CSIO’s Continuing Education Program Benefits 2,200 Insurance Professionals in First Half of 2020

(Toronto – June 29, 2020) – With the majority of the insurance industry working remotely in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CSIO has been able to support brokers in their professional development through online learning. So far this year, over 2,200 insurance professionals have participated in CSIO webinars and eLearning courses.

Many insurance brokers faced difficulties in completing continuing education requirements due to cancelled or rescheduled broker conferences and in-class courses. Recognizing the need, CSIO hosted over 20 webinars on digital topics over the past four months.

These offerings met broker demand for free, accredited distance learning to help build their digital competencies. Education that is centred on adopting digital solutions – from eSlips, eSignatures and document delivery is critical for insurance businesses. CSIO’s webinars and courses are offered as a free member benefit to members of provincial broker associations.

New Ransomware Course Now Available

CSIO is pleased to announce its latest release, Ransomware: What Brokers Need to Know. This eLearning course is led by Bill Malik, VP Infrastructure Strategies with Trend Micro, a frequent speaker on security topics. It includes a broker case study, as well as guidelines on how to spot common scams and latest frauds, and issues to consider when securing a home network. This new addition means there are now eight accredited on-demand courses available through the CSIO Digital Broker eLearning Program.

There has been a significant increase in cybersecurity attacks in 2020, with cybercriminals taking advantage of the global pandemic in a variety of scams, including leveraging Covid-19 fears, government financial support payments, and less secure home networks. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reports that as of June 2020, almost $2 million has been lost to Covid-19 scams. Many brokerages have made CSIO’s eLearning courses on cybersecurity mandatory for their teams.

“Online security is so important to us,” says Maureen Kurenoff, CEO of HG Insurance Agencies and Growth Financial Corp., in British Columbia. “We’ve been searching for cybersecurity training, and CSIO courses are a great resource for brokers. They offer easy-to-understand content that works for our entire team. We have recommended that all our staff take the ransomware and cybersecurity courses.”

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About Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO)

CSIO is Canada’s industry association of property and casualty insurers, service providers and over 38,000 brokers. CSIO is committed to improving the consumer’s ease of doing business within the broker channel by overseeing the development, implementation and maintenance of technology standards and solutions such as My Proof of Insurance, eDocs, and eSignatures. In addition, CSIO operates the industry-owned mail network service, CSIOnet. CSIO maintains offices in Toronto and Montreal. For more information, visit csio.com.

For further information, please contact:

Sarina Visram, MBA, CIP | Director, Member Relations & Communications
110 Yonge Street, Suite 500 | Toronto, ON M5C 1T4
(416) 360-1773 x 2300 | 1 (800) 463-2746 x 2300
svisram@csio.com | www.csio.com