May 20, 2014 | News
May means the approach of several CE deadlines for insurance agents across Canada. Continuing Education deadlines are fast approaching for insurance agents in BC and Manitoba (May 31), and Alberta’s requirements must be met by June 30 this year. In Saskatchewan, your deadline varies based on your license renewal date.
Now is the time to get working on your mandatory CE hours and avoid the last minute rush. ILScorp is ready to help, with continuing education catalogues feature hundreds of hours of accredited courses that you can complete anywhere you have an internet connection.
The ILScorp general insurance catalogue offers more than 300 hours (160 courses) of accredited Continuing Education training, so you’ll find courses that are of interest and relevance to you and your business. More than 50 courses have recently been updated and re-accredited, and new courses are added regularly. Six-month subscriptions, which provide access to the entire general insurance catalogue are only $185. Discounts for groups of five or more are available.
ILScorp’s Life / A&S course catalogue includes more than 75 CE courses (185 hours). A new online Professional Liability course: Introduction to Errors and Omissions Exposures Insurance for Life / A&S Agents, which is also included in the subscription option. Individual Courses start at $85. Six month subscriptions to the entire Life/A&S CE course catalogue are $260.
Wondering which courses qualify for CE in your province? You can tell where a course is accredited two ways: one, by looking for your province’s flag in the course descriptions; and two, when you open a course it is indicated in the course description.
Advantages of the ILS continuing education course subscriptions:
- Once you purchase your subscription, you can begin taking your courses immediately! If you are a new subscriber, you will receive an automated username and password by email.
- Access more than 180 accredited general insurance training courses in both text and streaming video formats, including personal lines, commercial lines, auto, farm, professional management and personal skills courses.
- Access more than 75 accredited life/A&S insurance training courses in both text and streaming video formats including errors & omissions insurance, money management planning process and insurance and estate planning.
- Have a digital record of your completed course work, which we keep on file for up to seven years.
- Save time by completing your general insurance continuing education requirements entirely online, no paperwork or commute.
- Courses can be accessed any time and you can log in and log out as many times as you wish during the course period.
- Quizzes and Final exams are offered in most of our courses to help you retain the information.
- Should you require any assistance at any time during your course work, we are here to support you 5 days a week, 0800 – 1700 PST.
Join the more than 22,000 Canadian insurance professionals who develop their skills with ILScorp each year! Visit ILScorp.com today to get started, or call 1-800-404-2211.
CE with ILS – Fast, Easy, Done!
May 16, 2014 | News
Saturday, May 17, marks the International Day Against Homophobia. According to Research from British group Stonewall, nearly one in five lesbian and gay people, almost 350,000 employees in Britain, have experienced bullying from their colleagues because of their sexual orientation. Almost four million people (13 per cent of the British workforce) have witnessed verbal homophobic bullying in the workplace and over one million people have witnessed physical homophobic bullying at work.
According to a 2013 study by Leger Marketing, 80% of Canadian surveyed report that in their daily lives they have witnessed derogatory remarks about homosexual people or homosexuality in general, 10% say they have witnessed this often.
Nearly six out of 10 Canadians (58%) who use social media, say they have witnessed derogatory remarks about homosexual people or homosexuality in general on social media – 45% of respondents said they witnessed this type of remark on Facebook, 43% on a blog and 33% on Twitter.
Stonewall’s pioneering research on the productivity of lesbian and gay staff in the workplace, Peak Performance, found that gay staff who can be out at work in a safe environment are more productive than their gay colleagues who have to hide their sexual orientation at work and/or work in less inclusive environments.
What can you do?
Several Canadian provinces have enacted anti-bullying legislation, which requires workplaces to include anti-bullying training for their employees.
Ontario, Manitoba, Québec and Saskatchewan have already introduced legislation against bullying and B.C. recently enacted Bill 14 [Workers Compensation Amendment Act] to address the effects of bullying at work.
Are you compliant with the anti-bullying laws?
Complete ILScorp’s “Understanding Workplace Bullying” & “Tools for Safeguarding an Organization from Bullying Behaviour” courses.
With these anti-bullying courses you will:
- determine whether a problem exists in a workplace
- learn how to prevent incidents
- gain tools for safeguarding your organization from bullying behaviour
- develop a workplace bullying prevention program
These courses are included free of charge as part of your group membership. This course is General and Adjuster CE accredited, however ILScorp recommends that all employees receive this training for law compliance.
