History
The American Institute for CPCU was founded in 1942 through combined business and university efforts. Dr. Harry J. Loman, a well-known professor of insurance at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, was named the first dean. Under his leadership, all segments of the property and casualty insurance industry joined together to promote technical competence and ethical behavior, the cornerstones of professionalism. This joint effort resulted in the development of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) professional designation program. It was the first program to establish academic standards (passing national essay-style examinations), an experience requirement, and an ethics requirement for a professional designation in property and casualty insurance.
The Insurance Institute of America (IIA), founded in 1909, is the oldest continuously functioning national organization offering educational programs for the property and liability insurance business. IIA offers numerous programs that include both general education in insurance principles and specialized education in fields such as underwriting, claims, risk management, and reinsurance.
In 1953, the American Institute for CPCU and IIA (the Institutes) merged operations and now function as a single organization.
The Insurance Research Council (IRC), established in 1977, merged with the Institutes in 1998. The IRC provides timely and reliable information based on extensive data collection and analyses. It examines public-policy matters affecting insurers, customers, and the public. It publishes research reports on a wide variety of public-policy issues. Although its research reports assist insurers and the public in evaluating legislative and regulatory issues, the IRC does not advocate public-policy positions or engage in legislative lobbying. IRC’s Web address is www.ircweb.org.
The CPCU Society is a professional association whose 30,000 members hold the American Institute for CPCU’s Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation. Its offices are on the Institutes’ campus in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
What We Offer
CPCU and IIA Programs
The Institutes develop curriculum; write, edit, and publish textbooks and other study materials; and develop administer, and grade examinations for people in the property and casualty insurance and financial services business. We certify their level of knowledge of specific areas of insurance practice such as underwriting, claims adjusting, risk management, reinsurance, and premium auditing through setting examination standards in those fields.
Short Courses and Seminars
The Institutes provide short courses that students can study independently, can take in a seminar format, or can take online to earn continuing education credits.
Research Reports
IRC makes available to the public a broader range of empirical studies than does any other insurance industry-supported, research-oriented organization. IRC’s reports address subjects relating to all lines of property-casualty insurance, including coverages of automobiles, homes, businesses, municipalities, and professionals
Multimedia
Insurance Essentials is an online program that covers the basics of the insurance business.
In cooperation with The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Institutes offer resident programs in executive education at Wharton. These programs are designed to help participants develop the insight and skills needed to effectively lead contemporary insurance organizations.
International Education
The Insurance Institute of America, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Insurance Institute of Canada established the Institute for Global Insurance Education (IGIE) to provide a forum for members to discuss educational issues with global implications. Since its creation in 1997, the insurance institutes of seven additional nations, as well as the CPCU Society, have become IGIE members.
Students and Examinations
We have approximately 150,000 students nationwide who purchase and study our textbooks and other educational materials and take our national examinations. We administer 60,000 to 70,000 exams each year. We deliver both essay-style and objective-style exams. We administer paper-and-pen exams at Institute-sponsored exam sites or at a student’s workplace with a company-supplied proctor. We deliver exams via computer at Prometric Testing Centers and at a student’s workplace at organizations that meet certain testing requirements.
Staff and Board
The Institutes have approximately 130 full-time employees. We have an additional staff of approximately 40 employees who work part-time or are called in to work on an as-needed basis.
A Board of Trustees governs the Institutes. The Board is composed primarily of the heads of approximately 50 major insurance and reinsurance companies, agencies, and brokerage firms and some insurance professors. The chairman of the Board of Trustees is James E. Rutrough, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.
Location and Campus
Starting with the founding of the American Institute for CPCU in 1942 at The Wharton School, we shared a campus with The American College, which confers the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation, first in Philadelphia then in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. We moved to our current location in Malvern in 1973. We have an 82-acre campus with four buildings. We also own a warehouse and shipping facility in Exton, Pennsylvania. In addition, we have regional directors in Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
For more information about the Institutes, contact Steve Ryan, Director of Marketing Communications, at ryan@cpcuiia.org.