Your Opinion of Professional Designations

[thebarb]

I am trying to decide if/what professional designations to work toward as an Insurance Agent.

This is my thought process: I know that others that are in the Insurance Industry understand what most designations are (ie FLMI etc) but do you think it gives you credibility with the average person? Do you think it could cause them (average person) to be intimidated if you have too many designations? Do you think it could be perceived as arrogance to have many designations?

What professional designations, in your opinion, are the best to have? (If you can provide links to the websites for additional info on the designations it will be appreciated).

I want to finish up my LOMA so I can get my FLMI, but beyond that, what would be good to have?

I appreciate any feedback.

Barb,
Fairly new Insurance Agent

 

[GreenSky]

Nothing gives you credibility with the average person. There are 3 reasons for professional designations:

1) To impress yourself

2) To impress other agents

3) To gain knowledge

Rick

 

[thebarb]

Nothing gives you credibility with the average person. There are 3 reasons for professional designations:

1) To impress yourself

2) To impress other agents

3) To gain knowledge

Rick

In that exact order?

 

[GreenSky]

In that exact order?

Yes.

Rick

 

[AnMarieB]

I have had my CIC designation since 2005. Obtaining credibility with my clients was not my motivation behind getting the designation, although from time to time I do feel it has provided such. My initial motivation was to gather knowledge that could directly attribute to the success of my agency.

However, along the way, what I gained from attending these courses was even more effective in achieving my goal and that was the industry contacts. The instructors of the courses are most often highly successful agents themselves (past and present). And the participants in the classes range from commercial and personal lines agents; highly automated agents to those that still prefer to do everything by hand; to agents just starting off to agents that are getting ready to retire. Company personnel extend from marketing, claims, underwriting, and more. Being able to develop a network with like-minded industry professionals is the reason I continue to keep my designation in force.

Additional information about the CIC designation can be found on the website for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research - scic.com.

Good luck in your research.

AnMarie Bozick

 

[GreenSky]

I too had a CIC. In fact, I was the 2nd youngest at the time but that was a loooong time ago.

I dropped it when it was obvious that I could teach the courses and sitting in a room once a year to hear the same crap again was worthless. Perhaps it's better now.

Rick

 

[indaville]

CFP is not neccessary but it can do nothing but help.

 

[sman]

Designations are almost worthless from the standpoint of gaining you credibility in the clients eyes. The only one that remotely helps is a CFP and that's really only because it's been marketed so well. There's absolutely nothing wrong with mastering the material so that you can better assist the client, but designations really don't do much. I have a few and don't even put them on my business card.

And quite frankly, just because you have a designation doesn't mean you can serve the client any better. Case in point:

I'm sitting in a meeting with other "financial planners". One gentleman, who has his CFP states,

"What I need help with is after gathering all the information from the client, how do I determine what's best for them?"

Are you kidding me? This guy is a CFP and he's already been advising people on where to invest their money and he has no clue what he's doing (by his own admission). He worked for an organization that mostly did 403b's in the schools and hospitals. They were branching out and adding other services and releasing this type of advisor on the investment public. At least he was there to seek help. But it just proves that a designation doesn't mean very much.

 

[LGilmore]

The average client isn't going to care about the alphabet after your name. They're going to care about you as a person and how comfortable you make them feel.

In some professional situations designations will help impress other professionals with similar alphabet (CPA's) behind their names.

Rick is right in many ways, maybe not with the firing order.

I look at it this way, if it improves your knowledge and confidence as an agent, then it's not a bad thing to consider.

 

[xosephchu]

There are situations professional designations may help.

Generally, people don't care how much you know or how many professional designations you have until and unless they know how much you care about them.