Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU(R)) is a professional designation in property-casualty insurance and risk management. It is the premier designation in the insurance industry. Approximately 65,000 people have earned the designation, since its inception in 1942. The rigorous curriculum includes eight (8) post-secondary undergraduate-, or graduate-level courses covering topics such as insurance law, history, contracts, ratemaking, and risk management, as well as business courses in finance, corporate structure, and ethics.
Designees must pass exams in four (4) core courses, three (3) courses in either a personal or commercial insurance concentration, and one (1) elective of their choosing. These exams are standardized, three-hour essay- or objective-type exams. Essay exams consist of two types of questions. Part "A" questions test to determine understanding of the course's terminology, concepts, and content. Part "B" questions test to determine the ability of the examinee to apply the information to case-based scenarios.
CPCU designees are also bound by a Code of Ethics, and must satisfy an experience requirement of at least two years of industry experience. The CPCU designation is administered by the American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters
Designation holders have formed a professional society, the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society. In addition to annual national meetings which serves as a conferment ceremony, the society has local chapters throughout out the country.
Four core courses:
CPCU 500 Foundations of Risk Management and Insurance
CPCU 520 Insurance Operations
CPCU 530 Business Law for Insurance Professionals
CPCU 540 Finance for Risk Management and Insurance Professionals
Commercial Concentration (with personal survey)
CPCU 551 Commercial Property Risk Management and Insurance
CPCU 552 Commercial Liability Risk Management and Insurance
CPCU 553 Survey of Personal Risk Management, Insurance, and Financial Planning
Personal Concentration (with commercial survey)
CPCU 555 Personal Risk Management and Property-Liability Insurance
CPCU 556 Personal Financial Planning
CPCU 557 Survey of Commercial Risk Management and Insurance
Elective Courses
AAI 83 Agency Operations and Sales Management
AIC 34 Workers Compensation and Managing Bodily Injury Claims
AIC 35 Property Loss Adjusting
AIC 36 Liability Claim Practices
ARe 144 Reinsurance Principles and Practices
ARM 56 Risk Financing
AU 65 Commercial Underwriting: Principles and Property
AU 66 Commercial Underwriting: Liability and Advanced Techniques
CPCU 560 Financial Services Institutions
ERM 57 Enterprise-Wide Risk Management: Developing and Implementing