User:Tnamore/The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research

Overview
The National Alliance story began in 1969 in Austin, Texas, when a small group of independent agents approached insurance professor Dr. William T. Hold to develop a program for teaching advanced insurance topics to Texas' agents. The product of this meeting was the Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) Program - which became the foundation and the cornerstone of The National Alliance.

Housed in a small portable building, with an original staff of three, Hold and company developed the CIC institutes, and the demand for these real-world, practical programs steadily grew within the industry.

CIC co-founder James K. Ruble [1923 -1996] shared Dr. Hold's vision for establishing and directing a national, high-quality continuing education program for independent insurance agents. The principles Mr. Ruble represented - the freedom to learn and the commitment to ongoing personal and professional development - live on through the seminars named in his honor. James K. Ruble Seminars are a tribute to his leadership and the high ethical standards he represented.

As the numbers of CIC participants and designation-holders mushroomed, long-term relationships were established with state and national agents associations, and the program was taken nationwide.

Today, The National Alliance still occupies the same corner north of downtown Austin, but now two, two-story office buildings house more than 100 employees on the site. The ability to anticipate the imminent needs of the industry, draw on the vast intellectual resources represented by agents and faculty, and continually provide the best education programs in the business, remain the greatest strengths and challenges of The National Alliance.

History
1969 – 1979

In March of 1969, the membership of the Texas Association of Mutual Insurance Agents met in Austin, Texas, and adopted a new name (the “Insurance Counselors Association of Texas”), a new constitution and bylaws, and a new concept for an insurance agents association: “professionalism through education.” Spearheaded by William T. Hold, Ph.D., CIC, CPCU, CLU, the first course was formulated to be practical and applicable in the everyday operation of an agency. When a small group attended the initial Personal Lines Institute and sat for the examination, it was official. The CIC Program had been born. Housed in a small portable building, with an original staff of three, Dr. Hold, James K. Ruble, and company, embarked upon developing a comprehensive educational program, to include four institutes and culminate in a professional designation. During the first year, nearly 200 participated in the CIC Program; only 11 achieved the CIC designation in 1970. In 1975, the CIC Program expanded to 10 other states, and James K. Ruble Seminars, first conceived and conducted in 1976, increased the advanced education options for CICs.

1979 – 1989

In 1980, a fifth institute was added to the CIC Program. The ’80s were a time of growth in both the numbers of designees and participants. Long-term relationships were established with state and national associations that joined to promote the CIC Program to members. The Academy of Producer Insurance Studies (renamed The National Alliance Research Academy) originated in 1983 as the research and development department to support the CIC Program and develop new offerings. The Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) Program, first created by CICs in Kansas, was taken over by the Society of CIC and launched in 1987, with five courses targeted to serve and educate the agency’s frontline.

1989 – 1999

As the necessity and demand for advanced and specific insurance education emerged, Dynamics of Selling, Dynamics of Service, and Advanced Learning (now William T. Hold) Seminars were developed and delivered. The Certified Risk Managers (CRM) Program and designation became a reality in 1997, offering an in-depth, practical dimension to risk management education.

1999 – 2009

Producer School in 2000 … CISR OnLine in 2001 … the Certified School Risk Managers (CSRM) designation program in 2005 … the first CRM courses held in Mexico in 2006 … Main Street Producer School in 2009. During the past 10 years, The National Alliance has continued to explore and analyze the needs and concerns of the insurance and risk management communities, then added and adapted programs in response. Harder to measure, but still undeniable, is the influence the CIC Program, its faculty, and the early CICs have had on the industry as a whole. Our 40-year survival and success hasn’t been about luck. It has been about the CICs who have served as mentors, role models, and exemplars of educational commitment and professionalism.