Make 2019 the year you gain recognition for your educational qualifications and years of Life Insurance experience specific to Claims, Rehabilitation or Underwriting by becoming professionally accredited with ALUCA as a Certified Professional Life Insurance – CPLI.
How to become accredited as an ALUCA Certified Professional Life Insurance?
To qualify for ALUCA’s professional accreditation: The Certified Professional Life Insurance (CPLI) program you will need to provide proof of educational qualifications in addition to the years and capabilities gained working in the life insurance industry specific to the accredited level you are applying for this starts from an Affiliate and goes up to an Associate, Associate Fellow and Fellow in either underwriting claims or rehabilitation areas.
As an example if you have undertaken a relevant and recognised medical terminology course plus have gained a minimum of 2-4 years in Life insurance you can apply to become an accredited ALUCA Affiliate member.
ALUCA’s Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Requirements; 35 CPD points annually
Once an accreditation level has been achieved it is a pre-requisite that ALUCA accredited members maintain annual CPD points to demonstrate commitment to their ongoing continuous professional development and to maintain their ALUCA accreditation.
An ALUCA CPLI panel of cross industry representatives meet quarterly to assess each application – and undertake random CPD audits annually.
So what are you waiting for? Apply now and demonstrate your commitment to your industry and profession. The below CPLI FAQ has been designed to answer key questions that you may have.
Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ’s)
Q1. How do I become an ALUCA accredited CPLI (Certified Professional – Life Insurance ) member?
You need to have gained educational qualifications that will position you at a higher level of membership in addition to the number of years and experience you have gained in Life Insurance. These also tie into the different levels and competencies of the ALUCA competency framework which is set out in the table below.
| Accredited Level | Education Points | Years in Life Insurance | Competency Framework |
| Affiliate CPLI | 1-3 | 2-4 | Level 1 – 2: Core |
| Associate CPLI | 4-7 | 5-9 | Level 2 – 3: Core to Advanced |
| Associate Fellow CPLI | 8+ | 10+ | Level 3 – 4: Advanced to Expert |
| Fellow CPLI | 8+ paper | 15+ | Level 4: Expert |
Q2. I have general /marine insurance /TPD experience, does this count?
No – this accreditation is very specific to Life Insurance only. Even though you may have educational qualifications that put you at a high level of membership – the number of years and experience you have gained in Life Insurance is just as important, so you will need to start at the membership and accreditation level specific to your years of experience spent working as a professional in Life Insurance only and your CPD only relates to Life Insurance.
Q3. I am a Rehabilitation/Medical professional and have worked in workers comp/ hospitals/clinical practise for many years can I claim this?
No – this accreditation is very specific to Life Insurance only. Even though you may have educational qualifications that put you at a high level of membership – the number of years and experience you have gained in Life Insurance is equally as important, it is for this reason that you will need to start at the membership and accreditation level specific to your years of experience working as a Rehabilitation or Medical professional in Life Insurance only.
Q4 I have many years experience in Life Insurance but do not have educational qualifications can I become accredited?
There are a couple of options. Firstly you may be able to gain an educational qualification in life insurance via recognised prior learning (RPL). ANZIIF and other institutions provide this opportunity via their Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process where they will evaluate what you have learned either formally or informally and potentially provide a credit to a full or part qualification. The next option is to look at undertaking some formal educational qualifications. We have some suggested courses that you may want to consider on ALUCA’s website under careers/continuing-education/. We are also looking at how we broaden the reach of the accreditation program and revisit an examination that ALUCA used to provide.
Q5. Does ALUCA provide an online recording tool for my CPD?
Yes. We provide a free, simple-to-use online recording tool which you may use to record your hours-based CPD. This is a self service tool that can be accessed via ALUCA’s website in the Members centre only and is specific to your membership: aluca.com/members-area/. You will need to enter details of all CPD undertaken, including that completed through ALUCA, as this is not automatically recorded. We are working on including functionality that will automatically record details of your attendance at any ALUCA event and will communicate details once that happens.
Q6. What are ALUCA’s continuous professional development (CPD) requirements?
All ALUCA accredited CPLI members will need to complete a minimum of 35 hours’ compulsory CPD in a 12 month period . However 35 hours is only the minimum required by ALUCA; in practice, the figure required may exceed this, as the actual requirement will be determined by an individual’s development needs in any 12-month period and will also be a discussion that the member needs to have with their organisation. It is important to note that this CPD requirement is not generally an additional requirement to development activity ordinarily undertaken in the course of an individual’s employment, but incorporates this.
Q7. How was the figure of 35 hours CPD obtained?
