One of the most disheartening experiences for students is if they get a “FAIL” on one of their AINS® or CPCU® exams. In this article, we’ll show you how to recover from this and prepare yourself for your next try.
Under the CPCU® program, all students must choose an elective course and pass the corresponding exam. In this article, we’ll talk about different approaches you can take when it comes to deciding which CPCU elective to take.
One way to advance your insurance career is to earn your Associate in Insurance (AINS®) designation. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the AINS program, including what to expect and what strategies you can use.
What is AINS?
The Associate in Insurance (AINS) designation is a professional designation offered by The Institutes®. After completing the program, you will have a better understanding of how insurance policies work and can display the AINS designation on your business cards, resume, etc.
Having this designation shows that you have completed extra education, which often makes you a stronger candidate for hire or promotion. In addition, customers, colleagues, and business partners may feel more confident about working with you if they know that you have this additional knowledge.
To earn your AINS designation, you must pass individual exams for each of the following courses:
AINS is a relatively easy designation to earn, especially when compared to the CPCU designation (which is a much more challenging program). However, this does not mean you can easily pass with limited studying.
The exams are challenging enough that you need to diligently prepare for them. You should not try to cram or wing it, and instead devote an appropriate amount of study time to learn the concepts that you’ll be tested on. If you use well-designed study materials and go through enough practice questions to test your understanding, you should do fine on your exams.
Keep in mind that the exam for your elective course might be noticeably more difficult, depending on which elective you choose. Some electives will be harder than others, but they might still be worth choosing if the credit for that elective will also count towards another designation you are planning ot pursue.
The amount of time needed to earn this designation can vary greatly between students. Mainly, it boils down to how quickly you can go through your study materials and learn the concepts.
If you sat down and watched all of the video lessons back to back, you could technically get through an entire AINS course in one day. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will have absorbed everything you learned. Most students find that they need to rewatch certain lessons, take notes, or do other things to fully grasp the concepts. Students should also invest the time to go through as many practice questions as they can, as it is a great way to test their understanding.
If students are willing to go with a very agressive study schedule and take no breaks, it is possible to get through each AINS course in about three to five days per course. However, a much more realistic timeframe is about two to four weeks per AINS course, especially if you have other commitments like work and family.
Based on the above, an extremely determined student who chooses as easier elective can probably complete the entire program in a month or so using a very vigorous study schedule. However, most students will take closer to three to nine months to earn their AINS designation.
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To begin your exam, you will log into your account on The Institutes’ website and then click on the appropriate button in the My Courses & Exams section. The exam is not proctored or recorded, but you will need to sign an attestation confirming that you will abide by all ethical guidelines.
Before you take each exam, you must first register for it and pay the exam fee. This can be done online at The Institutes’ website or by phone though their customer service line.
Exams must be taken sometime during one of the four available testing windows:
When you register for an exam, you must indicate which window you plan to take your exam in. For any given test window, you can register at any time before or during that window, but students will typically receive a significant discount if they registering before the first day of the testing window.
If you want to reschedule your test to a different test window, you can do so for an extra fee ($95 as of this writing). It is best to plan carefully so you can avoid incurring this extra charge.
As of this writing, the exam fee for each AINS course is $280, but you can get an $80 early bird discount by registering for your exam before the first day of the testing window (example: if you plan to take your exam during Quarter 1 and register before January 15, you will receive the discount).
The cost of the exam for your elective will vary depending on which elective you choose, but those typically have an early bird discount as well.
The Institutes no longer publishes pass rates for each specific course, but according to their frequently asked questions page, the average pass rate between all of The Institutes’ exams is 72.5%. Keep in mind that this includes non-AINS exams, which tend to be harder than the AINS ones, so the pass rate for the AINS courses is likely to be slightly higher than that percentage. In order to pass your exam, you need to score 70% or higher.
