News

Etana summer school to empower incREDible brokers for FSB exams

2 November, 2010

Etanans are passionate about the insurance industry and about the role brokers play in providing excellent service and advice to clients. With this in mind, the Etana Academy will be providing support for anyone in the Etana broker fraternity who is required to write mandatory Financial Services Board (FSB) exams.

To make the examinations as painless as possible, Etana has been hosting RE Level 1 workshops throughout the country in collaboration with the local insurance institute (FIA ) office. These workshops will continue in 2011. In addition, from February to March 2011 Etanans will be able to attend a series of three-day intensive courses at Etana’s Johannesburg offices. The educational sessions will cover all the material contained in the FSB exams. In addition, Etanans will be given the opportunity to write the exam at the same venue, directly after the course.

The sessions will be run during February and March 2011. To register, log in as an Etana broker on the website, check out the preparatory material and register for the course in your region.

“It is clear from the poor results of the trials and pilots that those who wrote the examinations were ill prepared. By the nature of their jobs, key individuals and representatives are busy people, so we are offering them th easiest method of studying for and passing these exams first time round,” says Etana Academy head Fatima Maharaj.

“Many of those required to write these exams have not had to study or write exams in a long time, which is why Etana will provide tips and guidance on how to tackle these exams, from studying to writing,” she adds.

Maharaj says Etana remains in close contact with those responsible for creating the study material and drafting the exams, as well as the FSB, and INSETA.

“There have been numerous changes made to study material for the exams, but Etana is in a position to provide vital guidance in this regard,” Maharaj adds.

“Etana is offering training free of charge to save people money and wasted time,” she says.

The FSB, the body that regulates the financial services industry (banks, insurers, intermediaries and retirement funds), has given to go ahead for registration for level 1 examinations in categories I, II, IIA III and IV. The role each person fulfils in the insurance industry determines which exam they are required to write. The first-level regulatory examination (RE1) exams must be written by “key individuals”, while the first-level representative examinations (RE5) are written by “representatives”.

Sole proprietors fulfill the roles of both key individual and representative and as such are required to write both examinations.

The date set for completion of Level 1 exams is December 31 2011, but all industry members are urged to register as soon as possible to avoid a last-minute rush.

Should you have to repeat the examination, an additional two-month period (ending on February 28, 2012) has been allocated for rewriting.

The pass mark for RE1 and RE5 is 65%, and the fee per exam is R900 (incl VAT).

To read more, download the FSB announcement in PDF format.