Cpcu 520 Tips
The CPCU ® 520 exam is the second CPCU ® exam in a series of eight required exams to complete your CPCU ® designation. This exam consists of 75 multiple choice questions split up into two sections: 49 part A questions (concept questions) and 26 part B questions (case questions). My current CPCU class (CPCU 520) has found those examples informative. The students are seeing how some factors can accelerate the underwriting cycle into a soft market. Leveraging the quarterly financial earnings to further explain the impact of those industry-wide actions on underwriting ratios has been a fortuitous supplement to the course.
Cpcu 520 Tips Placement
Registration is open now
To participate in the CPCU 520 Online Class: Register to become a member of PrepAdemy by clicking the link above. To pay for your class: Once you receive your ID/password, navigate back to this page and click on the button “Register for $299” to pay for your class using a credit card. If you would like to pay by check please call 480-895-0060.
Order the “CPCU 520 Recommended Materials Package” (text and course guide) from The Institutes by calling 1-800-644-2101 or by visiting their website http://theinstitutes.org.
CPCU 520 Insurance Operations is one of multiple courses needed to earn the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation. CPCU 520 is considered an intermediate course.
Join the live class in progress any time and catch up by watching the recordings.
Tuesdays at 7:30pm EASTERN Time for 2 hours beginning May 26, 2015
The weekly live and online class will be held on the following dates using the GoToWebinar virtual classroom tool:
May 26 Chapter 1 – Overview of Insurance Operations
Jun 2 Chapter 2 – Insurance Regulation
Jun 9 Chapter 3 – Insurance Marketing and Distribution
Jun 16 Chapter 4 – The Underwriting Function
Jun 23 No Class
Jun 30 Chapter 5 – Risk Control and Premium Auditing
Jul 7 Chapter 6 – The Claim Function
Jul 14 Chapter 7 – Actuarial Operations
Jul 21 Chapter 8 – Reinsurance Principles and Concepts
Jul 28 Chapter 9 – Business Needs and Information Technology Alignment
Aug 4 Chapter 10 – Insurer Strategic Management
Cpcu 520 Tips Test
This live and online class will help to prepare you to take the CPCU 520 exam at Prometric or at an Onsite testing center during the July 15 – Sept 15, 2015 testing window. Books and exam fees are not included in the cost of the class. The live class fee is $299. Call The Institutes at 1-800-644-2101 and order the “CPCU 520 Recommended Materials Package” (Text and Course Guide). You would need to register for your exam with The Institutes by July 15 to pay a discounted exam fee. Each PrepAdemy live and online weekly class is RECORDED for the convenience of registered students for review and in case you miss one of the live classes. The live class also includes additional review exercises with answers.
Learn more about the CPCU Designation.
CPCU 520 Business Law for Insurance Professionals will help:
- Understand the impact of your business decisions by knowing how different functional areas operate and collaborate with each other.
- Efficiently support compliance efforts by recognizing how regulation affects core insurance operations.
- Set yourself apart as a valuable contributor to your organization’s success with thorough knowledge of how insurers formulate and implement critical business strategies.
As I was on the flight to the CPCU conferment in Hawaii I closed my eyes and went back to August 27 when I took my first test. It was a long journey and I couldn't have done this without the support from my team at Arch and my wife.
I remember how I was constantly looking for other colleagues or people I knew in the industry to give me hope by telling me that it would be easy. On the contrary; I was constantly hearing people telling me that the tests are tricky and that it takes more reading that they initially anticipated. Some had taken a test more than once. That led me to the idea of writing my journey towards the CPCU to help others who are thinking of doing this but are hesitating to start. If you’ve already completed other similar designations then you know what lies ahead. To me there are 4 equal parts to this; Preface, Prepare/Schedule, Study and Execute. This is actually my first long post on Linkedin so here goes nothing…
1. Preface
During this time you need to prepare yourself and your people around you for what lies ahead. You'll hear different things from CPCU designees but one thing is certain; this designation requires dedication and time. Believe me when you are getting close to the exam day, the exam is the only thing that you’ll have on your mind and people around you might feel neglected. It’s only fair that you tell them in advance that you will be unavailable for a certain period of time.