If you do not pass your exam, you can retake it, subject to the following limitations:
The best way to prepare for your exam is to study thoroughly and understand the material, but there are some additional strategies that can give you an extra edge. Click here to see a full list of our exam tips that you can use as you are taking your test.
You are NOT required to use The Institutes’ study materials to prepare for your exam.
In fact, many students prefer using our study materials instead because they are much cheaper, provide more learning tools, and are easier to understand. Here is a comparison of how our full study programs differ from The Institutes’ courses:
| Insurance Exam Guides | The Institutes | |
| Cost | $129.99 | $295.00 |
| How long you will have access to materials | No expiration date | Expires one year after purchase date |
| Video lessons | X | X |
| Searchable video transcripts (allows you to read the content and jump to specific video sections) |
X | |
| Audio-only option (allows you to listen on the go) |
X | |
| Practice chapter quizzes | X | X |
| Practice exam (not timed) | X | X |
| Simulated exam (timed) | X | |
| Study guides (summarizes course content so you can easily review) |
X (covers all key content) |
X (covers very minimal content) |
Between the exam fees and paying for study materials, pursuing your designation is not a cheap endeavor. Fortunately, there are many ways to save money and make the journey more affordable. Click here to see a list of our top tips for saving money on your study materials.
Many companies offer study materials for the AINS & CPCU designations, but here is why our study programs stand out:
You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.
Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.
Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.
Disclaimers: The Institutes, CPCU®, and AINS® are trademarks of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, d/b/a The Institutes. InsuranceExamGuides.com is not affiliated or associated with The Institutes in any way, and The Institutes do not endorse, approve, support, or otherwise recognize InsuranceExamGuides.com or its products or services. CPCU® and AINS® are registered trademarks of The Institutes. All rights reserved.
Completing the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) program is one of the best ways to advance your insurance career, but the program can be expensive and challenging. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the CPCU program.
The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) is a professional designation offered by an organization called The Institutes. After completing the program, you will have a solid understanding of how insurance industry works and can display the CPCU designation on your business cards, resume, etc.
Having this designation shows that you have done extra education, which can make you a stronger candidate for hire or promotion. Also, this might give customers, colleagues, and business partners more confidence in working with you because they know you have this foundational knowledge.
Is getting a CPCU worth it?
Getting the designation is not cheap, and you will need to invest a lot of study time to complete the program. As such, it is important to think about whether the benefits of the designation will outweigh the costs.
We have an entire article dedicated to helping you decide if pursuing the designation would be worth it for you. The article covers:
To read the full article, click here.
The traditional path, which most students take, requires you to pass individual exams for each of the following courses:
Five foundational courses (CPCU 500, CPCU 520, CPCU 530, CPCU 540, CPCU 550)
Two concentration courses, with either a commercial lines concentration (CPCU 551, CPCU 552) or a personal lines concentration (CPCU 555, CPCU 556)
One elective course (see The Institutes’ website for a full list of eligible electives, which changes periodically)
One ethics course (ETHICS 311)
There is also an alternative path called the ARM to CPCU program that allows you to bypass some of the core CPCU courses from the traditional path. Once you are done with this path, you will have two designations:
This path requires you to pass individual exams for each of the following courses:
Three ARM courses (ARM 400, ARM 401, ARM 402)
Two concentration courses, with either a commercial lines concentration (CPCU 551, CPCU 552) or a personal lines concentration (CPCU 555, CPCU 556)
One elective course (see The Institutes’ website for a full list of eligible electives, which changes periodically)
One ethics course (ETHICS 311)
Regardless of which path you choose, in addition to passing the required exams, you must also:
Have at least two years of experience in risk management or insurance
Pay a matriculation fee to The Institutes
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There are three types of expenses that you will incur while pursuing your designation:
For a detailed discussion of the exam fees and the cost of study materials, click on the links above to jump straight to those portions of this article.
As of this writing, The Institutes charges a $90 matriculation fee to all students that can be paid at any time. The purpose of this fee is to cover the administrative costs of maintaining your student records. It is usually best to wait until you’ve passed all of your exams, just in case you decide later down the line that the program isn’t right for you.
