How to Study Insurance Institute of London Revision

How to Study Insurance Institute of London Revision Lecture Xchanging Building 1. 15 pm, Monday 21 st January 2008 How to Study & Revise for your CII Exams Len Wilkins FCII, Consultant & Chris Paine Dip CII, Consultant Chairman : Mr Richard King BSc (Hons) AMIMA ACIArb Senior Consultant, Helix UK Limited IIL Revision Lectures are kindly sponsored by Xchanging With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 1

How to Study Introduction Ø CII has introduced important changes to structure of obtaining CII qualifications Ø CII constantly reviews syllabus content Ø No comments on syllabus changes today Ø CII has now taken over responsibility for Lloyd’s Training Centre & their courses Ø Please contact CII Face-to-Face Training for ACII Revision Days on 0207 283 3117 With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 2

How to Study New CII Designation System Ø Award in Insurance (FIT) Ø Certificate in Insurance (Cert CII) Ø Diploma in Insurance (Dip CII) Ø Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII) Ø Beyond that is CII Fellowship Ø MSc in Insurance and Risk Management at Cass Business School Ø Chartered Status & Chartered Firm Titles Ø New CII Faculties – Underwriting, Claims, Broking, London Market Ø CITIP & Certificate in Contract Wording With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 3

How to Study I don’t want to do this – don’t worry, nobody does Ø You’re not going to believe it, but studying can be fun Ø For those of you used to studying, some thoughts Ø For those of you who struggle, or are studying for the first time, some ideas ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 4

How to Study Firstly, why people fail !! Research has show that students fail CII exams for three reasons Ø ONE - they did not PREPARE Ø TWO - they did not FINISH examination paper Ø THREE - they did not PRACTISE answering questions You have been warned – so you need to study properly to avoid these traps With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 5

How to Study Ø We’re going to look at : Studying Recalling Reviewing Revising Although CII exams are not typical academic exams, exam techniques still vital – please attend “How to Pass Your CII Exams” here at Xchanging at 1. 15 pm on Monday 18 th February With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 6

How to Study Five Golden Rules to Studying Ø Rule One – organise yourself Ø Rule Two - activate your brain - find out what motivates it - if you’re bored, so is your brain ! Ø Rule Three - you can’t revise until you’ve learned your subject - you should allow eight weeks to revise With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 7

How to Study Five Golden Rules to Studying Ø Rule Four - if your existing study methods don’t work, perhaps it’s time to find new ways of learning and lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Ø Rule Five - promise yourself you will study NOW and not day before exams With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 8

How to Study Step One Ø Decide on correct examination route : Ø Award Ø Certificate Ø Diploma Ø Advanced Diploma Ø Decide number of study subjects - no more than two at any one sitting, please Ø Establish how long it will take to study various subject levels With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 9

How to Study Time & CII Credits Required Ø Cert CII Average 50 hours ( 40 credits) Ø Dip CII Average 96 hours (110 credits) Ø ACII Average 120 hours (290 credits) With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 10

How to Study Step Two Ø Buy stationery supplies Ø Pads, pens, highlighter pens Ø Drawing pins or ‘Bluetack’ Ø Sticky tape Ø Tape recorder Ø Old posters or flipchart Ø Now make up study plan allowing for study and play time – then STICK TO IT ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 11

How to Study Step Three Ø Start with copy of syllabus. CII grades it, so see what's important and what extra reading is recommended Ø Exams set from syllabus, so make sure you know what is important and how much detail you need to know Ø Shame to study something CII doesn’t worry about or removed from syllabus two years ago With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 12

How to Study Step Four Ø Look at previous exam guides for past two years (last four exam sessions) Ø Look at topics that have been used for compulsory questions, essay questions and short answer questions Ø Produce list, grid or ‘matrix’ of what comes up regularly and what never seems to be examined With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 13

How to Study Time to make plans Ø Obtain copy of CII Examination Guides provide hints, tips and answering ‘styles’ – only official source of CII questions Ø £ 9. 00 + VAT from CII website or CII e-mail for members (£ 10. 00 + VAT for non-members) Ø www. cii. co. uk or customer. serv@cii. co. uk Ø CII Customer Services 0208 989 8464 Ø Talk to others who have taken exam recently and pick their brains – now you know where to focus your mind ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 14

How to Study Time to make plans Ø You need to plan your time Ø Work out when you are most responsive to new ideas - weekends, early mornings, late at night Ø How much time will you need ? Ø Fit studying around work, social life, holidays, study assignments, revision times With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 15

How to Study Time to make plans Ø Do this and you will accept study time more easily, realise your aims are feasible and stand chance of keeping your sense of humour (and your partner’s support) Ø Once you’ve made this plan, KEEP TO IT ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 16

