Education Corner - Spring 2025

The National IRES Continuing Education (“NICE”) Program is a professional development initiative that requires all members holding the AIE®, CIE®, and/or CICSR® designations to earn 15 hours of continuing education (“CE”) credit annually. The program aims to ensure that every active designation holder actively pursues ongoing education throughout their career to stay informed about the challenges facing the insurance industry.

The NICE program is designed to provide maximum flexibility, allowing members various opportunities to fulfill the CE requirement. However, this flexibility can sometimes lead to confusion about which educational events are eligible for CE credits under the NICE program.

Many different activities or educational events may qualify for CE. These can include courses, conferences, self-study courses, seminars, or webinars. Each educational event is evaluated based on its own merits, taking into account both the content and the method of delivery to determine its eligibility for CE credits under the NICE program.

An educational event qualifies for CE if it adheres to the "50% insurance rule," which stipulates that more than 50% of the event's content must be directly and substantively related to insurance. If an event does not meet this requirement and does not qualify for an exception, it will not be eligible for CE credits under the NICE program. For information regarding exceptions to the 50% insurance rule, please refer to the NICE Program Manual.

The most common ways members earn CE during each compliance period include:

• Attending an insurance-related seminar or conference.

• Taking a self-study insurance-related course.

• Getting an article published in The Regulator® or another trade publication.

• Earning a Market Conduct Management (“MCM”®) designation.

• Attending an IRES-sponsored webinar.

• Participating in an IRES Committee or Subcommittee.

• Speaking or presenting at events directly related to insurance or insurance regulation.

If you need ideas for obtaining your CE credits, consider the following resources:

• America's Health Insurance Plans (“AHIP”): AHIP offers various learning options that may qualify for CE, including self-study and on-demand webinars. For more information, visit the AHIP website at www.ahip.org.

• LOMA: LOMA courses related to earning a designation often qualify for CE under the NICE Program, and they offer other learning opportunities that may also be eligible for CE. More information is available at www.loma.org.

• National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”): The NAIC’s Education & Training Department provides numerous on-demand and internet-based courses for regulators and industry members. Visit their Education & Training Department page for more information at www.naic.org/education_home.htm.

• The American College: The American College sponsors the Chartered Life Underwriter® (“CLU”) designation. Many courses related to this designation comply with the 50% insurance rule and qualify for CE under the NICE Program. For more details, visit www.theamericancollege.edu.

• The Institutes: Courses from The Institutes that relate to pursuing a designation frequently qualify for CE under the NICE Program. They also offer on-demand CE courses that may be eligible. You can find more information at www.theinstitutes.org.

• Producer Licensing CE Providers: Most continuing education courses approved by individual state insurance departments qualify for CE under the NICE Program. You can search for and find approved CE courses for various states using the State Based Systems (“SBS”) online Lookup tool at https://sbs.naic.org/solar-external-lookup/. If your state is not part of the SBS, check your state’s insurance department website for information on finding approved CE courses.

Please consult the NICE Program Manual for more detailed information about what qualifies for CE under the NICE program and how much CE will be granted. If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact the IRES office (info@go-ires.org).

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Jo LeDuc, CIE, MCM, CPCU, FLMI, AIDA, Director of Insurance Market Regulation Division with the Missouri Department of Insurance. Jo is a member of and a past President of the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES). She has an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Business Administration. In addition, she has earned the CIE (Certified Insurance Examiner), MCM (Market Conduct Management), CPCU (Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter), FMLI (Fellow, Life Management Institute), AIRC (Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance), AIC (Associate in Claims), Associate in Insurance Data Analytics (AIDA) and API (Associate in Personal Insurance) designations.