View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/blogs/academy-journal/2017/03/01/443146.htm
Last week, we launched our first State of Learning in Insurance survey and we are already learning about you and your learning needs. The survey isn’t over yet; we still need your input, but I thought I would give you a few of the insights that you have already provided.
You want to learn. 76% of you have told us that you have asked for training for yourselves. That tells us that our audience cares about learning. You know that continuous learning is a key to staying at the cutting edge of an ever-changing industry. Let’s face it. Insurance changes all the time. When I was an underwriter, one of my duties was staying up on ISO form and rule changes. That was almost a full-time job with new case law, or new technology causing the industry to react with new forms, new exclusionary language and new clarifying language. A successful insurance professional is always learning.
You face challenges in learning. We recognize that there are challenges that get in the way of learning. We gave you several options to choose from to tell us which is your top challenge. I’m not giving this one away (yet). However, I will tell you that so far it doesn’t always appear to be a budget issue. If you want to know what the biggest challenge is, you’ll have to wait until we publish our report, or you can attend our webinar, where we will discuss our findings (shameless plug).
You enjoy learning through the Academy. All I can say about this is a big thank you! I knew that the Academy’s content and instructors were top-notch, and you have confirmed it. Someone left us the comment, “I love the Academy of Insurance.” Me too and we appreciate you, our audience! We understand that we exist to serve your needs. We are here for you and we plan to make your Academy experience even better as time goes by. Keep watching. I think you’ll like what comes out in the coming year.
You come from all over the insurance world. In the spirit of transparency, this took me a little by surprise. I expected to see people from insurance carriers and agencies. I hoped to see underwriters, claims adjusters and agents. What I didn’t expect was the number of other folks out there that are concerned with education in insurance. I’ve seen attorneys and actuaries. I’ve seen Training Consultants and people with unique titles from all over the insurance world! Wow. You are an eclectic group of people and I am honored to serve you. I’m impressed with your range and depth of experience and the work that you do.
You have some advice for us. This also doesn’t surprise me. Let’s be honest with each other. Insurance professionals are opinionated. We may not know everything about insurance (who really knows all the exclusions on the CGL policy?), but we do know what we think about everything in insurance. You’re probably wondering what advice we’ve heard so far. You are asking for the classes that you need. Some of you are in niche markets and you are looking for our help. That thrills me! That means that you trust us. You believe that your voice has been heard and that we will do whatever we can to help you.
I had high hopes for this survey and you haven’t let me down. Thank you. Thank you for putting your trust in the Academy. Thank you for your earnest desire to learn. Thank you for helping us to take something great and make it even better. If you haven’t taken our survey, and you have five minutes or less to spare (current average time to complete is less than four minutes), there’s still time to get in on the fun. Click here and let us hear your voice, too.