Surplus Lines Certification Program Offers Number of New Completion Options

The Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI) program, the only nationally recognized certification program for surplus lines specialists and others seeking expertise in this field, has new completion options that broaden the choices of people who earn the designation. These new options include courses in a number of areas such as claims, underwriting, finance, and insurance production.

The ASLI designation is conferred by the Insurance Institute of America (IIA). Earning the ASLI designation requires passing four courses and national examinations. The two foundation courses, ASLI 161—Surplus Lines Insurance Principles and Issues and ASLI 162—Surplus Lines Practices, remain the same. For the other two required courses, however, the student can now select one coverage elective from a list of 10 and one operational elective from a list of 18. In addition, the Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU) designation granted by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society satisfies both electives.

Arthur Flitner, assistant vice president at IIA, noted, “Allowing people who want to specialize in surplus lines insurance to tailor the program to their daily responsibilities and career goals is an extremely desirable broadening of the ASLI program. When people make a commitment to increase their knowledge, they want choices to let them align their learning with their educational goals. The timing of these changes is good because it corresponds to a hardening market when insurance practitioners are increasingly looking to surplus lines to meet some of their clients’ insurance needs.”

The ASLI program was developed by IIA with the assistance of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO). Previously, the courses required to earn the ASLI designation consisted of ASLI 161 and ASLI 162 and two courses from the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter program, CPCU 510—Foundations of Risk Management, Insurance, and Professionalism (formerly CPCU1), and CPCU 520—Insurance Operations and Regulation (formerly CPCU 5). Under the new completion rules, CPCU 510 is one of the coverage electives, and CPCU 520 is one of the operational electives.

According to Flitner, NAPSLO’s ongoing support of the ASLI program has been extremely valuable. “NAPSLO strongly encouraged us to revise the ASLI program rules to broaden its appeal and increase its value to insurance practitioners,” Flitner said.