School hasn’t been out for summer for some brokers that are using the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s (IBAO) eLearning platform to take a key course, which has seen record registrations since its launch last year.
Over 5,000 brokers have registered for “Ethical Steps: Facing Ethical Situations in Insurance,” which was created by the IBAO in response to RIBO’s introduction of an ethics continuing education requirement for brokers. The release of the eLearning course in October 2018 was made possible by the launch of the IBAO’s eLearning platform, My IBAO Learning Path, in August of that same year.
The ethics course takes eLearners through various real-life scenarios that brokers are often placed in, and asks them to determine the best course of action based on what they’ve learned. The training is an annual reinforcement of brokers’ primary responsibilities, which are making sure that the consumer is best-protected and advocating for the consumer.
“It’s a great addition to their broker education requirements because it helps maintain a broker’s reputation and credibility as the best choice for consumers,” explained Brett Boadway, IBAO’s director of operations.
An important aspect of the course is that the IBAO has made it easy for brokers to complete it anywhere and anytime, thanks to its eLearning platform.
“They can do this course anywhere – they can do it on their cellphone, they can do it on their iPad, they can do it on their desktop, they can do it on the GO train coming into work. All you need is Wifi access,” said Boadway. “You can also start and stop, so if you get through 20 minutes of it and you get a phone call, you can come back to it later. We’ve designed something for the modern day employee that needs a little more flex so they can better focus on their customers and clients, and their day-to-day jobs.”
While brokers are excited about the ease-of-access and user experience when taking this type of eLearning course, it’s that anytime/anywhere component that really appeals to them, added Boadway.
“What brokers most appreciate is not having to leave the office and not having to leave their desk in order to complete this requirement,” she told Insurance Business.
Brokers can also expect the IBAO to release more eLearning content that meets their needs in the future.
“This isn’t the last time we’re going to be launching something in this format. We’ll always have an ethics course available for our members, and we’ll also have a number of other courses on this platform that are available,” said Boadway. “It’s a great way to learn.”
The ethics course is offered free of charge and is available exclusively for IBAO members. Brokers have until September 30 to fulfil their RIBO education requirements, which include one hour of ethics training for any licensed broker.
For brokers who’ve already completed the course and are looking to earn their ethics hour for next year, the IBAO will be holding a live webinar in the fall, “Ethical Considerations for Brokers.”
