Two of the most common questions that CPCU® students ask is:
In this article, we’ll answer both of these questions to help you decide how you want to tackle your courses.
[UPDATED January 8, 2025: The Institutes has provided important information regarding new virtual proctoring requirements that begin on January 15, 2025. Please see the FAQ section below for key details].
In this post, we’ll go over everything you need to know about the AINS® & CPCU® virtual exams and give you some extra tips to help you pass your test!
In this post:
Our highly-anticipated CPCU® 410 online course is finally here! If you’re gearing up to take on CPCU 410: Speaking the Insurance Language, our online course has everything you need to ace your exam!
NOTE: The Institutes will be retiring CPCU 410 later this year. Students who wish to earn credit for CPCU 410 must pass their exam on or before December 15, 2023. To learn more about how the upcoming program changes may affect you, click here.
We’ve loaded our online course with tons of content to help you grasp all the tricky concepts:
Online Video Lessons (with captions and full transcripts): CPCU 410 is a course that is best learned with visual aids. We show you how concepts work, and work out the various word problems you’ll encounter step-by-step, with helpful annotations and tips for avoiding the most common mistakes. If you prefer to read the content, our platform displays captions and full, searchable transcripts.
Streaming Audio Option: If you prefer to learn on the go, our streaming audio option lets you listen to the lectures while you commute, workout, or otherwise have time to listen in.
Study Guide Outlines: Our famous study guides condense each chapter to several pages of key terms, major concepts, and other important lists of information. The clean outline format makes it easy to see how the details presented are related to each other.
Foundational Finance Lessons: We have included lessons on topics that we think you should understand before you start reading your textbook. These lessons cover topics that are referred to all thorough the book from start to finish, but aren’t explained well right off the bat. If you don’t know these concepts upfront, you might not fully grasp what is being said every time the textbook makes mention of them. We help you solve that problem by teaching you these concepts right upfront.
Help with Formulas: CPCU 410 has a good number of formulas that aren’t provided for you on the exam. Our e-bundle includes a number of tools to help you:
How to Solve GAAP Problems: One of the trickiest elements of the CPCU 410 test is understanding how to read GAAP statements and draw conclusions. Because what constitutes “good financial results” is relative depending on the company and their situation, there aren’t that many hard and fast rules about what to look for. We compiled a list of tips on how to navigate solving GAAP problems, and give examples for you to see how those tips apply.
Practice Problems: The old saying “practice makes perfect” is absolutely true when it comes to CPCU math problems, so we have a whole bunch of extra problems for you to practice on. We even included walk-throughs for all the variations of the cash flow valuation problems, which provide detailed walkthroughs plus button sequences for the HP 10bII calculator and the TI BAII calculator.
Chapter quizzes: Reinforce your understanding by taking the practice quiz that comes at the end of each chapter.
Full-length practice exam: Our final exam draws on the content from every chapter, so you can get a sense of what it’s like to be tested on everything at once.
NOTE: The Institutes will be retiring CPCU 410 later this year. Students who wish to earn credit for CPCU 410 must pass their exam on or before December 15, 2023. To learn more about how all the upcoming program changes may affect you, click here.
Lots of companies offer study materials too, 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.
NOTE: The Institutes will be retiring CPCU 410 later this year. Students who wish to earn credit for CPCU 410 must pass their exam on or before December 15, 2023. To learn more about how all the upcoming program changes may affect you, click here.
Insurance Exam Guides (IEG) was founded by Stacy Trinh, CPCU®, who first started her teaching journey at the request of her co-workers who were preparing for their CPCU exams. Because of her reputation as an adept trainer and motivator, Stacy's co-workers had asked her to lead a class. The feedback on her sessions and study materials was overwhelming positive, and her students encouraged her to share what she had to offer with the rest of the CPCU community.
Since then, Stacy created a library of study materials for both CPCU® and AINS® that have helped thousands of students pass their exams. As an accounting major and former claims adjuster, her style of instruction incorporates both a financial and operational perspective that makes her study materials well-rounded. She looks forward to helping many more students continue to succeed, including you!
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.
If you’re wondering what the CPCU 410 course is about, you’ve come to the right place! Read on to find out what topics it covers and how it compares to the traditional core CPCU classes that it replaces.
CPCU 410: Speaking the Insurance Language is a course that used to be required for the ARM to CPCU path. The Institutes has since retired this course and no longer offer this course/exam.
CPCU 410 was basically a selection of topics from CPCU 520, CPCU 530, and CPCU 540. We previously did a side-by-side comparison with the old version of the core classes, and the 410 content was almost identical to the content for the same corresponding chapters in the old versions of the core courses, word for word. Here is a more specific list of the topics covered:
From CPCU 520 (insurance operations):
From CPCU 530 (business law):
From CPCU 540 (finance and accounting):
In some ways, CPCU 410 is slightly easier than the core classes that it was based off. However, it still has it’s own unique challenges and it certainly isn’t an “easy” course.
Lots of companies offer study materials too, 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.
Insurance Exam Guides (IEG) was founded by Stacy Trinh, CPCU®, who first started her teaching journey at the request of her co-workers who were preparing for their CPCU exams. Because of her reputation as an adept trainer and motivator, Stacy's co-workers had asked her to lead a class. The feedback on her sessions and study materials was overwhelming positive, and her students encouraged her to share what she had to offer with the rest of the CPCU community.
Since then, Stacy created a library of study materials for both CPCU® and AINS® that have helped thousands of students pass their exams. As an accounting major and former claims adjuster, her style of instruction incorporates both a financial and operational perspective that makes her study materials well-rounded. She looks forward to helping many more students continue to succeed, including you!
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.
There are actually two paths you can take to earn your CPCU® designation: the traditional path and the ARM to CPCU path. The latter option allows you to take fewer CPCU classes if you already have or are pursuing your Associate in Risk Management (ARM®) designation. In this post, we’ll share more about this program and give you the details you need to decide which path is right for you.