NAPSLO, The Institutes Develop Online Course - Surplus Lines Fundamentals

The Institutes, in collaboration with NAPSLO, have developed a new online course titled Surplus Lines Fundamentals.

The course was created based on recommendations from NAPSLO to produce an “Excess & Surplus Lines Primer” for anyone seeking to understand how the surplus lines market works.

Surplus Lines Fundamentals is an ideal course for training new hires of surplus lines insurers, wholesale brokers, managing general agents, and program managers. It is also an appropriate course for retail agents and brokers who want to learn how to access the surplus lines market when they encounter a hard-to-place risk.

The new online course consists of four concise assignments, which explain:

1. Why the surplus lines market is needed; 
2. How the surplus lines distribution system works and how it is regulated; 
3. How surplus lines insurers differ from admitted insurers; and 
4. How underwriting expertise and form/rate flexibility allow the surplus lines market to successfully insure risks that the admitted market cannot or will not insure.

Learners who complete the course and built-in assessments earn an online certificate of completion. A separate online exam will be required only if the learner wishes to earn continuing education (CE) credit. The Institutes are filing the course for CE credit in all but two states; however, it will eventually be filed in all states.

“Surplus Lines Fundamentals will help beginners to understand the operation of the surplus lines market and prepare for their job duties and further training,” said Arthur Flitner, CPCU, senior director of knowledge resources at The Institutes. Flitner worked closely with NAPSLO Education Director Randall Jones to plan and oversee development of the course.

“This new offering supplements NAPSLO’s surplus lines schools, the CEU courses, and also the Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) designation,” said NAPSLO President Bob Sargent, CPCU, RPLU, ARM. “Together these programs help NAPSLO members ensure their employees continue to develop the specialty lines expertise they need to assist their customers.”

For more information about Surplus Lines Fundamentals, call The Institutes’ Customer Service Department at (800) 644-2101 or visit The Institutes’ Web site at www.TheInstitutes.org.