Insurance professionals in the US are already entrenched in a long-term career that promises to be sustainable, profitable, and if they work hard and play their cards right, fulfilling as well.
The way to increase your profitability and further future-proof your career is to gain more credentials.
And depending on your career goals and preferences, the Associate in Claims (AIC) title might be your ticket to career advancement, and higher earnings.
In this article, Insurance Business discusses the AIC designation. We’ll talk about the requirements, benefits, and the steps you can take to obtain this career-advancing certification.
The AIC designation was created in part by the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (NAIIA). It is a certification that equips professionals with the specialized training, skills, and knowledge required for handling various types of insurance claims.
This is a professional designation typically obtained via The Institutes, which provides the essential AIC courses. There are alternative course providers for the AIC, like ABTraining Center, A.D. Baker & Company, and the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.
The AIC credential is well-suited to insurance professionals whose business deals in property losses and liability claims. Those who stand to benefit most from the AIC include experienced claims adjusters, claims supervisors, and examiners.
Taking this credential can be of even more benefit for those with some knowledge of claims practices but have little or no formal education on these subjects. This credential can also be of use to insurance agents, brokers, or anyone who wants to enhance their expertise in claims management.
Recognized throughout the country, the Associate in Claims title provides insurance professionals with a solid foundation in claims handling, resolution, investigation, fraud prevention, and inter-departmental collaboration.
This designation is like the AIC but focuses more on providing insurance claims professionals with the necessary skills and knowledge to shift to leadership or management roles, as the title suggests.
This title builds upon the AIC designation, but enhancing the knowledge gained from the AIC program with leadership skills and knowledge in claims management. The AIC-M educational path focuses more on:
There are several benefits offered by the Associate in Claims designation. Taking the courses, passing the AIC certification exam, then bearing the title gives insurance professionals an edge over those without the AIC.
Here are some of the AIC designation’s key benefits:
As for the AIC-M, these are the benefits an insurance professional can derive from having this title:
Those who wish to obtain the AIC title can follow a straightforward process. This mainly involves accumulating essential knowledge then passing the certification exam. Here are the steps in more detail:
Aspiring Associates in Claims must first gain foundational knowledge in claims, which includes claims handling principles and insurance practices. This can be accomplished by taking AIC core courses offered by The Institutes. These are the core courses you must take:
Each of these courses can take around four to six weeks to complete. As an alternative to AIC 301, learners can also take the CPCU 530, which can give similar credit. Note that the CPCU 530 course is an essential part of obtaining the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation. You may want to check out how this designation can help your insurance career as well.
It’s essential to choose a specific type of insurance claims to specialize in, and to do this, you must choose an elective course. The AIC program offers a selection of elective courses to enable you to gain the essential knowledge and skills for specializing in a specific type of claims. You can pick one elective course from these four choices:
For this step, The Institutes mandates that learners take an ethics course. You can choose to take either of the following:
Aspiring AICs will also be required to take a free module from The Institutes, Ethics 311: Ethical Decision Making in Risk & Insurance, which can be taken online. This ethics module can be credited to all Institutes Designations and includes a built-in exam that offers an unlimited number of attempts.
After completing all the required courses, candidates should prepare for and ensure that they pass all the exams for each course. Should you choose to take the Associate in Claims program from The Institutes, you can take advantage of their comprehensive exam prep materials and tools.
You can use printable study outlines, simulated exams, practice tests, and discussion boards – all of which are supplied with the course materials. A widely suggested strategy is to use the simulated exam, as doing so helps candidates significantly in passing the actual AIC exams.
It’s important to note that the exams are timed, and candidates have a maximum of 65 minutes to answer 50 questions.
After completing the coursework and passing the certification exams, candidates can proceed with their AIC title application. Once you pass the final exam, you have the privilege of attaching the Associate in Claims designation to your name.
