Tag Archives: Canada

CAIB Study Tip #12 – What to NOT DO After You Finish Your Exam

Education, Exam Preperation, , , , , , , , , , ,

First thing you can do… take a deep breath. You are finished!! It is time to relax and not worry about the results as there is nothing that can be done about the test. Couple of traps to avoid saving you the mental anguish are:

Beware of the post-mortem – it’s natural to want to discuss how it went with your friends and co-workers, but keep it in perspective. Exams are dramatic events, and the temptation is to describe them dramatically – “The easiest/hardest/fastest exam I’ve ever done!” No two exam experiences will be the same – that doesn’t mean you are wrong and they are right, or vice versa.

Don’t check your answers with others, especially when you still have to do it later. You’ve already handed the papers in, so what’s the use of checking with others and finding yourself wrong? Leave ASAP so you won’t hear others talking about it.

Don’t grab your text and look up answers. All this is going to do is make you start second guessing your answers to trust that you did the best you can. Learning how co-insurance works 20 min after the exam is not going to improve your mark, or your mood, at all.

When marking the exams, IBAM cannot begin the process until all exams are received from around the province. Once this happens, teams of volunteers markers are brought in to start going through each of the exams and marking them by hand. IBAM will do our best to get the marks out to the students as quickly as possible but due to the sheer volume of exams, this process is going to take a few weeks at minimum. Please be patient as we are working as hard as we can to ensure the marks are received by the end of the month you wrote in.

To be kept up to date on when the marks are posted, follow the IBAM Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/IBAManitoba) or our Twitter Account (@IBAManitoba) as we will post a notice as soon as all of the marks are up on our IBAM Website (http://www.ibam.mb.ca/caib-examResults.htm). Paper copies of marks will be sent out about a week after the marks have been posted.

Please do not call the IBAM office if you no longer have your student number. Student numbers are provided at the exam on a slip of paper attached to the exam and will not be given out again until you receive the paper copy of your results.

Best of Luck!

LOTR

CAIB Study Tip # 11 – What to Expect When You Walk Into the Exam Room

Education, Exam Preperation, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Many people are surprised when they walk into their exam room for one main reason – they are not the only ones there! With the exception of the exams held in rural and small city centers, there can be quite a few people writing at one time. This December, Winnipeg is expecting over 100 students alone that day! This includes everyone from our discussion classes as well as students who chose the self-study option and are working on rewrites. That is why we always tell people to arrive early to get their choice of seats and to help us get everyone registered by the time the exam starts. We will have the full team out from IBAM to get everyone settled in time but that number of people can definitely be a challenge.

But what is everyone writing? Many of the students are writing their CAIB exams but a few are writing their CPIB exams and even their CCIB exams. That is a lot of acronyms to keep track of!! I always would caution my students to never gauge how you are doing on your exam with how others in the room are doing. You will notice when you open the exam booklet that everyone has different colored exams – these indicate which exam everyone is writing. So do not panic when the person next to you is writing a 2 page essay while you are only answering short form questions… your book might be green and theirs yellow indicating you are taking completely different courses.

The exam will start at 9:00am with students asked not to come any later than 8:45am in order to get everyone seated in time. You will have from 9am until 12:30 to write with no extensions for time. Be sure to use the entire time given to you. Even if you finish early, check and see if everyone else around you is done, if they are not, you probably missed something, or they are checking their work!

What to do if your mind goes blank – most students fear this happening. If it does – put your pen down, take a deep breath, sit back and relax for a moment. If you’re in the middle of an answer, read through what you have written so far – what happens next? If you have to remember formulae, try associating them with pictures or music while revising. If you really can’t progress with this answer, leave a gap. It will probably come back to you once you are less anxious.

If you are running out of time – don’t panic. Look at the questions you have left to answer and divide up your remaining time to cover them all. Be very economical – make one point support it with evidence and then move on to the next point. If you really can’t finish in time, briefly list the points you wanted to make – they could pick you up a few marks.