To begin your exam, you must log-in to your account on The Institutes’ website and then click on the appropriate button in the “My Courses & Exams” section. The exam is not proctored or recorded, but you will need to sign an attestation that you will abide by all ethical guidelines.
Before you take each exam, you must register for it first and pay the exam fee. This can be done online at The Institutes’ website or by phone though their customer service line.
Exams must be taken sometime during the four available testing windows:
When you register for an exam, you must indicate which window you plan to take your exam in. For any given test window, you can register at any time before or during that window, but The Institutes will typically offer students a significant discount for registering before the first day of the testing window.
If you want to reschedule your test to a different test window, you can do so for an extra fee ($95, as of this writing). It is best to plan carefully so you can avoid incurring this extra charge.
As of this writing, the exam fee for each CPCU course is $380, but you can get an $80 early bird discount by registering for your exam before the first day of the testing window (ex: if you plan to take your exam during Quarter 1 and register before January 15, you will receive the discount).
The cost of the exam for your elective will vary depending on which elective you choose, but the exam fees for elective courses tend to be slightly cheaper than the exam fee for a CPCU course. The fees for elective exams tend to range from $210 to $285 for most of those courses.
The Institutes no longer publishes pass rates for each specific course, but according to their frequently asked questions, the average pass rate between all exams is 72.5%. Keep in mind that this includes non-CPCU exams, which tend to be easier than the CPCU exams, so the pass rate for the CPCU-specific courses is likely to be slightly lower than that. In order to pass your exam, you need a score of at least 70% or higher.
If you do not pass your exam, you can retake it subject to the following limitations:
Tips for passing your CPCU exams
The best way to prepare for your exam is to thoroughly study the material, but we do have a few additional strategies that can give you an extra edge. Check out our “Ultimate Guide to CPCU _” blog series to see a list of strategies for each specific course.
| Insurance Exam Guides | The Institutes | |
| Cost | $129.99 | $365 / $445 (with textbook / without textbook) |
| How long you will have access to materials | No expiration date | Expires one year after purchase date |
| Video lessons | X | X |
| Searchable video transcripts (allows you to read the content and jump to specific video sections) |
X | |
| Audio-only option (allows you to listen on the go) |
X | |
| Practice chapter quizzes | X | X |
| Practice exam (not timed) | X | X |
| Simulated exam (timed) | X | |
| Study guides (summarizes course content so you can easily review) |
X (covers all key content) |
X (covers very minimal content) |
| Textbook | X (can only be purchased as bundle with online course for $80 more) |
Besides their online courses and textbooks, The Institutes does also offer one additional study tool that is quite helpful: the SMART QuizMe app. This app contains hundreds of practice questions, which are excellent for helping you test your understanding.
Especially if you are not going to use The Institutes’ study materials, we recommend downloading this app and using it as part of your studies. The app is free to download, but you must pay a small fee for each course that you want to access the practice questions for. Most students agree that the fee is definitely worth it, and we feel the same. The app is available in the Apple app store and on Google Play.
Between the exam fees and paying for study materials, pursuing your designation is not a cheap endeavor. Fortunately, there are many ways to save money and make the journey more affordable. Click here to see a list of our top tips for saving money on your study materials.
Many companies offer study materials for the AINS & CPCU designations, but here is why our study programs stand out:
You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.
Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.
Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.
Disclaimers: The Institutes, CPCU®, and AINS® are trademarks of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, d/b/a The Institutes. InsuranceExamGuides.com is not affiliated or associated with The Institutes in any way, and The Institutes do not endorse, approve, support, or otherwise recognize InsuranceExamGuides.com or its products or services. CPCU® and AINS® are registered trademarks of The Institutes. All rights reserved.
Earning your CPCU® designation can help you advance your insurance career, but the required courses can be quite challenging. In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the CPCU 520 course and give you tips on how to pass this exam.