May 15, 2014 | News
Whether you’re heading out for a camping trip or visiting family, the B.C. government, police and ICBC are asking you to give yourself plenty of time and focus on the road this long weekend.
Every year over the May long weekend, an average of two people are killed and 490 injured in 1,700 crashes throughout B.C.
Police will be targeting all high-risk driving behaviours this long weekend including failing to yield, speeding, following too closely and ignoring a traffic control device, as part of this month’s high-risk driving campaign. These driving behaviours contribute to almost half (44 per cent) of all police-reported crashes that result in injuries or fatalities on our roads.
ICBC tips:
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Think ahead: If you’ll be taking a road trip, check the road and weather conditions for your entire trip at drivebc.ca before you head out. Even if the roads look clear, be realistic about your travel times since there will be more vehicles on our highways. Plan rest stops every couple of hours to avoid becoming fatigued while driving.
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Get your vehicle ready: Long trips can be hard on your vehicle, so make sure it’s up to the drive. It’s a great time of year to give your vehicle a good check-up. Remember to check your engine oil, washer fluid and lights. Take a look at your tires too, including the spare, to make sure they are in good condition and properly inflated.
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Watch out for vulnerable road users: Warmer spring weather encourages more motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians on our roads. We all need to share our roads together safely. As a driver, we have a particular responsibility to help keep vulnerable road users safe so actively watch for other road users and make eye contact with them so they know that you see them.
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Keep your distance: Whether you’re going on a long or short trip, always maintain a safe travelling distance between vehicles. Allow at least two seconds of following distance in good weather and road conditions, and at least three seconds on high-speed roads or if you’re behind a motorcycle since it has a much shorter stopping distance.
For more tips, please visit icbc.com/road-safety.
Want to learn more about ICBC’s Autoplan Insurance?
ILScorp has added four new ICBC Autoplan Essentials courses, now included in the General Insurance subscription and the Adjuster subscription at no extra cost.
These courses teach the skills and processes necessary to sell Autoplan Insurance in BC. Courses include:
These new continuing education courses are accredited in BC, AB, SK and MB. These courses were written for ILS and are presented by Maurice McFadden.
May 14, 2014 | News
ILScorp is pleased to announce the launch of four new ICBC Autoplan Essentials courses, now included in your General Insurance subscription at no extra cost.
These courses teach the skills and processes necessary to sell Autoplan Insurance in BC. Courses include:
Autoplan Essentials – Introduction to Autoplan Processing reviews the documents and processes related to Autoplan insurance in British Columbia. It is designed to introduce ICBC agents to the common documents that are used, the information they contain, the source of that information and the effects of incomplete or incorrect documents.
Autoplan Essentials – License Plates and Decals will review: the 28 types of License Plates offered in BC; the classification of vehicles for each plate; the importance of validation decals; and the six vehicle types and their license fees. A review of the Autoplan manual is also included.
Autoplan Essentials – VIC Codes will review: How to select the correct VIC code for a vehicle, and how to use ICBC’s VIC Finder, and other tools such as the sanford Evans Gold Book; rate groups; New Vehicle Information Statements (NVIS) and other documents such as U.S. Certificates of Origin.
Autoplan Essentials – Liability will define, and review the legal considerations in determining: negligence, liability, and defences against third party damage claims. It also covers claims and limitation periods, legal action and the process of settling a claim with ICBC.
These new continuing education courses are accredited in BC, AB, SK and MB and fall into the Personal Lines / Auto category. The courses are approximately 1 hour in length and consists of 23-27 lessons, 4-6 interactive quizzes, and a final exam. These courses were written for ILS and are presented by Maurice McFadden.
Use these new courses to complete your CE hours – deadlines are coming up May 31 in BC and MB, and June 30 in AB.
May 12, 2014 | News
Have you had a chance to review the new course now available in your subscription to our Life insurance continuing education bundle? We’ve recently added the following new course: Comprehensive Estate Planning with Life Insurance, to the subscription bundle.
Life insurance is not easy to sell and while many try, few succeed in growing healthy, profitable careers. There is often a trade-off between people skills and technical skills. You may notice that successful fellow agents weak in technical skills probably have strong people skills and vice versa. Certainly there is a required combination of human and technical aptitudes to manage an estate-planning file.
