risk management courses will be provided in a unique case study approach, Oehlert points out. She says that a case study will be issued in advance of the course, and it will contain information from a real world company. Then, over the course of two-and-a-half days, the attendees will be asked to complete exercises based on the real world data provided on the corporation used in the case study. Discussion by the attendees is a real key to the value of the class, notes Oehlert. The discussions will be provided by people with hands-on experience and "will be integrated into the five segments of the course."

In addition, she points out that the CRM program will soon have a blended online classroom option available to participants. The pilot for the Principles of Risk Manage­ment course will be held beginning this month with scheduled online courses next year. According to Oehlert, this option will encompass weekly two-hour long Webinar sessions that will take place on five successive Monday nights. These sessions will include exercises that are required to be completed by each participant and will have an exam at the end of the five-week period. She also notes that another very important aspect of the program includes the use of a discussion board. "As part of the requirement to pass this course," she says, "the participant must be active on the discussion board." In fact, "We expect a lot of give and take from all the participants in this important aspect."

The National Alliance is moving quickly to take advantage of the Webinar concept, Hold notes. "We are aware of the time and expense involved with taking many educational sessions, and we have tried to design cost-effective programming," he says. "Webinars are one example of this movement." In fact, starting earlier this year, The National Alliance has been providing free, monthly Webinars on various insurance and risk management-related topics. Hold says that these are free, open sessions and are available to any interested party. Interest in the Webinars has been very positive to date.

One of the areas that The National Alliance is particularly proud of is its "University Connection" program. This program is directed at future risk managers who are still in college. Hold says that the program is made up of two parts. The first part involves passing an approved risk and insurance course at the participant's university. The second part of the program involves taking one of the sections of the normal CRM sections. The National Alliance has modified the course, however, to accommodate the needs of the college students by providing supporting materials such as video-recorded case studies, and Webcasts.

After taking these two courses, the student will have completed two of the five parts needed for the CRM designation. In addition, accord­ing to Oehlert, completing the two parts will lead to a designation of University Associate Certified Risk Manager (UACRM). Hold notes that program is available to senior or graduate level students. Oehlert points, "We already have introduced it at 13 universities. It has been quite popular and we continue to work with additional universities to offer the program."

Adding to the success of the UACRM program, the CRM program is making strides on the international front. The Certified Risk Managers International has become the premier education program for risk managers and insurance professionals in Latin America. Since 2006, when the CRM program was introduced in Mexico, 37 CRM courses have been held in that country. CRM curriculum is presented entirely in Spanish by practicing risk managers and insurance specialists in Mexico. Participants from Panama, Chile, Ecuador, and Venezuela have attended Mexico CRM courses in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Today, 47 individuals from Mexico have earned the CRM designation, and more than 294 individuals are currently participating in the CRM program in Mexico.

In broad terms, The National Alliance has made a major commitment to risk management education. For example, in addition to the programs highlighted above, there is an industry-specific risk management program for school risk managers, and discussions are ongoing about adding other industry-specific segments such as health care, governmental entities and church risk management, says Hold.

Conclusion

Risk management is changing by the day. Many industry observers believe that the scope of risks has broadened over the last few years as corporations continue to test new methods and operations. As a result, it is important for risk managers to obtain an education that is commensurate with these expanding areas. Additional educational needs have arisen as a result of the current holistic approach required from risk managers to support enterprise risk management. While a number of educational efforts are underway from various organizations, it appears that the approach used by The National Alliance combines a best practices methodology that gives risk managers not only a good, basic understanding but, via the continuing educational requirements, keeps the information fresh and relevant.

One of the most impressive aspects of The National Alliance's educational programs is the constant updating that occurs. In areas like risk management where the subject matter changes almost weekly, it is important to have resources that support the latest thinking, rather than relying on quickly outdated textbooks. As Hold noted earlier, using a "notebook" approach change can occur as needed, and there is no need to have to wait for the next version of the textbook. The National Alliance has also gone out of its way to incorporate the needs of university students as well as those risk managers in Mexico.