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Course overview

This course is no longer accepting new enrolments.

IMPORTANT: This qualification has been impacted by recent changes announced by the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). As a result, the final date Kaplan Professional will accept assessment submissions is 21 December 2022This means you may not receive the full maximum duration advertised for this qualification and/or may not be able to access one or more extensions that might otherwise have been available to you under Kaplan Professional’s vocational education extension policy. It is essential all students review the information here to understand what this means for you before proceeding with your enrolment. If you enrol, it will be taken that you have read and understood this information.

 

The FNS41515 Certificate IV in Life Insurance – Underwriting Stream is for people who already work or want to work in the life insurance industry.

The Underwriting stream includes an introduction to legislation, life insurance products and services, claims and the skills to work well with clients. This stream focuses on risk, underwriting complex medical risk, underwriting complex non-medical risk and the use of specialist terminology.

Please refer to the course outline for more information.

Learning outcomes

Course learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this qualification, students should be able to:

  • apply legislation, regulation and procedures to a life underwriting job role
  • identify life insurance products and services and who they are suitable for
  • understand the concepts of life risk and underwriting
  • respond to client enquiries with client relationship management skills
  • present a positive perception and adapt to a diversity of clients
  • use client feedback to participate in continuous improvement processes
  • understand the dispute resolution process and complaint management skills
  • explain the process of underwriting complex medical risks
  • understand the process of underwriting complex non-medical risks
  • describe the concepts of claims assessment and its relationship to underwriting
  • seek assistance with complex specialist and medical terminology as needed

Topics covered

  • Topic 1: Life insurance and the financial services industry
  • Topic 2: Life insurance products and services
  • Topic 3: Work well with clients
  • Topic 4: Life insurance risk
  • Topic 5: Life insurance underwriting
  • Topic 6: Life insurance advanced underwriting
  • Topic 7: Life insurance claims

Units of competency

The 13 units of competency are awarded for the successful completion of Certificate IV qualification; 2 core and 11 electives. For information on the units of competency see the course outline in the course overview tab.

Continuing professional development (CPD)

If you wish to apply for CPD points so that your Kaplan Professional insurance course counts towards your membership with the relevant industry body, you will need to supply the industry body with a copy of your transcript listing the units of competency.

Upon successful completion of this qualification, students should be able to:

  • apply legislation, regulation and procedures to a life underwriting job role
  • identify life insurance products and services and who they are suitable for
  • understand the concepts of life risk and underwriting
  • respond to client enquiries with client relationship management skills
  • present a positive perception and adapt to a diversity of clients
  • use client feedback to participate in continuous improvement processes
  • understand the dispute resolution process and complaint management skills
  • explain the process of underwriting complex medical risks
  • understand the process of underwriting complex non-medical risks
  • describe the concepts of claims assessment and its relationship to underwriting
  • seek assistance with complex specialist and medical terminology as needed
  • Topic 1: Life insurance and the financial services industry
  • Topic 2: Life insurance products and services
  • Topic 3: Work well with clients
  • Topic 4: Life insurance risk
  • Topic 5: Life insurance underwriting
  • Topic 6: Life insurance advanced underwriting
  • Topic 7: Life insurance claims

The 13 units of competency are awarded for the successful completion of Certificate IV qualification; 2 core and 11 electives. For information on the units of competency see the course outline in the course overview tab.

If you wish to apply for CPD points so that your Kaplan Professional insurance course counts towards your membership with the relevant industry body, you will need to supply the industry body with a copy of your transcript listing the units of competency.

Assessment

The assessments for each course are listed below. Units of competency are co-assessed by topic within subjects, as listed in ‘Units of competency’.

AssessmentsDetail
1 ExamSupervised, open book multiple choice examination.
1 Written and Oral AssignmentWritten and oral assignment – two (2) attempts

• Written - short answer questions, case studies

• Oral - Oral questions/role play.

The mode of oral assessment is by audio recording. As part of the course requirements, you will need to find a volunteer to assist you with the role play in your oral assignment.

Individuals may attempt the exam and/or submit their assignment at any time if they believe they are adequately prepared. Individuals will receive personal reminder emails as they approach their assessment deadlines.

Individuals must be deemed competent in all assessment items, including demonstrating competency in all of the exam questions, in order to be awarded their qualification or course.

The FNS41515 Certificate IV in Life Insurance – Underwriting Stream qualification will be awarded upon successful completion of all units of competency.

To learn more about what to expect when completing an oral assignment using audio please click here.

Duration

Individuals have a total of:

  • 26 weeks to complete the learning and assessment requirements for FNS41515 Certificate IV in Life Insurance – Underwriting Stream, from their initial activation date.
  • An additional four (4) weeks resubmission time – If you reach the end of your initial enrolment period and have been deemed not yet competent in one or more assessment items, then an additional 4 weeks will be granted, provided you attempted all assessment tasks during the initial enrolment period. There is no fee for this extension.

Therefore, if an individual completes the learning and assessment, and the resubmission time in every subject is granted, the duration will be 30 weeks.

The amount of training for this course may be up to 15 hours per week. The amount of training is the hours an individual can expect to spend to complete their course work and assessments.

In addition to the amount of training, individuals who are new to industry or vocational training could need up to 5 hours per week known as unsupervised hours. These additional hours are for study skills or further research. For example, an individual not working in industry would need more time to review industry websites that are usually introduced in workplace compliance training. Individuals working in industry may be able to complete the course requirements in a shorter timeframe or less hours per week.