Before you start your CPCU journey make a note of a regular day and how much time you spend on Social media, texts etc. Also make a note on how much time you spend watching TV. You’ll realize that you easily spend 1-2 hours looking at your phone and another hour watching TV. I decided to delete the Facebook app and end my longtime subscription to Cable TV. I bought an antenna to watch football occasionally and kept my subscription to Netflix. TV would become a luxury I would allow myself only after I’ve read for at least 2 hours per day. This will take some adjusting and as I mentioned earlier the more focused you are on your target ahead the easier it will be.
As with everything in life you get the 80% from 20%. That means that if you study 5 hours per day you’ll get a maximum of 1 productive hour. It is important to know when you are more productive and try to extend that 1 hour of effective studying.
2. Prepare/Schedule
When planning for what lies ahead don’t just say that you’ll study 2 hours a day. Open an excel file and have everything written down. Write down when you will take each exam and how long you’ll need to study for. In order to complete this in less than a year you’ll need to make sure you pass 2-3 exams per exam window. I will gladly share my excel file with you. You can simply send me a note with your email address and I’ll email it to you.
I advise you to register for the exam 2-3 months in advance in order to have a clear target date ahead. You should take the exam day off and inform everyone that you will be unavailable for the whole day. Also if possible take another day off a few days before the exam to study all day. Again you need to keep your phone turned off. Cellphones are a big distraction to everyone. An important thing to remember is that the goal here is to learn and that you should strive to study when you feel at your best. Always remember the 80/20 rule.
Don’t study when you are exhausted unless you have no other choice. And do everything possible to prevent burnout. Sleep at least 7 hours and plan to hit the gym at least twice a week. There will be times when you will feel exhausted. Don’t overdose on caffeine since that won’t help you in the long run. What worked for me is having green smoothies in the morning and eating salads for lunch. You can also snack on fruits and almonds. Try to stay away from excessive sugar. Generally treat your body as a temple at least for these months.
As before, try to focus on the most productive time of the day. If you feel energized and full of motivation then study a little more instead of struggling to catch up when you are exhausted. Some people find it best to study early in the morning and some prefer to study late at night. Since you have to work, study and find time for family and friends it is critical to make the best of the time you have available. What worked for me was getting to work an hour earlier and staying 1 to 2 hours later. I quickly realized that I was able to be more effective when studying at a quiet environment preferably at work. It became increasingly harder to study in the evening after getting back from work. I would end up exhausted trying to keep my eyes open.
3. Study
The question I get from colleagues that are now starting to read for the CPCU is whether they should read the books, take the practice tests or buy Burnham/Big Daddy. I will try and summarize my thoughts on this article and provide more details on the website I’m planning to build. Also if someone wants to learn more I would be more than happy to send them a note.
What you choose is purely based on the type of person you are. I personally read the text book first. I also took an online course and found it very well prepared but didn’t have the time to do it for every course. Also I prefer reading the material to attending a class. If you want to complete this in less than a year you’ll need to take advantage of every downtime. I personally saved some money and bought a tablet. I scanned each book and had it with me 24/7. This can prove handy especially when you’re commuting to work or when you’re lying at the bed before going to sleep. You’ll be amazed how an extra hour of study on a tablet will help you at the end. I love how Burnham is written so I bought all of the material in PDF. Unfortunately the material doesn’t cover everything, contrary to what they say on their website, so you should read the text as well. A PDF is very helpful because you can search for keywords. And you’ll ask me…why do I need to search? Searching is critical when taking the practice tests.
Did I mention that you need to take hundreds of tests before the actual exam? Don’t be fooled; the actual exam won’t have identical questions but if you are anything like me you’ll need to get used to the exam style in order to have any chance of passing. Don’t forget that you need 70% to pass! Your target in the practice exams should be to get over 90%. Each time you finish a chapter you should go back and review all your answers. On the ones that you didn’t know the answer you must refer to the textbook and read the chapter again. This will help you tremendously in being well prepared on the day of exam.