Now there is only one thing left for you to do…
Keep Calm Exam

Waiting 2 years to take CAIB 4…

General Knowledge, , , , , , , ,

I’ve heard I need to wait 2 years after getting a Level 2 General Insurance License before I can take CAIB 4 – is that True?

Absolutely not! Completing your CAIB (Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker) designation and earning a Level 3 General Insurance License are linked by only in a small way.
The Insurance Council of Manitoba (ICM) does require that a broker has their Level 2 General Insurance Brokerage for at least 2 years before they can be granted a Level 3 license.  This is to help maintain the professionalism of the insurance industry by ensuring that a person has a minimum of 2 years of insurance experience before being granted a license that would permit them to own and manage their own brokerage.

The completion of your CAIB designation can, alternately, be done as quickly or as slowly as you would like.  I have seen people complete all 4 exams in under a year which I think is crazy but they were up for the challenge.  You will receive your CAIB certificate and can begin using the designation once all 4 exams are successfully passed.

If you do the accelerated method of earning your CAIB’s, ICM will note in their system when you have earned your Level 2 General Insurance License.  Once 2 years has passed, because IBAM has already notified them of your successful completion of CAIB 4, your license will be automatically upgraded to a Level 3 license.

So this means… Go for it!!  You can always be working towards your designation as education should be a big goal of any insurance broker professional.  You just can’t own or manage your own insurance brokerage at this time but there is plenty of time for that – these are the years for you to be learning all you can about the industry.

How General Insurance Licenses work in Manitoba

General Knowledge, , , ,

While I have only been working in the IBAM office for a few short months, I often hear people get confused with how the licensing system in Manitoba works.  I just thought I would take a moment to explain the different levels to you.

In Manitoba, there are 4 different General Insurance Licenses that are issued by the Insurance Council of Manitoba (ICM).  A potential insurance broker must fulfill the required educational steps in order to qualify for a license which means passing an accredited insurance exam.

Licensing Chart*Note – CEC stands for Continuing Education Credits which are required by your license renewal date of May 31 each year in order to maintain your insurance license.

Many brokers may find that they have earned a new license level during the course of the licensing year.  This concerns them as most people want their license to be upgraded as soon as they pass the qualifying exam.  If you have passed an IBAM course, IBAM always submits the successful marks to ICM who will note the update their system.  This will trigger a revised license to be sent to the insurance broker showing their new license level at no charge to the brokerage.

For more information on how licensing works in Manitoba, simply contact Katrina at the IBAM office or you can visit the ICM Website at www.icm.mb.ca.

Thinking About the Industry

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I will be brutally honest – most people involved in the insurance industry did not grow up thinking that, when they grew up, they wanted to be an insurance broker.  Myself?  I was going to be a race car driver, which definitely did not pan out.  (Refer to the fact that I now drive a toaster looking car – definitely not built for speed)   The only exception to this observation seems to be people who knew that when they were older, they wanted to take over the family business which happened to be an Insurance Office.

But why is this?  Insurance is a fundamental need of EVERYTHING!!  It makes me chuckle to think how something this crucial is never really talked about when kids are growing up.  Now you might be thinking, “What do you mean be fundamental?  Isn’t insurance just a bunch of boring people pushing paper in an office somewhere”?

Well I can’t argue that it is primarily an office job but aren’t most jobs based somewhat in an office? The big difference with insurance is that it is a job where we provide something that everyone needs.  Think about it.  Movies can’t be made without insurance on the actors and sets.  Homes cannot be purchased and mortgaged  without insurance to protect them in the event of a fire.  Cars cannot be on the road without protection on them.

Insurance is an industry that is recession proof, depression proof, and mundane proof.  The world is not able to operate without insurance.  It is this simple fact that makes is not only a stable profession but also one that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the public.  No two individuals, claims or policies are ever the same.

Know I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a pretty interesting industry to me…