Insurance advisors polled for the 2002 Insurance Advisors’ Report Card say they are taking advantage of training opportunities to add financial planning designations to their insurance licences. Of the agents surveyed, 36% hold the certified financial planner designation granted by the Financial Planners Standards Council, and another 33% are working to obtain it.
At Clarica Life Insurance Co., 48% of advisors polled held a CFP, while 32% were working toward the designation. Clarica agents rated the company’s ongoing training at 7.7, the average score for all the firms polled.
Clarica subscribes to the theory that the better educated an advisor is, the better served the client will be. Although the firm doesn’t require its advisors to hold designations such as the CFP or the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-granted Chartered Life Underwriter, it encourages them to earn them. There are a variety of programs to support continuing education and help agents acquire designations, says Alastair Rickard, Clarica’s financial planning services vice president in Waterloo, Ont.
Still, some agents are not completely satisfied. “Clarica’s focus is on the new agents,” says an agent in Ontario. Another Ontario agent says Clarica’s approach to ongoing training is: “Here’s a desk; you can learn the rest yourself.”
State Farm Insurance Cos. doesn’t require its advisors to have designations, says Derek Fee, senior public affairs specialist in Toronto. However, continuing education and training are encouraged and supported.
“We have a lot of in-house training,” he says. “Agents can choose a variety of continuing education programs. Often State Farm will financially support the agent and pay the tuition.”
State Farm advisors ranked their firm’s training at 8.2, the top mark, although some say there are still areas they think can be improved. “State Farm is slow in implementing new programs, and training is limited after an agent signs an independent contractor agreement,” says one Ontario agent. The company’s worst aspect is its “staff training support,” says another. Of the State Farm advisors surveyed, 26% had a CFP designation and 31% were working on one.
Joan Prevalnig, vice president of resource centre operations for Great-West Life Assurance Co., says continuing education and professional development are vital in today’s marketplace.
“For this reason,” she says, “Great-West encourages and supports professional development and related designations such as the CFP and CLU, as well as other recognized industry educational programs.”
Nevertheless, Great-West agents rated the firm’s ongoing training at 7.0, the lowest score of all the firms surveyed.
“Great-West has stepped out of [ongoing training],” a Calgary advisor says. “New agents are turned over to Freedom 55 Financial Corp.“
— Laura Urmoneit