Insurance Business reported in late February on IBAC’s launch of CAIB New Edition 1.0, a modernized version of the Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker program. Now, IBAC chief executive Peter Braid (pictured) is putting more detail around what he insists is not just a cosmetic refresh, but a fundamental shift in how brokers are trained – with cyber risk moved firmly into the core syllabus.
Braid describes CAIB as IBAC’s flagship education program with a dual role in the broker channel.
“The first volumes of CAIB serve as an important licensing pathway for new brokers in most provinces across the country,” he said. “When a student completes all four volumes of CAIB, they achieve their CAIB designation - a distinguished designation for the broker channel in our industry.”
That central role, combined with a faster, more complex risk environment, drove IBAC’s decision to rebuild the program’s structure and content.
Where previous iterations of CAIB were delivered exclusively through a printed textbook, the new edition is offered in three parallel formats designed to suit different learning styles and study patterns.
“Now we have a new graphically enhanced textbook, a new digital online learning management system, and, thirdly, an e‑book,” he said.
The goal, he explained, is to align the program with how today’s entrants actually consume information.
“Today’s insurance broker is tech‑savvy and continuously on the go,” he noted. “We’re really now in a position to cater to their learning preferences with these three different modalities.”
The program continues to be “developed by brokers for brokers,” with practising intermediaries involved in writing and reviewing material to keep it anchored in the realities of day‑to‑day client work rather than abstract theory.
IBAC ran a pilot of CAIB New Edition 1.0 through the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia last fall before beginning a national rollout via its provincial member associations.
Braid said the fall pilot was very successful, noting that BC students responded positively to both the refreshed content and the new digital formats, which they felt boosted engagement, interactivity and how well they retained the material.
The shift, he argued, is not just about presentation but about how deeply brokers engage with the material.
“Students are telling us that they’re actually learning the material, and not just memorizing it,” Braid said.
Alongside the delivery overhaul, IBAC has updated CAIB’s substantive content to reflect emerging exposures. One of the most notable additions is a dedicated chapter on cyber insurance.
Braid characterised cyber as a “pressing issue” for small businesses and individuals, pointing to the pace at which both the threat landscape and the insurance product have evolved.
“It’s essential that brokers have the knowledge and the tools and the understanding to have effective conversations with their small business clients.”
With artificial intelligence and automation now being deployed by both underwriters and attackers, Braid said there is value in having cyber content developed and curated by people who work those accounts.
“When someone who is training to become a new insurance broker can learn directly from brokers who are in the field, that makes all the difference,” he said.
Braid stressed that New Edition 1.0 is intended as the beginning of a continuous process, not a one-off project. IBAC is building in regular reviews of structure and substance, informed by students, instructors, and member associations.
“CAIB will continue to evolve,” he said. “We will continue to refine and improve this flagship education program based on feedback that we receive from students, from instructors, and from our member associations.”
A formal cycle of yearly content updates is designed to ensure the designation keeps pace with new developments – whether in cyber, AI, specialty products or regulation – without waiting years for another major rewrite.
“That will allow us to ensure that CAIB continues to reflect key emerging issues and trends in the insurance marketplace that brokers need to know,” Braid said.
