In the fast-paced insurance industry in Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia-Pacific region, continuing education and professional development are critical. The insurance professional who wants to stay updated and relevant in their field must obtain additional qualifications.
That’s one of the main reasons why the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) exists. The ANZIIF offers courses for insurance professionals seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge and offers services that support professional excellence and growth for its members.
In this article, we’ll discuss the different ANZIIF courses and provide insight on how these can benefit your career.
ANZIIF’s courses are a selection of comprehensive educational programs that include:
These different types of courses are geared towards meeting insurance professionals’ specific career needs, ANZIIF membership levels, and level of experience. The courses are designed to provide learners with both theoretical and practical skills that are essential for maintaining professional standards of insurance industries in the Asia-Pacific region.
There are 16 different formal qualifications that insurance professionals can get from the ANZIIF. These are:
This ANZIIF course is designed for insurance professionals who have only started on their insurance career, and this includes leavers. The ANZIIF Foundation Certificate in Insurance is ideal for anyone who wants to have a solid foundational understanding of the industry, and a solid foundation for their future career development.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Affiliate CIP member level
The Professional Certificate in Insurance is a qualification that insurance professionals with two or more years’ worth of experience working in the insurance industry can obtain. Some skills learners can obtain from this course include:
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Associate CIP member level
The ANZIIF Executive Certificate in Insurance is a qualification course meant for insurance professionals with four or more years of experience working in the insurance industry. Each unit of this course aims to help seasoned insurance professionals and develop technical, analytical and interpersonal skills and knowledge.
The skills and knowledge they can obtain from this course mainly involve effectively assisting a team leader in claims and/or underwriting management and to provide quality insurance services to customers.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
Insurance broking professionals with four or more years of experience in the industry are the focus of the Executive Certificate in General Insurance Broking.
This course provides qualified learners with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead an insurance broking team and perform all the necessary functions for efficiently delivering quality insurance broking services.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This is a specialised qualification meant for insurance professionals with four or more years of experience and specialising or wanting to specialise in insurance claims.
The Executive Certificate in General Insurance Claims course teaches essential skills and knowledge for leading a claims team. This course also trains insurance professionals on how to effectively manage and settle insurance claims, all while providing quality insurance claims services.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This is another course for experienced insurance professionals, particularly those specialising or wish to specialise in insurance underwriting. Insurance professionals need to have at least four years’ worth of experience working in the insurance industry to earn the Executive Certificate in General Insurance Underwriting.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This qualification consists of Skills Units, which are compliant with the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The courses contained in the AQF Certificate IV in General Insurance are contextualised for both the Australian and New Zealand markets. The Skills Units in this qualification are internationally recognised.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Associate CIP member level
The Diploma of General Insurance is meant for insurance professionals who work in a small or large insurance business with retail and/or commercial clients. To be eligible to take the course, they must have at least four years of work experience in their role.
This qualification is made up of Skills Units conforming with the AQF. The units are appropriately contextualised for both the Australian and New Zealand markets and this qualification is internationally portable.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This qualification is designed for experienced insurance broking professionals with a minimum of four years’ experience working in small or large broking businesses with retail and/or commercial clients.
Those who wish to pursue this qualification should first become a certified insurance broker in Australia, New Zealand, or the Asia-Pacific region to be eligible.
The Skills Units contained in the Diploma of Insurance broking are mapped to the AQF and apply to the contexts of both the Australian and New Zealand markets. This qualification is recognised internationally.
If you want to know more about this qualification, look up our detailed guide on how to earn the Diploma of Insurance broking.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This is another qualification designed for employees who are starting out in life insurance. The AQF Certificate IV in Life Insurance is chiefly concerned with providing learners with the requisite skills and knowledge for delivering quality service to clients.
The Skills Units in this course follow the AQF and contextualised for the Australian insurance market.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Associate CIP member level
This title is viewed with high regard in the insurance industry, as it provides learners with the skills and knowledge that can boost their careers. Once learners earn this qualification, they automatically become ANZIIF members.
For those already practising loss adjustment and wish to further their careers, this is seen as one of the highly essential ANZIIF courses. The AQF Diploma of Loss Adjusting equips students with intricately crafted course material developed with the assistance of respected loss adjusters.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This is a special course for insurance professionals operating out of New Zealand. The NZ Compliance for Advisers – General Insurance is meant for those seeking to meet standards set by New Zealand’s Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Affiliate CIP member level
This course is designed for general insurance professionals in NZ who wish to meet the required standards for their Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.
Note that the New Zealand Compliance for Advisers – General Insurance Broking, has been evaluated by the Skills Organisation and is deemed compliant with NZ’s Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Affiliate CIP member level
The General Insurance Claims Handling Framework course is designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of professionals involved in claims handling within the insurance industry.
This is a voluntary framework aimed at establishing consistent and high standards of professionalism for claims handling and settling services.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Senior Associate CIP member level
This is an effort to unify professional standards and improve community trust in the Australian life insurance sector. This Life Insurance Professional Standards course is an industry-wide framework that is supported by the ANZIIF. This course is mainly meant to formalise standards of professional excellence by having a consistent Foundation Requirement for all life insurance claims and underwriting professionals.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Associate CIP member level
The Tier 1 Insurance Broking Compliance course is in fulfilment of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s (ASIC) Regulatory Guide 146 requirements. This is an essential course for insurance professionals to be legally allowed to provide general and personal financial advice to clients.
ANZIIF membership outcome: eligible for Affiliate CIP member level
These are interactive Short Courses that provide knowledge on certain topics, compliance and regulatory updates, or updates on major industry changes. ANZIIF Short Courses are created by the same team that developed the AQF formal qualifications, so you can be assured that these materials are of a high standard.
These Skills Units are designed to provide learners with specific training and skills as needed. They can be taken as standalone units, or combined to obtain a full professional title, like the AQF Certificate IV. Taking individual Skills Units gets learners an ANZIIF Certificate upon completion, they are fully delivered online and take about five to seven weeks to complete.
Taking ANZIIF courses offers several benefits since ANZIIF is the leading membership training and professional development organisation for the insurance and finance industry in the Asia-Pacific region. By studying with ANZIIF, the benefits that insurance professionals can draw from include:
ANZIIF courses are designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of insurance professionals of varying levels. Those starting out in insurance and even those who have established, flourishing careers can take courses that are relevant to their roles and expand their expertise. These courses can facilitate career advancement and prepare professionals for leadership roles within their organisations.
The rigorous process and standards involved in obtaining ANZIIF qualifications are recognised by those in the insurance industry. In the eyes of peers and potential employers, taking ANZIIF courses shows you have a high degree of professionalism and willingness to enhance standards and improve your skills and knowledge.
Those aiming for higher ANZIIF membership levels also open pathways to achieving Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) status, which is usually required for career advancement.
Obtaining ANZIIF qualifications typically confers ANZIIF membership, which comes with a range of perks. With membership, you receive access to a huge library of different educational sources covering risk management, claims management, and many other insurance and financial services subjects.
For networking, ANZIIF membership gives you access to online activities and professional development events that are necessary for staying updated with industry trends. There are also opportunities to meet with other professionals, enabling knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
Do any of these ANZIIF courses or qualifications appeal to you? Feel free to share with us your career plans and what courses you plan to take in the comments
