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!

ProSchools is proud to announce that we have “opened the doors” in Pennsylvania for insurance prelicense training!  Following the Thompson-Prometric content outline, ProSchools is prepared to offer our industry-leading insurance training to the state that’s the home of the Steelers, Eagles, Pirates, Phillies and more.  We are very excited to be in PA, and we look forward to serving the Commonwealth of Virtue, Liberty and Independence in the tradition of ProSchools excellence!

Click on the following links to get to the important information:

• The Pennsylvania test content outlines (as provided by Thompson-Prometric)
• The ProSchools page that answers all of your PA prelicense questions
• The “buy now” link for prelicense courses that are currently available
• The Pennsylvania Insurance Division producers’ home page

We are currently offering life and health prelicense training, with Property and Casualty and continuing education soon to follow.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I will see what I can do to get you a good answer!

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! (more…)

One of the purposes of the PIB is to make sure that our readers maintain awareness of the insurance world, and to that end, there’s some interesting news out there for all life, P&C insurance producers, and securities brokers.  Some of this news is particular to certain lines of insurance, but some addresses concerns of all in the financial services world.  All of this information is courtesy of the National Underwriter.  Read on for more information! (more…)

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

Good afternoon, PIBbers!  Just wanted to let you know that each state publishes the complaints against insurers that it receives annually, and the Oregon report on complaints against insurers is now available!  If you review the information, please make sure to understand how to view the results- a lack of understanding will skew the statistics and could easily mislead you unless you know what you’re looking at!  Make sure that you read the “How to use This Report” information- this will give you insight as to how to interpret the information.  If you’re interested in looking at the complaint statistics, use the following links. 

• For the “consumer” version of the report:  click here
• For the “geek” version of the report:  click here
• For the complaint resolution report:  click here

If you have any comments, or would like some additional information regarding a particular carrier (I have it), just let me know!   

Everyday I hear from people who have taken the state insurance examination, and everyday I hear “tips” from the test takers on how to successfully pass the darn test on the first attempt.  Some of these tips are a bit on the bizarre side, such as “sleep with your book underneath your pillow…osmosis works!” or “your brain works better when it’s stressed out, so put stress on yourself!”  Let’s see….NO and NO (unless you can read while you’re asleep or you’re one of those types that does work best under pressure, which is unusual for most people)!  There are tried and true methods to enhance your testing success, but those examples don’t normally work (especially the osmosis one)! (more…)

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 (more…)

Good morning, PIBers!  There is conversation going on outside the hallowed halls of ProSchools that the insurance examination given by Thompson-Prometric is somewhat, shall we say, off-based?  I am hearing more and more that there are questions on the exam that do NOT appear on the content outline as published, that many questions are phrased in a manner that is nothing short of confusing,  and that there is zero consistency as to the methodology of the test.  Have you found this to be true?  Please read on… (more…)

Hello PIBers!  As a public service reminder- don’t forget that you can now apply for your initial insurance license online!  No more waiting for paper applications to be approved!  The National Insurance Producer Registry, or “NIPR” is now accepting online license applications!  NIPR is only doing this in a handful of states:

• Oregon
• Washington D.C.
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina

By using the online application, you will speed up the process by half!  Make sure to follow all of the instructions listed at NIPRs site, and remember that you will still need your fingerprints.  There are instructions as to how to deal with the prints online as well. 

Here’s the link to access NIPRs website:  http://www.nipr.com/