AIC-M study plan
AIC-M · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Claims Handling and Coverage Analysis
Map the anatomy of a policy (declarations, insuring agreement, exclusions, conditions, endorsements) and label each part's function from memory.
Build a reusable four-step coverage-analysis worksheet: trigger, grant, exclude, limit.
Apply the worksheet to five short fact patterns and write a conclusion for each.
Define twenty core coverage terms in your own words without consulting notes.
Your checkpoint
A one-page coverage-analysis worksheet plus five written coverage determinations (150 words each) with the controlling policy language cited.
Claims Handling and Coverage Analysis & Claims Law and Liability Assessment
Distinguish occurrence, claims-made, and claims-made-and-reported triggers and match each to example scenarios.
Explain how exclusions are interpreted and where the burden of proof typically sits for each party.
Sequence the coverage vs. liability question in a claim file and justify the order in writing.
Draft a reservation-of-rights letter that flags three unresolved coverage issues.
Your checkpoint
A trigger-and-burden comparison matrix (three triggers x four attributes) and one sample reservation-of-rights letter.
Claims Law and Liability Assessment
Break negligence into duty, breach, causation, and damages, and apply each element to four scenarios.
Compare contributory, comparative, and modified comparative fault rules and compute a reduced award in two examples.
Differentiate compensatory, punitive, and special damages and identify which are insurable in most jurisdictions.
Outline defenses (assumption of risk, statute of limitations, immunity) and select the strongest for three fact patterns.
Your checkpoint
A 15-question self-written liability quiz with answer rationales and a worked damages calculation showing a fault-based reduction.
Claims Handling and Coverage Analysis & Claims Law and Liability Assessment
Integrate coverage and liability reasoning by writing full claim evaluations for six mixed fact patterns.
Rank your ten weakest sub-topics from weeks 1-3 and log the specific error pattern for each.
Explain subrogation and recovery potential in two scenarios and state when to pursue each.
Time-box twenty practice questions in 25 minutes and score the result.
Your checkpoint
Six integrated claim evaluations plus a scored 20-question timed practice set with an error-pattern log.
Claims Operations and Management
Diagram the claim lifecycle from first notice of loss to closure, naming the control at each stage.
Set initial, incremental, and final reserves for three sample claims and justify each figure.
Design a diary and follow-up cadence that prevents files from going stale beyond a set threshold.
Evaluate three vendor or expert scenarios and state the selection and oversight criteria to apply.
Your checkpoint
A claim-lifecycle map with controls, plus a reserving worksheet covering three claims with written rationale for each adjustment.
Claims Operations and Management & Leadership, Ethics, and Performance Management
Identify the claim metrics that matter (cycle time, severity, leakage, reopen rate) and explain how each can be gamed.
Apply fair-claims-practice and good-faith principles to four ethical dilemmas and state the correct action and rationale.
Draft a one-page file-audit checklist covering documentation, timeliness, and payment accuracy.
Summarize the regulator's role and the consequences of bad-faith handling in plain language.
Your checkpoint
A one-page file-audit checklist and four written ethics case resolutions citing the governing principle for each.
Leadership, Ethics, and Performance Management
Write three behavior-based coaching questions for an adjuster whose file quality is slipping.
Build a simple scorecard that ties two activity metrics to one outcome metric without rewarding volume alone.
Script a difficult performance conversation including the facts, the impact, and the specific expectation.
Describe how to handle a conflict-of-interest disclosure and document the resolution.
Your checkpoint
A leadership toolkit: three coaching questions, a two-metric scorecard, and a scripted performance conversation outline.
Claims Handling and Coverage Analysis & Claims Law and Liability Assessment & Claims Operations and Management & Leadership, Ethics, and Performance Management
Complete two timed 60-question mixed mock exams and record the score for each domain.
Re-teach your five lowest-scoring sub-topics to yourself in writing without notes.
Build a one-page quick-reference sheet for each of the four domains.
Confirm exam-day logistics, timing strategy, and a plan for flagging and returning to hard items.
Your checkpoint
Two scored mock exams with a domain-by-domain score chart and four one-page quick-reference sheets.
Milestones
Week 2: You can analyze a fresh fact pattern end to end using only your worksheet and reach a defensible coverage conclusion in under 15 minutes.
Week 4: Your 20-question timed set scores at least 75%, and every missed item has a written reason tied to a specific gap rather than carelessness.
Week 6: You can explain any of the four domain's core frameworks on a blank sheet in five minutes without referring to notes.
Week 8: Both mock exams score 80% or higher overall with no single domain below 70%, and each weak sub-topic has a written remediation note.