When you reach out to an insurance agent, whether for your personal home and auto policies or your business needs, you expect them to be subject matter experts. Of course, the agent you meet could have very little or quite a bit of experience and education. Like with any industry, it takes time, training, and seeing all kinds of scenarios to build expertise. In our case, Smyrl Insurance is celebrating 70 years in business in 2025. We’re proud to be a longstanding, reliable agency for our clients in Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
Of course, no one on our current staff has been here 70 years. Robert Smyrl Sr. started the firm in 1955. His son, Bob Smyrl, is the current president. Having inherited his entry into a business with his name on it, Bob has always taken professional integrity and continuing education very seriously. The key to running a business successfully through the second generation and beyond is maintaining high standards for knowledgeable service. Two programs in the insurance industry that we rely on for this purpose are the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation and the Insurance Careers Certification Program (ICCP).
What is the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) Designation?
The CIC is an advanced training program for experienced insurance agents. The classes associated with the CIC are much more complex than continuing education credits for maintaining a standard insurance license. Agents need to enroll in this program with a few years of experience under their belts already, and they need to pass a rigorous exam at the end of their coursework. Agents with a CIC designation also need to keep up on continuing education for this credential in addition to their standard license CE credits.
The CIC program has seven possible courses that are all broken down into modules. Individuals must complete at least five courses prior to sitting for the final exam. To maintain the designation, agents will take at least one additional class per year. They have the option of retaking a prior class, which always presents an opportunity to focus on a different aspect of the material.
These classes were not offered online when Bob first earned his designation, but now there are synchronous online classes as well. Bob feels that the interactive nature of these courses produces the best learning opportunities. Everyone involved is an experienced insurance professional, including the instructors. These classrooms are full of knowledge, real-world scenarios, and genuine interest in gaining new insight. The student interaction is where everyone is truly sharpening their skills and learning how to handle interesting cases.
CIC agents take their notes, full of highlighted text, back to the office where they continue training their colleagues in order to raise the level of service in each agency. They might learn about a court ruling that shifts how certain claims get handled, creative ways to write policies for more comprehensive coverage, or how to better protect a client during a difficult claims process. The entire program works for the benefit of other agents and clients.
What is the Insuring Careers Certification Program (ICCP)?
The ICCP is a newly developed program that is designed to help new insurance professionals get acclimated to the industry. There isn’t really a bachelor’s degree for becoming an insurance agent, so new hires in this industry have a learning curve before they are ready for the state licensing exam. Whether someone is coming into insurance fresh out of college or through a career change, this program will prepare them to become competent agents who serve their clients well. Bob Smyrl was on the Board of Directors for the agents’ association during the ICCP’s development and highly recommends it to anyone interested in an insurance career.
The ICCP is unique in that it does not just teach the fundamentals of insurance. It also teaches individuals the soft skills of working as a professional in this industry. Insurance is a people business, and agents often connect with people during difficult circumstances. The business skills aspect of the program will guide professionals through topics like communication, problem solving, time management, negotiation, and sales. Once students pass their licensing exam, they will be prepared to start working with clients and sales leads immediately.
ICCP doesn’t stop once a participant becomes a licensed agent in Pennsylvania. Following licensure, learners will explore more of the technical skills involved in insurance. They will gain a deeper understanding of how to read, analyze, and explain policies. This sets them up to be reliable resources for their agencies and clients. The ultimate goal of ICCP is to instill a passion for learning and growing as an insurance professional. We have a large professional network in this industry, and there is always something to gain when we put in the effort to make connections and enhance our knowledge base.
The Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation is a great next step as agents begin to grow in their career. Tami Sarm, who handles customer service for our commercial lines, holds this designation. It has made her a great asset to our agency and our clients, ensuring that we communicate well at all times and handle every situation with professionalism and sensitivity.
The Client Benefits of Our Expertise
At the end of the day, our clients are less interested in just how much we know about insurance in general, and more interested in what we know that will help them in particular. That’s why we pour so much time into continually growing our skills, training, and experience. It’s not about being the best agent ever. It’s about being the best agent for the client in front of us at any given moment. If you have been considering a career in the insurance field, and you’d like to join a team that prioritizes professional education, please reach out! We’d love to learn more about your interests.
All of the additional training, continuing education, and designations we work on at Smyrl Insurance are for the benefit of our clients. We educate, nurture, and empower people through insurance so that we can effectively partner with them in obtaining the right coverage for their needs. Clients rely on us to be the insurance experts who understand their personal or business circumstances and the policies that will best protect them. If you have questions about your current or upcoming insurance needs, please contact us. We’ll review your existing policies or listen to what you have planned and draw from our extensive experience to help you understand your coverage options. We serve clients for personal home and auto, as well as commercial and other types of insurance in Hatfield, Lansdale, Souderton, Harleysville, and throughout the region in Montgomery County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
