The meetings field, and industries associated with it, abound with certifications and professional designations, a veritable alphabet soup of CMPs, CMMs, CMEs, DMCPs and more. Now, those who specialize specifically in insurance education and training also have a designation to place after their names — the ITP
The new designation, the Insurance Training Professional, is offered through the San Francisco-based Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators. There is no testing to obtain the ITP; but applicants are required to demonstrate the following:
Evidence of insurance knowledge, either through another certification, college classes or work experience.
Evidence of training or education knowledge, perhaps through college education classes or specific classes in training.
Evidence of training and education experience, with a minimum of five years as a professional in the field.
Acceptance of the Society's ethics code.
"This designation is designed for the person who is a training professional with an insurance focus," said Lois Markovich, the group's executive director. "There isn't anything like it out there."
Although there are trainers who focus only on educating agents, brokers and other insurance company employees, there are many who — like meeting planners in general — tend to juggle multiple duties and have other titles. They may be claims managers or underwriters, for example, but also are responsible for claims or underwriting training within their organizations.
"We call these the hidden trainers," said Susan Cohen Slavet, program manager with Liberty Mutual, in Boston, and current president of the sponsoring Society. "This designation is to recognize their professional level of achievement along with that of full-time trainers.
"What it really does is enhance their credibility within their organizations."
The first designations were awarded at the Society's annual meeting, held in June in Seattle. To date, there are 16 insurance trainers who have been awarded the ITP designation.
"The way I think of certifications and measure their value is how well they're recognized in the industry they're set up to benefit," said Ann Peshoff, of the Convention Industry Council, in McLean, Va., and director of CIC's Certified Meeting Professional program.
"It's very hard to start up a certification program and market it as something of value if no one else recognizes what it is."
There are more than 10,000 who hold the Certified Meeting Professional designation, but that program has a 20-year head start on the ITP effort.
ITP applicants must be members of the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators, which has annual dues of $125, and ITP renewal requires continued membership in the Society. The ITP application fee is another $175.
For further information about the ITP, visit www.insurancetrainers.org.