Typically, it takes at most 48 hours for the AIC title to appear on your online account. After The Institutes confirm that you passed the final exam, you should receive your diploma in the mail after eight to ten weeks.
The Associate in Claims designation does not have an expiration date. However, you may have to take Continuing Education (CE) courses to ensure that your certification remains active.
Should your AIC designation become inactive, this does not mean that it has expired or is cancelled.
Rather, The Institutes will not publicly list or recognize you as a designation holder. To know which CE courses you can take, check with your local insurance claims authority and The Institutes.
Meanwhile, to become an AIC-M titleholder, here are the steps:
The AIC-M builds upon the knowledge, skills, and certification of the Associate in Claims. It is essential that candidates first successfully obtain the AIC designation, as only then will they be allowed to take the courses and certification exams for the AIC-M.
Certified AICs must then take the AIC 330: Leading a Successful Claims Team course. This course should take around one to three months to complete.
Candidates for the AIC-M must then take the AIC 330 exams. These exams are online, allowing candidates to take the exam at their convenience within a specified testing window. As with the AIC exams, the AIC 330 exam has a 65-minute time limit and consists of 50 questions.
Upon completing this exam, candidates receive a notification whether they passed or not. The passing score is 70 percent. Candidates’ records are updated to show the exam results within 48 hours. If the candidate needs to retake the exam, it can be done within the same testing windows at a lower price.
Candidates receive their Associate in Claims - Management diploma after successfully completing both the AIC designation and the AIC 330 exams. As with the AIC diploma, those who passed the AIC 330 should receive their diploma via mail after eight to ten weeks.
The four testing windows for both the AIC and AIC 330 exams are as follows:
Either of these titles provide valuable knowledge that can improve your technical claims handling abilities, communication skills, and negotiation skills. Here’s what they can do for you and your career:
The Associate in Claims program can supply insurance professionals with a comprehensive understanding of the insurance claims industry, along with how claims operations work with the insurance industry as a whole. Obtaining the AIC or AIC-M designations can also train you how to navigate claims within legal frameworks.
In terms of practical application, the AIC title can help you:
The Associate in Claims - Management designation, meanwhile, can help you build and manage an effective claims team, recruiting, and developing talent that can help you achieve organizational effectiveness and resilience.
With the advanced knowledge and expertise in claims provided by the AIC or AIC-M comes prestige and recognition. You can gain credibility with your colleagues, clients, and employers with these titles. And as demand for claims professionals continues to grow, these credentials can help you stand out from your peers. But don’t rely on your credentials alone – remember that to be an effective claims practitioner, you’ll need to know how to market your services and find clients.
Both designations can open doors to higher positions in insurance claims. The AIC designation is invaluable for obtaining promotions, supervisory positions, or specialized claims positions. The AIC-M, in particular, can launch you into managerial or supervisory roles within your company.
And while these titles can put you ahead of other insurance professionals when it comes claims expertise, remember that there are other viable designations that can help further your insurance career. If you prefer not to engage in these occupations full-time, you also have the option of working as an insurance consultant.
As of April 2025, the average salary of an AIC in the US is around $43,653 a year. This is the average range of AIC salaries:
|
Percentage |
Annual Salary |
|---|---|
|
Top earners |
$53,000 |
|
75th percentile |
$48,000 |
|
25th percentile |
$35,500 |
Source: ziprecruiter
Monthly salaries for an AIC in the US average around $3,637, while top earners can earn as much as $4,416 a month. The actual salaries depend on factors such as the individual AIC’s level of experience and skills, and their location. Standards of living and market conditions in different states and cities can impact an AIC’s salary.
The answer depends largely on the individual insurance professional. Obtaining the title should align with your career objectives, and what your employer values. If this is a credential that gets you a raise, promotion to a supervisory role, or helps prepare you to operate your own insurance claims company, then the AIC is worth pursuing.
Is the Associate in Claims designation make sense to your career objectives? Let us know in the comments