In my opinion you shouldn’t spend 50% of the time doing tests but on the other hand you shouldn’t just read the material/attend classes and only do a few tests. Again the 80/20 rule applies here as well. Plan to spend 80% of your time studying and 20% practicing on sample tests.
4. Execute
No matter how hard you read you still need to execute well. For me it was critical to be in good shape in order to correctly answer as many questions as possible. Earlier in this article I mentioned that you should take an extra day off work to study. Basically I used that day to do tests all day long. Again I always referred back to the text book wherever I felt that I didn’t know the answer. The goal here is to learn and not just pass the exam.
One of the things that I learned from studying for my Bachelor, Masters and CPCU is that no matter how hard you study your mind can simply “shut-down” at the day of the exam. One of my professors told me once that studying too much can sometimes be the root of poor performance. Specifically on the CPCU exam you just need to find the balance where you study enough but you still feel energized to sit in a room with no water in front of a computer and get that 70%.
Each time I walked into the prometric test center I felt my stress level rising. I tried to have nice thoughts and focus my mind on the importance and the benefits of obtaining this designation. Be sure to be very well hydrated before the exam. For some reason, which no one could really explain to me, water is not allowed in the testing room. If you really need to take a break you need to know that the clock is still ticking.
Tips
Everyone wants to know if there is a magic way of passing without reading too much. I hate to disappoint you but there isn't one but even if there was, I would strongly advise you against it. This should be a learning exercise and not a race to pass the exams. Nevertheless there are things that you can do to improve your chances. For example you could start with an easier exam e.g. 500, 520 and build your confidence. You can take the 551, 552 and ARM 56 consequently and leave 530 and 540 for the end. Having covered Property Risk and Liability Risk will help you in passing ARM 56. Also if you are good with math then having the 540 at the end helps since you would’ve covered some of the theory so far and you can focus on the math piece. As you pass each exam and move to the next one you will be more familiar with some of the questions. Specifically on the 540, I strongly advise you to use the tables and a basic calculator instead of a scientific one. If you need one the Texas Instruments BA II Plus Financial Calculator will do the job. If you need more info on this please feel free to send me a note.
I decided to also take the AINS designation at the same time. You can take the AINS 21 & 22 and use CPCU 500 to waive the elective course requirement. If you want to confirm this you can look at the AINS designation program requirements for Program Completion Path C. Also by completing the AINS 21 & 22 you waive CPCU 553. The above applies to those who take the CPCU Commercial Lines Concentration but similar rules apply to the Personal Lines Concentration.
There is one tip that I haven’t seen anywhere which I’ll gladly share with you. Once you enter the room and you are assigned a computer the clock will start ticking from the 2:30 hour mark. You will be presented with the tutorial. Once you complete or skip the tutorial the time remaining will be adjusted to 2 hours. Essentially the system gives you 30 minutes extra time to prepare. Those 30 minutes proved crucial when I took the 540 exam. Before going in I reviewed for the last time the formulas that are not provided during the exam. Then once I walked in I started writing them down. When I was taking the test and couldn’t remember a specific formula I was glad to see it written down on my notepad.
Cpcu 520 Tips Guide
Summary
The CPCU is a great designation. Yes you'll feel tired at times and you'll miss going out but believe me it’s all worth it at the end. And don't see this as a series of exams but as a learning activity and an ongoing opportunity for networking and career advancement. I've only had the chance to go to a few networking events and seminars but I was positively surprised. There are some great individuals out there who put a lot of effort and personal time to organize an event.
Cpcu 520 Textbook Pdf
As I’m doing my final review before posting this article, I can simply say that the Conferment in Hawaii was simply amazing! It was so good that I’m actually thinking of attending future conferences and paying for them myself. There were over 12,300 attendees and everyone I spoke to had positive things to say. From the actual conferment to the networking events everything was very well planned.
Cpcu 520 Exam
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article. Hopefully I'll soon have time to build a site and share with you more details. I think Linkendin is a great site to post your thoughts/experiences and certainly a great site to exchange ideas. Please feel free to send me any questions and/or suggestions you might have and I’ll do my best to get back to you in a timely manner.