Life Insurance The ABCs of Professionals

Finding a good life insurance agent can get confusing. There are so many things that you just don?t understand. How about all of the abbreviations on their business cards or in their yellow page ads?

Here?s a short list of the most popular abbreviations you will see:

CLU: Chartered Life Underwriter ? a professional advertiser in business and family financial security in regards to life insurance. This designation comes from an accrediting institution. A comprehensive course of study and the passing of a series of 10 college level exams is required. They must be knowledgeable in the areas of life insurance, pensions, taxation, finance, economics and business and estate planning. There are strict ethical and experience requirements. It usually takes five years to become a CLU.

LUTCF: Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow ?those who meet or exceed the qualification standards of The American College and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. This designation shows a strong code of ethics and professionalism. There are five courses required to become a fellow, with two being personal insurance or business insurance classes.

ChFC: Chartered Financial Consultant ? an agent that is also a financial planner. This is a professional equipped to handle both life insurance and financial planning. There is a broad course program that must be completed to display this designation.

AEP: Accredited Estate Planner ? this title is awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to professional estate planners, attorneys, CLUs, ChFCs and others that meet qualification requirements and pass two graduate level courses from The American College.

CFP: Certified Financial Planner ? CFPs are increasingly popular among consumers. The right to use this designation is for those who have gone through educational training and agree to follow the CFP Board Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

FLMI: Fellow Life Management Institute ? this designation shows that the agent has a solid foundation of knowledge in life and health insurance. It is administered by the Life Office Management Association.

When choosing an agent, you should also take the time to look into any memberships in professional associations, such as the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, or NAIFA.
Martin Lukac - EzineArticles Expert Author

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!