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As we start to prepare for the opening of our September exam registrations , we sat down with The Insurance Institute CEO , Dermot Murray to chat to him about the accreditation move to IT Sligo .

Dermot , some of our readers may not understand what accreditation means and particularly why it is so important to the qualifications offered by The Institute . Can you explain this ? Accreditation is simply the name of the process by which qualifications are placed on the National Framework of Qualifications ( NFQ ). As we offer minimum competency qualifications to our members , we must have them accredited as this is a prerequisite for the Central Bank under the Minimum Competency Code ( MCC ).

Why did The Institute make the move from their existing accreditation partner ? To put it simply , we had to . Following changes to the way that qualifications are governed in Ireland , programmes must now be accredited directly by an Awarding Body . As a result , we are no longer in a position to continue our arrangement whereby we were accredited by the Institute of Banking via their subsidiary , the College of Professional Finance who in turn were accredited by UCD .

How did you make the decision to move to IT Sligo ? Following a consultation period , we recognised early on that IT Sligo has the potential to be a great partner . They are recognised as one of Ireland ’ s leading innovators in the use of technology and flexible learning , so they are perfect for us and our students as we look to bring further improvements to our suite of educational programmes in the coming years .

You wrote to all members back in May to advise them of the move . What was the overall feedback like ? Very positive . Of course we had questions , we expected that , but this was mainly from existing qualified members who were wondering if it affected their existing qualifications and designation status , which it doesn ’ t .

What is the impact of the move to studying members ? As of September 2018 , anyone who registers for an exam or completes

Issue 7 • September 2018 • The Insider