Construction Risk & Insurance Specialist (CRIS)
About the CRIS Program | Required CRIS Core Courses
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an insurance background as a prerequisite for taking the CRIS program?
The CRIS continuing education (CE) program curriculum is intended to be on a basic-to-intermediate level, but it does cover complex insurance topics and assumes you have basic knowledge of insurance terminology and fundamentals. Therefore, the core curriculum will be more challenging to someone who has no insurance background than it will be for someone who does. For this reason, we created "Fundamentals of Construction Risk Management and Insurance," a course designed to acquaint you with terminology and basic concepts that are prevalent in the core curriculum.
A contractor, safety professional, lawyer, or accountant who has limited insurance knowledge can successfully complete the courses by starting with the fundamentals course and then carefully studying the core curriculum texts and paying attention to any concepts with which he or she struggles when taking the final exams. If you do not pass an exam the first time, these concepts can be the focus of additional study before retaking the exam.
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How does CRIS compare to the CPCU, CIC, or ARM programs?
Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) are all excellent educational programs for risk and insurance professionals. The CRIS program is not intended to compete with or be a substitute for these or other insurance industry designations. The CRIS curriculum is less rigorous and less time consuming than the CPCU, CIC, or ARM program. The CPCU program requires passing exams for 8, and the ARM 3, courses that cover the equivalent of a college semester's material in each. The CIC program requires attending 5 2½-day seminars, each of which is followed by a 2-hour final exam. While the CRIS program is not as rigorous as these other programs, its specialized focus on the complex insurance needs of the construction industry make it a worthwhile investment for people who hold one or more of these designations as well as for people who do not.
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I'm an insurance agent/broker. How would I benefit from obtaining this certification?
When you obtain the CRIS certification, you make a statement to contractors that you are committed to serving them and have the knowledge to do it well. Your enhanced credibility along with the confidence you'll gain as a result of your new knowledge will improve your ability to sell insurance to contractors and negotiate intelligently on their behalf with underwriters or adjusters. You may also elect to have your name, firm, and phone number included in the directory of CRIS construction insurance agents and brokers.
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I'm a seasoned insurance professional. Why should I bother with this?
Continuous learning is important for all business professionals, particularly those who work in a field that changes rapidly, as does construction insurance. The CRIS core curriculum will be a great review of insurance and contractual risk transfer fundamentals for contractors. Completing the core courses will help you maintain confidence that your knowledge is up-to-date. The ongoing continuing education program will then help you stay on top of the trends and developments affecting your important contractor accounts. And if you are an agent or broker in need of state insurance CE credit, obtaining the CRIS certification allows you to leverage your CE effort into a meaningful professional certification as well.
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How many questions are on the final exam?
The final exam for each course contains questions randomly selected from a test bank. The number of questions varies according to state insurance CE requirements, but there will be no more than 50. You must correctly answer 70 percent of the exam questions to pass a course. If you fail to do so, you review the course again and take another test that is randomly generated from the question bank.
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What score must I make to pass the exam?
You must correctly answer 70 percent of the multiple-choice questions on the final exam to successfully complete a CRIS course. Keep in mind that you can retake the exam if you fail to pass it. If you have not requested CE credit, there is no limit to the number of times you may take the exam. If you request CE credit, the number of retakes may be limited by your state.
Does completing CRIS courses (or the entire certification) qualify for credit in any insurance industry programs other than regulatory insurance CE credit?
Absolutely. You can receive credit under three other programs at this time and we are working towards having CRIS recognized by some others.
Completing a CRIS course counts towards the CPCU Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, which allows the same number of points for CPD that have been awarded for CE credits in your state. Simply record the completed CRIS courses on the CPD qualifier application to receive credit in that program.
Completing a CRIS course also counts as a one-day workshop towards the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Fellow designation.
Obtaining the CRIS certification also satisfies the requirement of completing a non-NAIW educational program/designation to earn the Certified Professional Insurance Woman/Man (CPIW/M) certification from the National Association of Insurance Women (NAIW).
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Why is there a continuing education requirement for the CRIS certification?
The objectives of the CRIS program are to (1) assure that certification-holders understand the fundamental insurance needs of contractors, (2) demonstrate certification-holders' commitment to the construction industry, and (3) provide certification-holders with the means to stay abreast of construction risk and insurance developments and trends. The core curriculum satisfies only the first of these three objectives, and the ongoing continuing education requirement is necessary for the program to achieve the other two.
We do not intend for this requirement to be onerous. You may satisfy it through just one additional online course or attending an approved seminar or conference.
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How will others know I have this certification?
As a holder of the certification, you are granted a license to display it in connection with your name. The most common format is to place a comma after your name, followed by the certification abbreviation (e.g., John Doe, CRIS). Alternatively, you may spell out the certification name (Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist) in connection with your name; the most common approach for this is on letterhead or brochures. You may display it following your name on your business cards, marketing literature, or letterhead.
We recommend that you send a press release to your local newspapers, business journals, and other publications that run announcements about people. You also may wish to give or mail your clients and prospects announcements of your achievement. The CRIS Toolbox page includes a model press release on which you may base yours as well as PDF files of some fliers you can print to provide to clients and prospects.
Lastly, the directory of CRIS construction insurance agents and brokers provides a list of holders of the CRIS certification for use by contractors in verifying the credentials of insurance professionals with whom they are or are considering doing business. As part of the registration process, you can indicate whether you wish to be included on this list, and you may opt out at any time. To protect your privacy, the list will display only your name, city/state, phone number, and company affiliation.
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Once I earn the certification, can I ever lose it?
If you fail to meet the continuing education requirement, you lose the certification and the right to use it in connection with your name. Once you lose the certification in this manner, you must complete the core curriculum again to regain it.
We will e-mail you at the e-mail address on record in the Learning Center in the event you lose your certification because you failed to meet the experience requirement. However, it is your responsibility to keep up with your CE status, and failure to receive the e-mail does not make it permissible to use the certification after it expires. In other words, your license to use the CRIS trademark expires 24 months after you earn the right to use the certification unless you renew it by meeting the CE requirement during that time. Thereafter, you must complete the continuing education requirement every 12 months.
IRMI also reserves the right to revoke the certification for anyone who:
- Is convicted of a felony
- Is convicted of any state or federal crime related to insurance
- Has an insurance license revoked due to violation of a state insurance code
- Displays a pattern of unethical, illegal, or immoral behavior that reflects negatively on the CRIS certification
In the event IRMI revokes your certification, IRMI will e-mail notification and send a registered letter to the e-mail address and postal address on record in the Learning Center. Your license to use the certification expires three business days after the registered letter is mailed whether or not you receive the letter. (It is your responsibility to maintain current contact information in the CRIS Learning Center.)
The CRIS certification is a registered federal trademark of IRMI and is protected under the law. Anyone who uses this trademark without permission is subject to severe financial penalty. Please contact IRMI to report any suspected violations in the use of this trademark.
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Is renewal CE credit earned in one year transferable to the next year?
Any CE Credit earned by taking CRIS courses or attending a seminar may be used to meet the renewal requirement for the 12-month period in which the credit is earned. We are sorry, but we cannot roll CE credit into a future period.
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Will I receive notification of the need to renew my CRIS certification?
We will e-mail you several months before your certification expires to remind you of the need to renew your certification by taking additional CRIS Courses or attending approved conferences or seminars. It is your responsibility to keep your e-mail address updated in the CRIS Learning Center to assure you receive these e-mails.
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