One of the things that we pride ourselves at ProSchools is our ability to keep current with the changes that affect our students, and the changes that are happening in Washington are no exception.  Effective July 1, 2009, the state of Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) is making significant changes to the prelicense education mandates and rules.  If you would like to view the actual rule changes, click HERE for the text version of the legislation.  This information is critical to those prelicense students who are either currently enrolled in a ProSchools program or are planning on obtaining an insurance license in the near future.  This absolutely affects you if you are in Washington and are studying for your insurance license, so please read on for the changes! Read the rest of this entry »

ProSchools is proud to announce that we have “opened the doors” in Colorado for insurance prelicense training!  Following the Pearson-Vue content outline,  ProSchools is now offering our industry-leading insurance prelicense training solutions to the state that’s home of the Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets, Avalanche,  Colorado College and the University of Denver (the last two for you college hockey fans)!  We are very excited to be in Colorado and we look forward to serving the Centennial state and Colorful Colorado!  We have years of experience with the Pearson-Vue insurance examination system, and can prepare you for your state test so that you’re ready to pass on the first attempt!

Click on the following links to get some useful information:

• The Colorado Insurance Prelicense Content Outline (as provided by Pearson-Vue)
• The ProSchools page that will answer all of your Colorado insurance questions on how to get licensed!
• The “buy-now” link for prelicense courses
• The Colorado Insurance Division’s homepage

We are currently offering prelicense courses for Life, Accident and Health and Property and Casualty insurance.  Look for continuing education in the future!  Hello Colorado!

Hello PIBbers!  I have recently run across a question in the Oregon Health insurance examination that asks about the limits that are available under the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool, or “OMIP.”  This specific material is not yet included within your textbook or online materials, so I thought I would let you know (isn’t that nice)!  It is going to be made part of the revised materials which will be online and in the printed versions shortly.

The OMIP plan is a plan for individuals that cannot obtain medical expense coverage through normal channels; the insured has been denied coverage due to their medical conditions, can’t get COBRA or portability coverage, or are eligible for a federal health coverage tax credit.  Think “uninsurable” for the most part.

The lifetime limit for an individual under OMIP is $2,000,000!  Remember this for the Oregon test!

Pibbers, I just wanted to post a response to a few questions that I have recently received concerning the “new” Oregon insurance exam administered by Prometric.  Take a look below at some of the comments that I have received:

1. I agree! When I took my Health exam I was stunned to see questions that were not covered in the study material. It had questions on Social Security and tax that I had not seen before. I felt the test was not fair and slighted so I would fail it. Is this a way for them to get more money with increased re-testing?
2. It only took 6 months of complaints before you decided to do this. Kudos on the timely response.
3. Well, I have been studying the Life portion of the ProSchools course and am just getting ready to start in on the Health. This is good information, and a bit concerning? Have you learned anything recently? Or maybe an update on the retirement taxation laws?  I will read on. And, am also excited about getting into the insurance business.
   All suggestions are appreciated.  I found the hardest thing to understand is all the different types of whole life products?

I have responded to these questions within the posts they were attached to, but I have learned quite a bit about the exam through my testing experience a few days ago.  Read on for my thoughts and suggestions! Read the rest of this entry »

Good Afternoon Pibbers!  This is just a quick note, but I wanted you all to know that several ProSchools staffers have taken the Oregon Insurance Test!  Woo-Hoo!  I will address our findings shortly- right now I’m in the middle of de-briefing the material found on the test.  So, for now- watch the ProSchools Blog and come back in a day or two to see what we found!  -Gary

Well, the Oregon Insurance Division has posted on their website the 2007  annual report for the top 25 insurers.  Very interesting report, and might lend considerable insight to what’s going on with rates here in the great state of Oregon.  To link directly to the Insurance Division report, click here! 

Some of the more interesting tidbits from the report include Read the rest of this entry »

Good morning readers!  As ProSchools expands it’s reach and opens in other states, we are starting to see more and more questions from licensing candidates inquiring about passing the test.  I have received more than 100 emails simply asking “what’s the best way to make sure I pass this test on the first try?”  That’s a great question, and I will do my best to share some of the best “test taking tips” I know.  Read on for more information! Read the rest of this entry »

Since the state of Oregon is no longer issuing paper licenses (click HERE for the blog article detailing this change), I have received many inquiries as to how a licensee can check their insurance licensing status.  Given the changes with the license renewal rules, that’s a good question!  Yet once again- ask and ye shall receive!  Would I ever leave you floundering for answers?  Well….maybe once in a while, but NOT NOW!

It’s a simple matter to check licensing status, as it’s now public record.  You’ll need to have the first/last name of the licensee, or the license number.  You can do the same for agencies and insurers by providing the name of that agency or carrier!  All you have to do is access the Oregon Insurance Division’s website, plug in the info, and voila!  The database houses licensing data for resident, non-resident, agency licenses and insurance company information. 

It’s easy…click HERE for the state’s web page that will get you producer licensing info, click HERE for agency licensing info, and click HERE for insurer information!   You can also print out the information as well- look for the “print” option in the lower right-hand corner of the search results page!

Hello PIBers!  Please excuse the lack of postings recently, but with the test changes, the addition of the Long-Term Care insurance educational requirements and the massive volume of questions that surround both of these concerns- I have been jammed up like you wouldn’t believe! 

One of the biggest issues that has come to the forefront is the material that is now part of the Oregon insurance examination, and I have been repeatedly asked if ProSchools materials are current.  The short answer is YES!  The longer answer is that we are continually learning of new material that has been added, and as a result- our material is constantly evolving to match these changes.  Therefore, it would be wise for the prelicensing student to carefully watch the PIB and their online study material for any changes that could affect test scores.  Here’s what ProSchools has done: Read the rest of this entry »

Hello fellow blog fans!  The fifth insurance question is a doozy, and one that many parents might be faced with in this day and age.  

Sarah L. of Seattle, Washington is concerned, and writes:  “Hi Gary.  I’m hoping that you can help me.  I have two kids, a 7 and 10 year old, and they are both “all boy” if you know what I mean (I do, trust me).  Last month, my 7 year old was out riding his bike, and he managed to wipe out right on top of my neighbors brand new Lexus.  He’s fine, but I can’t say the same for the car.  He smashed into the left rear of the car, and managed to badly scrape the paint on the side of the car and somehow break the driver’s side mirror.  I think his bike hit it as he fell off!  He told me right away what happened, and according to him, the car “got right in my way” and “I HAD to hit it ‘cuz it didn’t move out of the way!”  My neighbor, needless to say, was a bit upset!  I immediately apologized for the errant bike-riding skills of my son, and he said he understood that things like that can happen.  I asked him if he was going to submit a claim to his car insurance, and he told me that he would not, and that it was MY responsibility to fix the damage!  I told him that his car insurance should pay, because his car was damaged and that’s what car insurance is for.  He said that there was “no way” he would submit a claim, and that I had to pay for the damage because as his parent, I was legally liable for his actions!  He also said that if I didn’t “cough up the bucks” he was going to sue me for the damage!  The next day he showed me a couple of estimates, and the cheapest one was over $1500!!  I told him that was outrageous, and there’s no way it should cost that much.  Here’s my questions:  first of all, am I legally liable?  Second, can it cost THAT much to repair what I feel is minor damage?  HELP!! Read the rest of this entry »