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Would you like to see a demo of an ICA eLearning course before you purchase it so you know what to expect? Now you can! Follow the links below to see a brief demo of the course you'd like to take.

C1 Course Demo | C2 Course Demo | C3 Course Demo | C4 Course Demo

Education FAQs: What's New?

Updated 11.14.12

Q. How do I purchase an eLearning Course?

A. ICA eLearning Courses can now be purchased via the following online store:

Click here to purchase an ICA Course via the Vantage Online Store.

Q. Who do I contact for troubleshooting my eLearning course?

A. Please e-mail either Rich Overholt (roverholt@vantage.com) or Beth Tobin (btobin@vantage.com) with any technical support questions you may have in regards to the online store or your eLearning course.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?

A. You have six months from the date of purchase to study for and take the exam (complete the course).

Q. I already studied the course materials with the book and would now like to purchase the exam. Where do I go to purchase the exam only?

A. Unfortunately we no longer sell exams as an individual product due to the conversion of our courses to online eLearning. To access the exam, you must purchase the entire online course.

Q. When did the conversion to eLearning take place?

A. The official conversion occurred on September 1, 2011.

Education Program

The ICA Claims Education Program provides an introduction to life and health insurance and a thorough understanding of claim administration for both individual and group coverage. The valuable working knowledge students gain from the program provides them with a professional edge and becomes their "claim to excellence" in the industry.

Continuing education has become a career necessity for many life and health claim professionals. Students who participate in the program reflect their commitment and dedication to the claim profession.

The benefits of ICA education are not limited to claim personnel. Many companies encourage underwriting, legal and actuarial personnel to participate. Since the program administered its first examination in 1965, students have enrolled for more than 100,000 examinations.

"The medical knowledge I have gained from Course C1 of the ICA Claims Education Program-Medical and Dental Aspects of Claims-has been especially helpful in my job and in my personal understanding of medical terminology."

Marjorie Tveitnes
Underwriter
Shelter Life Insurance Company

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New Professional Designation

Beginning in the Fall of 1997, the ICA Claims Education Program expanded to a two-tiered curriculum: the Associate, Life and Health Claims (ALHC) Program and the new Fellow, Life and Health Claims (FLHC) Program.

The ALHC Program remains unchanged and consists of six courses designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the administration of life and health insurance claims. Over 10,000 claim professionals have distinguished themselves by earning the ALHC designation. The new FLHC Program builds upon the ALHC Program and offers a more advanced level of claim education through four additional courses.

One of the most advantageous aspects of earning the ALHC and FLHC designations are their long-term benefits. Information gained from these programs will be of optimum value to students both now and in the future. In turn, these claim professionals will be more valuable to their companies.

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Introductory Courses

The required introductory course segment consists of two introductory courses that present a basic working knowledge of life and health insurance, and the operations of life and health insurance companies. To satisfy the introductory course segment requirements, students may complete specified courses offered by:

LOMA (FLMI Program)
The Health Insurance Association of America (HIA Program)
The American College (CLU Program)*
The Life Underwriters Association of Canada (CLU Program)*

A listing of the specific courses can be found in the ICA Claims Education Program Booklet.

* Students wishing to use specified courses in either CLU Program must complete these courses before September 30, 1997. After that date, courses from the CLU Program cannot be used to satisfy the introductory course segment.

"We are pleased with the number of employees who are now trying to maximize their personal potential by participating in the insurance education program offered by the ICA . . . This program introduces newcomers to our business and polishes or expands the skills of our seasoned industry professionals."

Pat Wlodarczyk
Director of Human Resources
Monumental General Insurance Company

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Preparing for Examinations

The ICA Claims Education Program Booklet provides complete information about preparing for both the ALHC and FLHC Programs. The ICA Claims Education Program is designed as an independent self-study program. Preparation for the examination depends on individual circumstances and study habits. For most examinations, two or three months of preparation are required. Students have six months from the date of course purchase to study for and complete the exam.

Completion of eLearning

Upon completing all requirements of the ICA Claims Education Program, the student is entitled to use the professional designation "ALHC" or "FLHC", and will receive a diploma from the International Claim Association.*

*The ALHC and FLHC designations are awarded only upon successful completion of all required courses in both the introductory and ICA course segments. Completion of all required ICA courses does not result in a student earning the ALHC or FLHC designation until all introductory course requirements have been met as well and proof of such completion has been provided.

The ICA Claims Education Program is administered by McCann Associates under the direction of the ICA Education Committee. More information about the ICA Claims Education Program may be obtained by contacting: ICA at 202-452-0143.

The ALHC and FLHC Programs

Beginning in the the Fall of 1997, the ICA Claim Education Program expanded to a two-tiered curriculum: the Associate, Life and Health Claims (ALHC) Program and the Fellow, Life and Health Claims (FLHC) Program. The ALHC Program, which will remain unchanged, consists of six courses designed to provide students with a thorough background in the administration of life and health insurance claims. The new FLHC Program will build upon the ALHC Program by offering an advanced level of claim education through four additional courses.

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ALHC Program

The ALHC Program consists of six courses: two Introductory Courses and four ALHC Courses. Students may enroll for examinations in the Introductory or ICA Course segments in any order; however, the ICA recommends that students complete the Introductory Courses before enrolling for ALHC Courses.

