Professional Programs

Students may choose to participate in professional designation programs such as the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), and become licensed North Carolina insurance agents.

We encourage our students to pursue professional designations. There is no better time to get started on these than when in the habit of studying and taking exams. We consider a wide variety of designations to be valuable, but have selected three to specifically encourage and support our students to work toward:

CPCU – Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter

The CPCU designation is granted by the American Institute for Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriters (AICPCU) and has the greatest support from insurance companies. Students hoping to work in underwriting, loss control, claims, operations and other positions with insurance companies will be well served to begin work toward the CPCU designation. The CPCU consists of 8 parts; we encourage students to begin by sitting for CPCU 553 Personal Insurance exam upon completion of our FIN 3072 Personal Insurance course.

CRM – Certified Risk Manager

The CRM designation is granted by the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. It is designed to provide knowledge and skills for handling all areas of managing risks, hazards, and exposures. Students hoping to gain employment as risk analysts or other positions in risk management will be well served to earn the University Associate CRM designation which counts for 2 of the 5 parts of the CRM. Students earn the UACRM designation by registering and passing CRM Principles of Risk Management and applying for course credit after completing our FIN 4570 Risk Management course with a “C” or better.

CIC – Certified Insurance Counselor

The CIC designation is granted by the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. The CIC Program has been the insurance industry's premier, proven source for practical, real-world education since 1969. It is structured specifically for agents and brokers. Students who would like to work as an agent or broker should earn the University Associate CIC designation. The UACIC counts for 2 of the 5 parts of the CIC designation. Students earn the UACIC designation by registering and passing CIC Personal Lines exam (FIN 3072 Personal Insurance will prepare you for this) and applying for course credit upon completing our FIN 3073 Commercial Insurance course with a “C” or better.
Additionally, one CRM part can substitute for a CIC part. Therefore students can earn 3 parts of the CIC designation in conjunction with the University Associate programs.