The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®) is a professional designation offered by an organization called The Institutes. After completing the program, you will have a solid understanding of how insurance industry works and can display the CPCU designation on your business cards, resume, etc.
Having this designation shows that you have done extra education, which can make you a stronger candidate for hire or promotion. Also, this might give customers, colleagues, and business partners more confidence in working with you because they know you have this foundational knowledge.
CPCU 520 is one of the five core courses that you must complete if you are following the traditional path to earn your CPCU designation.
This particular course is about how the different departments within an insurance company operate and how they support each other to collectively ensure the insurer’s success. This knowledge will help you understand how an insurance company functions, how the industry is regulated, and what kinds of business strategies an insurer can pursue.
Some students find CPCU 520 to be quite challenging because it does contain some very technical content, especially in the chapters that deal with the actuarial function and reinsurance. There are also a bunch of formulas that you’ll need to remember and learn how to apply.
Overall, we would say that this course has a slightly higher-than-average difficulty compared to the other CPCU courses. You can improve your chances of success with the right study strategies; check out our best tips on how to tackle CPCU 520 in a later section below.
In order to demonstrate that you have understood the material from this course, you will need to pass an online exam administered by The Institutes.
You must go through The Institutes' website to purchase and formally register for your exam. When registering, you must indicate which test window you plan to take the exam during. The four test windows that are available every year are:
You may pay for your exam fee at any time, and those who register before the test window opens will usually receive a discount. However, you can only launch the exam and complete it during the test window you chose at the time of purchase. If you need to reschedule your exam, a new fee will apply.
The exam consists of 50 questions that cover all the chapters from the course, with a time limit of 65 minutes. The exam is done online, and you must get a score of 70% or better to pass. You may retake the exam (and pay a new fee) if you do not pass, but please check The Institutes' policies regarding how often and how soon you can retake the exam, as that may change from time to time.
How IEG can help: We have a comprehensive study program that covers every chapter from CPCU 520. We use plain language and effective illustrations to help you truly understand the content. We also provide our famous study guide that allows you to easily and efficiently review all the material.
The following list is based on student feedback regard what topics were most heavily-featured on their exam.
Please remember that this is not a comprehensive list of all the topics that will be tested, and each person’s exam may different. Any of the material covered in the course may potentially appear on your exam, so you should prepare accordingly.
How IEG can help: Our CPCU 520 online study program includes extra-detailed explanations of all of these topics. We also provide tons of practice problems so you can get the hang of how to do all of the necessary calculations.
CPCU 520 basically breaks down each department within an insurance company and explains what each one does in great depth. While you are going through each chapter, there will often be discussions about how that department affects other departments. During the earlier chapters, you might not fully comprehend all of nuances because you don’t learn about that other department until later in the course. After you finish going through the material the first time, you will have a pretty good understanding of what each department does, so when you go back through the material a second time, all of those references to other departments will make total sense.
While there is debate about whether or not it is necessary to memorize the formulas, many students find that it gives them a boost of confidence that is very comforting. Memorizing the formulas from CPCU 520 can seem very daunting, but it’s totally doable if you have a system. Every day, focus on memorizing just one new formula, then practice writing down all the prior formulas you learned plus the new formula from that day. When it comes to test time, take a moment at the start of the exam to write down all the formulas you memorized onto your scratch paper, which should be easy to do because you have been practicing. By doing this, you will have a handy cheat sheet AND can free your mind to concentrate on the test.
Keep in mind that simply memorizing the formulas is not enough. You need to understand what the formula is intended to measure and how to interpret the results, so you should practice doing the calculations and be able to explain what the results are revealing.
How IEG can help: Our online study program discusses every formula from the course in great detail, with step-by-step explanations of how to do the various calculations. We also provide plenty of practice problems to help you make sure that you have truly grasped the material.
