CIC Commercial Property

It is a two-hour, essay-style exam. In the self-paced format the Alliance describes it as a two-hour proctored essay-based final exam. Because answers are written rather than selected, you should practice producing organized prose answers, not just recognizing correct options.

Participants must score 70% or better on the two-hour, essay-style exam. Plan for a comfortable margin above that threshold, since essay scoring rewards complete answers that address every part of the question rather than brief conclusions.

Each CIC course consists of 16 hours of instruction and delivers the same curriculum regardless of format. The Alliance lists three formats: live classroom, live instructor-led webinar, and self-paced online. Instructor-led webinars are delivered as 16 hours of webinars over two to four weeks.

Self-paced courses are accessible 24/7 with a 120-day period to complete. You can stop and start sessions anytime and your place is saved. Note that the Alliance states the notebooks and other documents are not optimized to read on your phone, so plan on a computer or tablet for reading.

There are no prerequisites to earn the CIC. The program is recommended for licensed agents, brokers, and adjusters, professionals with at least two years of full-time insurance or risk management experience, and full-time insurance faculty with at least two years of teaching at an accredited college or university.

Participants must successfully complete five CIC courses and pass five exams within five calendar years. Alternative pathways exist, such as four CIC courses plus one CRM or CPRM course and exam, or applying an eligible cross-designation credit in place of a fifth CIC course.

The source material does not state a retake policy, exam fees, or a waiting period between attempts. Contact the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance directly for current retake rules rather than relying on assumptions from other designation programs.

Build a foundation in coverage forms and endorsements before moving to causes of loss and then time element coverages, since each layer depends on the prior one. Common failure modes are shallow answers that name a coverage without explaining how limits, exclusions, or endorsements apply, and running out of time on later questions.

Once earned, no further examinations are required. To maintain the designation you must complete an approved update course and meet attendance requirements by the end of your birth month each year. Tenured and Emeritus status options exist for long-held designations and for retired designees.