In common with other professional bodies such as the Chartered Insurance Institute in the UK, the requirement for 35 hours or more of CPD is common. It is also important to set a minimum number of hours of CPD per year as a benchmark for accredited members. ALUCA’s CPLI accreditation is an indication to the public that accredited members keep their professional knowledge current. During the course of any 12-month period, we encourage members to carry out a variety of CPD activities to help them keep their knowledge up-to-date. There is no maximum to the amount of CPD the member can carry out.
Q8. How to develop a CPD plan?
It is intended that all CPD activity should address an individual’s professional development needs. It is up to the individual member to determine what their learning and development needs are which should be addressed via their continuous professional development. Members can then:
- Plan activities to address their learning and development needs ( you may want to refer to ALUCA’s high level competency framework which sets out key competencies for different career stages)
- Carry out activities to meet these needs
- Record the time spent for each activity and maintaining a verifiable audit trail of these activities
- A statement of the objectives achieved (i.e. answering questions like: “How this activity benefitted me professionally?”) and including information about what you learnt.
Q9. How do I calculate the amount of CPD hours spent on an activity?
You should only count the actual time spent on the learning activity, e.g. if you attend a conference you should count only that time spent in activity that addresses identified development needs. You should always exclude the time taken for tea/coffee breaks and lunch.
Q10. Do I still have to complete the full 35-hour CPD requirement if I work part-time?
Yes. The requirement to maintain your knowledge and, in turn, your competence to undertake your role requires the completion of a minimum of 35 hours CPD, regardless of the total number of hours you work.
Q11. If I take a career break (e.g. maternity leave or long-term sickness), do I still have to complete the 35-hour requirement?
The CPD requirements will be suspended for the duration of your career break. If your CPD record is selected for validation purposes, we will ask you to provide evidence confirming your break in work.
Q12. I am an accredited member with CII and ANZIIF – do I still need to submit an ALUCA CPD dairy?
If you are a current accredited member with CII or ANZIIF and complete their CPD requirements you may submit those diaries if you are audited by ALUCA instead of an ALUCA one – however this must be specific to Life insurance not general insurance.
Q13. When should I start creating a CPD log?
The requirement for undertaking CPD and keeping a record starts when a member becomes accredited ( however we encourage all members to record their CPD for their own records and career goals) – this will be pro-rated for that calendar year. For all existing accredited members it is for each full calendar year starting from 1 January each year. However, we recognise that the timing of members’ annual CPD programmes may reflect other factors, such as the annual performance reviews or the CPD requirements of other professional bodies to which they belong. In these circumstances we may, at our discretion, recognise any such requirements.
Q14. Do I need to submit my CPD points to ALUCA automatically at the end of a 12-month period?
No. You only need to submit your record if ALUCA requests to see it. We will randomly sample a selection of members’ records each year to check these have been fully and correctly completed.
Q15. If my CPD record is selected for review by ALUCA what will I need to provide?
You will need to provide your CPD record showing:
- the CPD activities you have undertaken in a 12 month period
- the points you have gained
- a statement/reflection of the objectives achieved against each activity.
It is recommended that you keep any evidence of the activity you have completed, for example, a certificate of attendance, as we may ask to see this if your record is selected for review. This can all be done via ALUCA’s website in the Member’s section where you can complete and record your CPD diary.
Q16. How do I know what development activity I should carry out?
Responsibility lies with each member individually as only they will know what development activity is required. In most cases, this will be agreed in conjunction with your employer, who will decide or advise what is relevant for your role and personal circumstances. ALUCA provides guidance for members via such services as the ALUCA Competency Framework which can be found in the members centre of the website.
Q17. If I am selected to submit my CPD record, which 12-month period do I need to provide?
You should supply your most recent annual record of CPD activity. For example, if we ask you to provide us with your record in January 2019 you need to supply your most recent completed plan for the period 01 January 2018 to 31 December 2018. Typically, where there is a gap of greater than one month since your last record was completed, we may also ask you to provide some more recent evidence of your CPD activity.
Q18. Does the online recording tool automatically record my attendance at ALUCA events?
No, not at present. We are investigating different options that would cater for this requirement and will communicate details once a decision has been reached.
Q19. What is the list of suitable CPD activities?
The list of suitable CPD activities is constantly being refined and updated to reflect evolving development activity. For the most current listing of suitable CPD activities please go to aluca.com
Q20. What is the list of educational points for accredited membership?
The list of suitable courses and activities is constantly being refined and updated to reflect evolving development activity. The most current list is provided below and is also on ALUCA’s website aluca.com