In chapter 6 of CPCU 520, you will learn about reinsurance and how insurers can use this type of policy to have someone else pay for the claims that the first insurer has agreed to cover for their own customers.
You are almost certain to get exam questions that give you a scenario and ask you to calculate how much premium the insurer has to pay under the policy or how much of the insurer’s losses will be covered under the reinsurance policy. Be sure to do lots of this type of practice problem because you are bound to encounter it on your exam.
How IEG can help: Our CPCU 520 study program comes with detailed video lessons that walk you through exactly how to solve reinsurance problems. We also provide plenty of practice problems to help you make sure that you have truly grasped the material.
Students are often intimidated by exam questions that require them to apply a formula or otherwise calculate a number, but we believe that it is actually ideal to encounter these types of questions on the exam because you will know pretty much right away that you got it correct if the result you got is one of the answer choices. Knowing that you scored those points can help you move through the rest of the exam with a boost of confidence.
In CPCU 520, the main chapters that will include formulas and calculations are chapters 3 (analyzing ratio formulas), 7 (actuarial calculations) and 8 (reinsurance).
Every test question is worth only one point, no matter how simple or complex it is. If you find that you are spending a lot of time on one particular problem, you are better off guessing for now and using the option to flag the question so you can return to it later. You don’t want to spend so much time that you run out of time before you can get to all the other questions that might have been easier for you to score points on.
You do not get minus points for getting a question wrong, so don’t leave any questions blank.
For buyer's personal use only (non-transferrable and not for resale)
Based on CPCU 520: Meeting Challenges Across Insurance Operations (1st edition)
Delivery for online study program: Instant access provided after purchase
The best way to ensure that you know how to apply the concepts you learning is to practice doing so, and practice quizzes are the perfect way to do this. On top of that, doing practice questions gets you comfortable with seeing the concepts in the same question-answer format you will see on your exam.
Both the Institutes’ online course and our online study program for CPCU 520 includes tons of practice questions. The Institutes’ also offers a separate Smart QuizMe app that includes an entire bank of practice questions for every course. The app is free to download but you need to pay a small fee (about $10 per course at the time of this writing) to access the full bank of questions for any particular course. NOTE: As of this writing (September 16, 2023), the Smart QuizMe app has not been updated to reflect the updated content in the new version of CPCU 520. It is unknown when The Institutes will be updating the app.
The questions on the actual exam are not made up of the practice questions, so you cannot just rely on memorizing those answers for any practice quizzes and simulated exams you take. Read each explanation and re-review the material until you understand why you got a question wrong.
The Institutes’ way of explaining things is not necessarily the best way, so take advantage of other resources available to you. Some students don’t use The Institutes’ study materials at all and prefer to go with another study option, such as our comprehensive online study programs. We use plain English to explain all of the concepts, include helpful illustrations that help you see how a concept works, and show you how different elements of something relate to one another.
You can also turn to Google and YouTube to look for explanations and examples from other sources too.
One of the best things you can do during your CPCU journey is to join the CPCU Candidates Facebook group, which is a wonderful community of current and former CPCU students. Here, you can get help with test questions that might be stumping you, ask for advice on propelling your insurance career, and find a healthy dose of moral support and motivation.
Many companies offer study materials for the AINS & CPCU designations, but here is why our study programs stand out:
You will be tested on your ability to apply the concepts to different situations, so we provide plenty of examples to show you how things work.
Some things won't make sense until you have enough background info. We give extra context where you'd need it to fully grasp the material.
Besides learning the content, you have to remember it all. Our paid study programs include our famous study guides that make it super easy to refresh your memory.
Disclaimers: The Institutes, CPCU®, and AINS® are trademarks of the American Institute For Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, d/b/a The Institutes. InsuranceExamGuides.com is not affiliated or associated with The Institutes in any way, and The Institutes do not endorse, approve, support, or otherwise recognize InsuranceExamGuides.com or its products or services. CPCU® and AINS® are registered trademarks of The Institutes. All rights reserved.