Weekly Time Plan How to Study Ø Weekly Study Time for each Subject Level Ø Cert CII – Total Study 35 to 50 Hours Ø 3 to 4 hours a week Ø Dip CII – Total Study 100 to 150 Hours Ø 6 to 8 hours a week Ø ACII – Total Study 120 to 150 Hours Ø 8 to 10 hours a week With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 17

How to Study How to Plan For example : Ø Starting in October for April Exam Ø Mid-September to Mid-December = 13 weeks Ø January to February = 8 weeks Ø Revision should begin on or near 1 st March With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 18

How to Study Step Five Ø Assess syllabus and course text-book to see what study time required. Don’t allow set time for each chapter. GRADE the subjects into degrees of difficulty : Ø HARD – much thought & concentration Ø DIFFICULT - some hard work Ø EASY - needs revising, simple background reading With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 19

How to Study Step Five Ø Now allocate your time over these subjects on 3: 2: 1 ratio Ø 3 hours for hard Ø 2 hours for difficult Ø 1 hour for easy With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 20

How to Study It’s up to you Ø Try to get face-to-face tuition. If not, arrange own your study group at work Ø Continuous Assessment Assignments Ø Time to start studying. Scan-read book, ignore bits you don’t need. Take text that’s important to you and rephrase words into your own style. Summarise text passages Ø Get friend to ask you questions, check your answers and assist your revision With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 21

How to Study Don’t just write notes Ø Don’t just write notes - use colours, pictures, boxes, rhymes - anything to help your memory and give your brain something tangible to hold on to Ø Use your imagination – even write your own short questions in margin Ø Use unrelated items – any form of thought association With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 22

How to Study Don’t just write notes Ø Put important points on “flash” cards, posters or notes suitable for you - use acronyms, phrases, triggers Ø Tape main points of a passage and replay them - use gags, music, sing to the text Ø Could you forget principles of FSMA 2000 sung to ‘I will Survive’? Ø Play Insurance ‘Mastermind’ or ‘Scrabble’ With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 23

How to Study Making notes will give your brain something to retain when it gets DIFFICULT Ø MOVEMENT Ø EXAGGERATION Ø Make it INTERESTING Ø Make it FUNNY Ø Use MNEMONICS (system for improving memory) With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 24

How to Study Anyone for Tennis ? Ø If you have partner in life, don’t forget about them Ø Are they supportive - ask them to test you Ø Get them to use flash cards With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 25

How to Study Stupid, but it works !! Ø Before you start, say out loud : ‘I am going to pass this exam; in fact, I am going to get a distinction’ (Okay, you might have to stretch truth there) Ø Don’t get bored - give your brain variety Ø Work personal reward system With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 26

How to Study Revision Ø Passive Revision - learning, reviewing notes, re-expressing facts, concepts and ideas Ø Active Revision - answer questions, memory ‘joggers’ - words, rhymes, tapes, flash cards or notes for key points and legal cases - put them round house - mind maps to link things together and above all practise under exam conditions ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 27

How to Study Revision Ø Use continuous assessment facilities or correspondence courses, On-Line help such as CII ed, CD-Ro. M & Interactive, Key Facts Booklets, Distance Learning, CII Revision Days and CII Knowledge Services – again please contact CII Face-to-Face Training Ø Plan your revision - prepare timetable that includes work and leisure, then stick to it Ø Remember, you need somewhere quiet, free of distractions, equipped with study space With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 28

How to Study The end is in sight, so keep going Ø Revise in attainable chunks - not whole syllabus all at once Ø Study for 40 minutes - revise and review for 40 minutes - 15 minute reward break - then repeat process Ø Lastly review key points you’ve learned for 5 minutes - technique will help put facts into your long-term memory – start all over again With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 29

How to Study The end is in sight, so keep going Ø Just before you go to bed, review key points of all facts you’ve learned during session Ø LASTLY, don’t forget to set alarm clock for 30 minutes earlier than usual - revisit key facts from previous day Ø You will be amazed how many facts you remember ! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 30

How to Study Remember ……. . Ø Practise writing answers - you will find out what you don’t know! Would you have passed your driving test without driving a car first ? Ø Thousands of people pass CII exams every year and every year CII appoints hundreds of new ACII’s, Dip CII’s and Cert CII’s Ø Remember, one day this could be …………. . YOU !!!!! With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 31

How to Study Co-Authors of this Presentation Len Wilkins FCII SICAT Training Consultancy Telephone 01451 821063 Mobile 07970 668849 E-Mail lenwilkins@btinternet. com Chris Paine Dip CII Independent Training Consultant & Advisor Telephone 01923 775049 Mobile 07770 671840 E-Mail painefamily@supanet. com With grateful acknowledgement to The Chartered Insurance Institute Updated C Paine January 2008 32