This course will assist with the basic estate planning skills by covering the following modules:
- The role of the Life Insurance Agent;
- The Estate Planning players;
- Other common strategies with Life Insurance;
- Death & Taxes; Tax considerations;
- Estate Planning Topics;
- Corporate Estate Planning strategies;
- Charitable Giving and Bequest Planning;
- Trusts.
This course will explain the technical and people skills needed for successful career in Life Insurance.
The course includes nine lessons with interactive videos, downloadable texts, chapter quizzes and a final exam. The Comprehensive Estate Planning With Life Insurance course is accredited in AB, MB, SK, BC for 2 CE hours. It is included in our Life & AS subscription and available f0r individual purchase for $159.
May 8, 2014 | News
Four-time Canadian Paralympian (and Canadian flag bearer for the 2008 Paralympic Games) swimmer Donovan Tildesley announced today he is retiring from the sport to focus on his insurance career.
Tildesley, who was born blind, has been working with Buntain Insurance in Vancouver since 2008.
“I started on November 3, 2008 after passing my Fundamentals exam. The first couple of years were not easy,” Tildesley explained. “Not only was I learning a new business, but I was also learning what office tasks I could and couldn’t do.
“Being totally blind, I utilize a computer with a speech software called JAWS (Job access with speech), as well as a refreshable braille display. I soon realized that not everything in the office was 100% accessible to my software. But over time, I learned to utilize the strong team around me to provide support on tasks I couldn’t perform. In turn, I’m happy to step up and provide support on the phones. I also came to develop a real passion for sales. I’m now in the process of developing a book of business of namely high-value clients.”
The statistics for blind Canadians being unemployed or underemployed are staggeringly high. According to the Canadian Federation of the Blind, the unemployment rate is about 90% for blind Canadians. Even with a degree from the University of BC, Tildesley knew he would face challenges in the business world.
Tildesley, 29, says he is grateful for the opportunity given to him by a long-time acquaintance, although admits, at first, insurance didn’t match his long term goals.
“I was initially reticent,” he says. “The idea of selling insurance seemed rather dry, and my first love has always been radio broadcasting. But, here was someone essentially handing me a job. I figured that it would be stupid not to take it!”
Sports can teach great life lessons, and Tildesley sites many things learned over a successful career as an international athlete that will help him in his insurance career.
“My Paralympic experiences have taught me a great deal about goal setting, teamwork, and knowing how to work under pressure, he said. “All of these skills have been assets to me in the insurance world.”
As well, he says, being known as a Paralympic athlete has “allowed me to develop a unique personal brand.”
“Sometimes in sales you need a “wow” factor. I like to think that people look at me, and see this reasonably successful blind guy, who’s also just happened to compete for Canada. On the basis of that knowledge I feel they’re more likely to give me a chance.”
ILScorp is pleased to have been Tildesley’s chosen insurance trainer.
“I’ve done my Fundamentals exam, and CAIBs 1-4 with ILS. They’ve gone out of their way to make any materials and exams accessible to me!” he explained. “A highlight was taking the CAIB IV class with the effervescent and always entertaining Todd Hochban (ILScorp’s training partner at West Coast Training). I had failed the CAIB IV twice when I only studied using the ILS videos, so I figured I needed more of a hands-on approach. If anybody can make insurance fun, it’s Todd!”
And while retired from competitive swimming, Tildesley will still be in the pool on a regular basis, now using his time in the water to relax.
“I still love the sport. If I’m not in the pool at least 2-3 times per week I have more trouble handling stress,” he explained.
Clearly never one to be held back (he’s also an avid skier, and co-founder of two Whistler radio stations), Tildesley is making the most of his new role.
“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed to be where I’m at today. I work for a great company with a strong team and a keen vision for the future. I owe a great deal to Gordon Buntain. He’s a visionary, who doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘can’t’,” Bailey told ILStv.
“There are challenges, but equally as many opportunities. I’ve come to realize that there’s always a way to make things work. Now that I won’t be competing, I intend to focus my attention on three main areas: building my book of insurance business, building my brand and reputation as a keynote speaker, and finding more ways to give back to the community. Who knows, I may even write a book!”
Learn more about Donovan Tildesley at limitlessvision.ca.
Follow him on twitter at @donovanspeaks or Buntain Insurance at @BuntainIns
