ARM™ Designation Benefits
The ARM™ designation is one of the premier certifications of the insurance industry. In this blog, I will break down the ARM™ designation benefits, and why you should be pursuing this certification
1) ‘On The Job’ Performance (risk management)
First and foremost, and most importantly, the ARM™ designation will improve your on-the-job performance. Whether you are working in risk management, or the property casualty insurance industry, with this certification you will learn the strategies to risk management, risk analysis, and risk treatment. Through the three exam requirements, almost every single subject regarding the risk industry will be covered. Additionally, you will learn how to apply what you learn in a real-life scenario. The exam questions are formatted as scenario-based questions. You will be put in the shoes of a risk analyst, and be required to choose the best answer given the scenario involving risk. The ARM™ courses are designed to prepare you for these types of questions, they will help you understand the basic concepts of the risk topic, and how it might apply in a real-life scenario in your day job. That way, on the exam, you can comprehend the case question and choose the best answer based on your study.
These are the three ARM™ designation exams and the subject matter covered on each exam:
- ARM™ 400 – This exam covers everything relating to risk management including the risk management process, types of risk, risk governance, identifying risk, analyzing risk, risktech, treating risk, and big data.
- ARM™ 401 – This exam coves the topic of risk analysis. Most notably, there is a lot of math on this exam. You will need to memorize and compute complex formulas including the current ratio, debt-to-equity ratio, RAROC, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and normal distribution curve. In total, there are over 20 math formulas that you will need to memorize and understand how to compute. In addition to the difficult math concepts, the content of the ARM™ 401 varies widely. Covering a number of complex concepts including financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, etc…), probability, risk identification techniques (HAZOP, SWOT, and Delphi), analysis techniques (Change analysis, Energy Transfer, Job Safety), and risk types (cyber risk, hazard risk, operational risk). And that is just a small fraction of the content covered in this exam!
- ARM™ 402 – This exam covers risk treatment content ranging from types of insurance (large deductible, self-insurance, etc…) to financial terminology (forward contract, swap, option, etc…), to specific types of risk management (strategic risk, financial risk, operational risk, etc…). Not only do you need to understand and memorize each concept, but you must comprehend the content to a high enough degree that you can apply the concepts and formulas in a real-life scenario.
2) Raise, Promotion, and Bonus
One of the major ARM™ designation benefits is that it commonly results in financial compensation. According to Payscale.com, the average salary of an ARM™ designee is over $97,000.
Whether it’s in the form of a raise, a promotion, or a bonus, this designation typically results in financial compensation. Ask your employer, because many offer a one-time bonus when you complete the certification. I received a $1,000 bonus dollar bonus for the ARM™ and a $5,000 bonus for the CPCU®.
This certification is used to bolster your resume so that you can leverage it to ask for a raise and promotion. This extracurricular education and risk management training is what will set you apart from your peers, this certification will help you get a promotion. This is exactly what I did, I leveraged this certification to advance into a senior product management role in the P&C insurance industry. This certification, along with the CPCU®, helped me get there and receive an increased compensation of $15,000 per year along with $6,000 from the added one-time bonuses
3) Bolster Resume
If you are looking to enter the P&C insurance industry, risk management industry, or switch companies, the ARM™ certification will help you get there. That is one of the major ARM™ designation benefits. This is one of the most widely recognized certifications in the industry, probably the second most recognized certification after the CPCU® designation. This certification will look great on your resume. It should be a major focus on your resume, you want to make it stand out. The interviewer reviewing your resume will notice the certification and understand how much work you put in to earn this certification.
4) CPCU®
This is relatively new. The ARM™ exams now count towards the CPCU® designation. It’s called the ARM™ to CPCU® path. It’s the new and most popular way to pursue the CPCU®. It’s now the only path that I recommend if you are pursuing a CPCU® designation.
Now, you can earn two certifications in one. If you pass the three ARM™ exams, it will count as three of the eight CPCU® exams you need to pass. Then, if you just passed the CPCU® 530, 540, 555, 556, and an elective exam, you will have earned both your ARM™ and CPCU® designation in one. You can learn more about that here in our blog post about how to pursue the ARM™ to CPCU® path.
ARM™ Designation Benefits: Conclusion
In summary, there are a number of ARM™ designation benefits. Most prominently, this designation will improve your on-the-job performance and help you perform better at your daily tasks. It will help you earn financial compensation through a raise, promotion, or bonus. It will bolster your resume, and lastly, it will get you one step closer to earning the CPCU® designation.
I highly recommend the ARM™ certification, it is one of the most highly regarded certifications in the insurance industry. It will improve your job performance and help you get to the next level in your career.
For more information, you can find all of our resources about the ARM™ designation here.
Free Practice Exam
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