If a student applies for extensions beyond the 30-week completion timeframe or is granted special consideration, the maximum period of time to complete this qualification is two years from the qualification activation date.  If enrolling in single subjects with the intention of completing a qualification, the two year timeframe is calculated from the initial activation date of the first subject.

Additional study-related fees apply to formal extensions and re-enrolments. Please refer to the Vocational Education Fees schedule found here.

Please also refer to our Vocational Education and Training (VET) Enrolment Terms and Conditions here or our Student Handbook here for important information on:

  • Subject activation and completion timeframes
  • Extensions
  • Subject re-enrolment

Education requirements

There are no educational entry requirements.

Individuals are required to be aged 18 years or older to enrol in this course.

Language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) requirements

This course requires you to read comprehensive learner workbooks, complete a range of written assessments, undertake independent research activities and at times engage in online forums and discussions. Furthermore, the delivery mode relies on the extensive use of written and oral communication.

If you have any doubts about whether you have the language, literacy and numeracy skills to undertake a Kaplan Professional program, we recommend you speak with our Student Services team on 1300 662 203 or email mail@kaplan.edu.au.

Computing requirements

Recommended browsers

You can access KapLearn using any of the browsers below, but it runs best on the latest versions:

  • Firefox 3 or later
  • Chrome 4 or later
  • Safari 3 or later
  • Internet Explorer

You may find it helpful to have more than one browser installed on your computer. If you experience problems using Kaplan’s online learning system, try using another browser.

Browser settings and support

For the best user experience at Kaplan’s online learning system, select the following browser settings:

  • enable cookies
  • enable JavaScript
  • do not block pop-up windows

Audio recording app

You will need to use a free or paid audio-recording app on your phone, tablet or computer to record and submit your oral assignment. Most devices come with a free built-in audio/voice-recording app. More information should be available in your device manual or on the device manufacturer’s website. Below are help links for some popular devices.

Skill requirements

To successfully complete this qualification, individuals will require basic computing skills. This may include:

  • saving and editing Microsoft Office documents
  • researching, accessing and searching the internet
  • downloading and saving documents from websites
  • uploading documents through websites
  • making an audio recording using a smartphone, tablet or computer
  • participating in online discussions

This course requires you to read comprehensive learner workbooks, complete a range of written assessments, undertake independent research activities and at times engage in online forums and discussions. Furthermore, the delivery mode relies on the extensive use of written and oral communication.

If you have any doubts about whether you have the language, literacy and numeracy skills to undertake a Kaplan Professional program, we recommend you speak with our Student Services team on 1300 662 203 or email mail@kaplan.edu.au.

Recommended browsers

You can access KapLearn using any of the browsers below, but it runs best on the latest versions:

  • Firefox 3 or later
  • Chrome 4 or later
  • Safari 3 or later
  • Internet Explorer

You may find it helpful to have more than one browser installed on your computer. If you experience problems using Kaplan’s online learning system, try using another browser.

Browser settings and support

For the best user experience at Kaplan’s online learning system, select the following browser settings:

  • enable cookies
  • enable JavaScript
  • do not block pop-up windows

Audio recording app

You will need to use a free or paid audio-recording app on your phone, tablet or computer to record and submit your oral assignment. Most devices come with a free built-in audio/voice-recording app. More information should be available in your device manual or on the device manufacturer’s website. Below are help links for some popular devices.

To successfully complete this qualification, individuals will require basic computing skills. This may include:

  • saving and editing Microsoft Office documents
  • researching, accessing and searching the internet
  • downloading and saving documents from websites
  • uploading documents through websites
  • making an audio recording using a smartphone, tablet or computer
  • participating in online discussions

Enrolment Information

You may enrol at any time and begin studying immediately on enrolment.

Enrol now

This subject is delivered online.

Kaplan’s online learning portal, KapLearn, enables the provision of innovative, interactive learning resources and support. KapLearn can be accessed anywhere at any time using a computer or mobile device that has internet access.

KapLearn is the access point for subject notes, supplementary learning material, practice activities and assessments. KapLearn is also the access point for ongoing support. The ‘Ask your tutor’ forum provides continuous technical support from subject matter experts.

Individuals may be able to obtain Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for a Kaplan Professional award subject based on their previous study and/or work experience. To do this, individuals must submit evidence demonstrating they have already met the requirements of the subject through these other means.

Evidence can take many forms, such as information about approved study, information about work experience, certificates, transcripts or other credentials.

To find out if you are eligible for RPL, refer to our Credit Transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) page.

Policies

Student policies

Individuals who enrol in a Kaplan Professional course are bound by our published policies, including the policy that sets out our rules for assessment. Individuals can review these policies here. The policies also assist individuals when their study program does not go as planned and they need extra support.

Terms and conditions

Click here to access our terms and conditions.

Refund policy

Access our refund policy

Support and wellbeing

We understand studying isn’t always easy; you may not have studied for some time or perhaps you haven’t studied online previously. Kaplan Professional recognises juggling study with work and family commitments, while trying to find the balance can be demanding.

Your wellbeing and safety is paramount to Kaplan Professional. We want to ensure your experience is well-rounded and balanced to help you attain the most from your studies, so we encourage you to take advantage of the services available to you.

Support and wellbeing

We understand studying isn’t always easy; you may not have studied for some time or perhaps you haven’t studied online previously. Kaplan Professional recognises juggling study with work and family commitments, while trying to find the balance can be demanding.

Your wellbeing and safety is paramount to Kaplan Professional. We want to ensure your experience is well-rounded and balanced to help you attain the most from your studies, so we encourage you to take advantage of the services available to you.

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