CPCU® Program Requirements

To earn the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, the following are required by the American Institute for CPCU and Insurance Institute of America:

• Pass the exams for all required and elective courses
• Meet the experience requirements: You must be engaged in acceptable insurance activities for any 36 months (minimum of 17½ hours per week) during the five-year period immediately preceding the award of the CPCU designation.
• Take and abide by the Professional Ethics Pledge.

Please visit the AICPCU Website for more details about the CPCU Experience, Code of Ethics, and Continuing Education requirements.

CPCU® Exam Information

Most CPCU exams use the short-answer essay format and typically include 30 to 35 multipoint questions that total 100 points. The exceptions are the CPCU 553 and CPCU 557 survey exams, which contain 100 objective (multiple-choice) questions. All CPCU exams are three hours long.

CPCU® Curriculum

Candidates must pass eight examinations through the American Institute for CPCU and Insurance Institute of America, one for each of the five required courses and three concentration courses, to earn the CPCU designation:

Required Courses

510: Foundations of Risk Management, Insurance and Professionalism

Code of Ethics, Risk, Understanding Risk Management, Risk Assessment, Risk Control, Risk Financing, Financial Services and Insurance Markets, Insurance Mechanism, Insurable Risks, Legal Environment of Insurance, Insurance Policy, Insurance Policy Analysis, and Amounts Payable.

520: Insurance Operations, Regulation, and Statutory Accounting

Insurance Operations, Regulation of Insurance, Insurance Marketing, Underwriting Property Insurance, Underwriting Liability Insurance, Ratemaking, Property Claim Adjusting, Liability Claim Adjusting, Reinsurance, Insurer Financial Statements, Insurer Financial Management, and Insurer Business Strategy and Global Operations.

530: The Legal Environment of Insurance

U.S. Law and Regulation; Contract Law: Contract Formation, Agreement, Legal Capacity, Consideration, Legal Purpose, Genuine Assent, Form, Interpretation, and Obligations; Insurance Contract Law; Commercial Law; Property Law; Tort Law: Negligence, Intentional Torts, Products Liability, Environmental Torts, Special Liability, and Litigation Concepts; Agency Law; Insurance Applications of Agency Law; Employment Law; Business Entities; and the International Legal Environment of Insurance.

540: Finance for Risk Management and Insurance Professionals

Basics of Corporate Finance, Financial Statements, Sources of Additional Financial and Nonfinancial Information, Financial Statement Analysis, Working Capital Management, Time Value of Money, Discounted Cash Flow Valuation, Bonds and Stocks, Operating Environment and Corporate Finance, Insurer Investment Strategies, Insurer Income and Dividend Policy, Insurer Capital: Needs and Sources, Capital Structure of Insurers, Making Capital Investment Decisions, and Mergers and Acquisitions.

560: Financial Services Institutions

Financial Markets, Federal Reserve, Money Markets, Bond Markets, Stock Markets, Derivative Securities, Commercial Banks, Regulation of Commercial Banks, Other Lending Institutions, Insurance Companies, Securities Firms and Investment Banks, Mutual Funds, Pension Funds, and Risks Incurred by Financial Institutions.

Choose your concentration (Courses may not be combined from both concentrations.)

Commercial Lines

551: Commercial Property Risk Management and Insurance

Property Loss Exposures; Commercial Property Coverage Forms; Causes of Loss Forms; Flood, Earthquake, and Specialty Forms; Business Income and Extra Expense; Inland Marine and Ocean Cargo; Crime; Equipment Breakdown; Businessowners and Farmowners; and Surety Bonds

352: Financial Decisions at Retirement

Liability Loss Exposures, Liability Risk Control, General Liability Insurance, Business Auto Insurance, Garage and Motor Carrier Insurance, Workers' Compensation and Employers' Liability Loss Exposures, Workers' Compensation and Employers' Liability Insurance, Management Liability Loss Exposures and Insurance, Professional Liability Loss Exposures and Insurance, Environmental Loss Exposures and Insurance, Aviation Loss Exposures and Insurance, Excess and Umbrella Liability Insurance, and Terrorism Risk and Cyber Risk.

553: Survey of Personal Risk Management, Insurance and Financial

Automobile Insurance and Society, Personal Auto Policy, Homeowners Insurance, Other Residential Insurance, Other Personal Property and Liability Insurance, Personal Loss Exposures and Financial Planning, Life Insurance, Health and Disability Insurance, Investment Planning, Planning for Retirement, and Estate Planning.

Personal Lines

555: Personal Risk Management and Property and Liability Insurance

Personal Risk Management, Homeowners Insurance, Homeowners Endorsements and Variations, Personal Auto, Recreational Vehicles, Developing Personal Insurance Products, Underwriting Profitability, Pricing Personal Insurance Products, Reunderwriting Personal Insurance Portfolios, and Gaining Efficiencies in Personal Insurance Operations.

556: Personal Financial Planning

Life Insurance and Social Security; Health, Disability, and Long-Term Care; Basic Investment Principles; Equity and Fixed-Income Investments; Mutual Funds; Asset Allocation; Income Tax Planning; Planning for Retirement; Estate Planning; and Financing Education Expenses.

557: Survey of Commercial Risk Management and Insuranc

Commercial Property, Business Income, Commercial Crime, Equipment Breakdown, Inland and Ocean Marine, Commercial General Liability, Commercial Auto, Business Owners, Farm, Workers Compensation and Employers Liability, and Risk Control (Select Personal or Commercial Concentration).

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