Press Release

IRMI Flood Insurance CE Course Fulfills New State Requirements

Dallas, TX, December 21, 2006—Eighteen states have responded to a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) request to require that insurance agents and brokers obtain at least 3 hours of training on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). "These states have enacted a minimum requirement for flood insurance training applicable to those who will be selling NFIP policies, and we expect more states to impose the requirement in the near future," stated Rob Olson, CPCU, the Senior Research Analyst who heads up International Risk Management Institute's personal lines reference and continuing education course development initiatives.

Most of the states that are initiating this requirement are doing so in a similar manner as their requirements for ethics courses. "This involves a mandate that the agent complete a course that has been specifically approved as meeting the new NFIP requirement," continued Olson. "It will be in place for the next round of agents' license renewals in these states, and, fortunately, they have begun approving both classroom and self-study courses as meeting the requirement."

To help agents and brokers meet this new requirement, International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI) has developed an online course entitled "National Flood Insurance Program: What You Should Know." This course was created based on FEMA's template outlining the points that courses should cover and is an approved NFIP course eligible for at least 3 hours CE credit in 15 of the states that require NFIP training. CE and NFIP course approval is pending in the remaining states.

To learn whether your state has approved this course, go to WebCE. To learn more about the NFIP training requirement, see the FEMA website.