Introductory Courses may be satisfied by successful completion of two specific parts of any of the following educational programs:

FLMI Program
AHIP Program
CLU Program (American)
CLU Program (Canadian)

Complete information about the specific courses in the programs that qualify as Introductory Courses can be found in the ICA Claims Education Program Brochure, which may be downloaded from this site.

The four ALHC Courses build upon the basic insurance knowledge gained through completion of the Introductory Courses. The ALHC Courses include:

Course C1, Medical Aspects of Claims - Describes the anatomy and physiology of the human body, as well as disorders and treatment of the various body systems.
Course C2, Life and Health Insurance Law - Provides the student with an understanding of the insurance policy as a legal contract. Sets forth aspects of statutory law, case law, and common law as they pertain to claim administration.
Course C3, Claim Administration - Describes the administration of claims under life and health insurance contracts (both individual and group), including investigation and cost control techniques. Course
C4, Management of Claim Operations - Focuses on the application of management theory to the operations of claim departments, including the management functions of planning, controlling, organizing and leading.

Upon successful completion of all required courses in both the Introductory and ALHC Course segments, students will be awarded the ALHC professional designation and will receive a diploma from the International Claim Association. Students achieving an average score of 90 or better (with no previous failures) on all ICA Course examinations will be awarded diplomas "with distinction."

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FLHC Program

For those students looking to pursue a higher, more advanced level of claim education, the ICA offers the Fellow, Life and Health Claims (FLHC) professional designation. This program is designed to provide a broader knowledge and understanding of claims by focusing on related insurance functions. Although the successful completion of the entire ALHC Program curriculum is a prerequisite to earning the FLHC designation, students may enroll for courses in either curriculum in any order. However, because the FLHC Program builds upon the knowledge gained from the ALHC Program curriculum, the ICA recommends completion of the entire ALHC Program before undertaking the FLHC Program.

Students who earned the ALHC designation prior to the 1991 introduction of C4, Management of Claim Operations, are required to complete C4 in order to earn the FLHC designation.

The FLHC curriculum consists of four courses in total: three required LOMA courses and one elective from LOMA or the American College.

The three required LOMA courses include:

ACS 100 — Foundations of Customer Service. Provides a solid base of knowledge in understanding customer service concepts and strategies, building a customer service culture, understanding customers and customer service research, establishing and measuring the performance of customer service systems, and developing a dedicated customer service staff.
LOMA 320 — Life and Health Insurance Marketing. Covers marketing principles and the function of marketing as an integral aspect of the life and health insurance industry.
UND 386 — Underwriting Life & Health Insurance. Introduces risk assessment principles applied to underwriting individual and group life and health and insurance, including specialized policies and supplemental coverages.

For the fourth course in the FLHC curriculum, students are required to complete any one of the following electives:

LOMA Courses:

LOMA 351 — Financial Services Environment. Provides an understanding of the financial system, financial markets, interest rates, the banking system, financial institutions, and the basics of economic theory.
LOMA 371 — Managing for Solvency and Profitability in Life Insurance Companies. Explains the management issues surrounding enterprise risk management, capital, product development, and product design for life insurance annuities.
AIRC 410 — Regulatory Compliance: Companies, Producers, and Operations. Describes the structure of state and federal insurance regulation within the framework of insurance organizations. The focus of this course is on how specific roles and functions within an insurance company are affected by the changing nature of these compliance issues.
AIRC 420 — Regulatory Compliance: Insurance and Annuity Products. Describes how the state and federal governments regulate insurance and annuity products offered by insurance companies in the United States.

American College Courses

HS 321 — Income Taxation. Examines the federal income tax system with particular reference to the taxation of individuals. Covers such concepts as gross income, exclusions from gross income, deductions, tax credits, capital gains and losses, taxation of life insurance and annuities and income taxation of partners, partnerships, corporations and shareholders.
HS 330 — Fundamentals of Estate Planning. Covers various aspects of estate and gift tax planning, including the nature, valuation, transfer, administration and taxation of property. Provides a basic understanding of the estate and gift tax system, including strategies of estate planning. Discusses gratuitous transfers of property outright or with trusts, wills and powers of appointment; use of the marital deduction; valuation of assets; and buy-sell agreements. Covers the client interview, fact finding, ethical standards and development of personal estate plans.
HS 331 — Planning for Business Owners and Professionals. Focuses on tax and legal aspects of organizing a business; compensation planning for the business owner; business succession planning; buy-sell agreements; estate planning and estate freezing techniques; methods for transferring a family business; lifetime disposition of a business interest

Complete information and registration information on American College Courses are available through The American College at (610) 526-1490.

Upon successful completion of all four courses in the FLHC Program curriculum and all six courses in the ALHC Program curriculum, students will be awarded the FLHC-professional designation and will receive a diploma from the International Claim Association. Students achieving an average score of 90 or better (with no previous failures) on all McCann Associates administered exams will be awarded diplomas "with distinction."

McCann Associates administers the ALHC and FLHC Programs under the direction of the ICA Education Committee. A brochure describing the ICA Claims Education Program in more detail may be downloaded from this site.

Many colleges and universities grant credits for successful completion of the ICA Claims Education Program courses. See the ICA Claims Education Program Booklet for details.

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© International Claim Association
1155 15th Street, NW • Suite 500 • Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 452-0143 • Fax: (202) 530-0659 • E-mail: dchuba@claim.org