41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Teams - 9

Fraternal Designations

Become a Fraternal Professional

Kaplan partners with the Fraternal Field Managers’ Association (FFMA) to provide education and professional designations for fraternal professionals. FIC, FICF, and FFSC credentials are industry-recognized and support your professional growth.

Earn Industry Recognized Fraternal Designations

To earn a fraternal designation you must be a member of an FFMA dues-paying Society. If you are not a member of a Fraternal Society, please visit the FFMA Website to learn more about becoming a member.

Fraternal Insurance Counselor (FIC)Fraternal Insurance Counselor Fellow Program (FICF)Fraternal Financial Services Counselor Program (FFSC)

Fraternal Insurance Counselor Designation (FIC)

Learn More at ffma.co

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Business Professional - 14

Professional Growth

Build Consultative Expertise

Strengthen your product knowledge and refine your consultative selling approach to better serve members and clients.

Increase customer satisfaction
Enhance product knowledge
Support your organization’s goals

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Online Learning - 7

Professional Recognition

Join a National Fraternal Network

Earn eligibility to join the National Association of Fraternal Insurance Counselors (NAFIC) and connect with a trusted network of fraternal insurance professionals.

Web Migration Image Library Business Professional

Continuing Education

Earn Credits Toward Future Designations

Advance your credentials while earning CE credit for FIC courses, where approved.

CE eligibility varies by state
Receive $302 in credit toward The American College’s FSCP® designation

Fraternal Insurance Counselor Fellow Program (FICF)

Learn More at ffma.co

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Business Professional - 7

Credential Path

The Second Step in Fraternal Professional Development

The Fraternal Insurance Counselor Fellow (FICF) is the second designation in the fraternal credential journey, designed to deepen your commitment to the society while advancing your professional expertise.

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Teams - 20

Curriculum

Build Advanced Insurance & Financial Knowledge

Develop practical, industry-relevant skills through three graduate-level courses in Estate Planning, Business Insurance, and Financial Products.

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Online Learning - 5

Professional Impact

Strengthen Service and Organizational Value

Apply insurance-specific training to improve customer service outcomes and enhance your effectiveness as a Fraternal Professional within your organization.

Fraternal Financial Services Counselor Program (FFSC)

Learn More at ffma.co

41335 KFE - BRD - Web Migration - Image Library - Online Learning - 13

Credential Progression

The Next Step for Licensed Fraternal Advisors

The Fraternal Financial Services Counselor (FFSC) is the third fraternal designation, built for professionals who hold both insurance and securities licenses and are ready to advance their advising careers.

Expertise Expansion

Broaden Beyond Insurance into Wealth Management

Gain deeper knowledge of securities, financial products, and long-term wealth strategies to help clients achieve their financial goals with confidence.

Client & Career Value

Build Trust, Credibility, and Organizational Impact

Use a more consultative approach to increase client satisfaction, demonstrate enhanced expertise, support your organization’s goals, and earn eligible CE credit depending on your state.

FIC Program Overview

Basic Course, Part A: Introduction to Life Insurance

Learn the fundamentals of life insurance and successful selling.

Basic Course, Part B: Ethics for the Insurance Professional

An excellent ethics guide for insurance agents, this course is a balanced presentation of insurance agents' principle relationships with their culture.

Intermediate Course: Needs Analysis

Presenting the basics of needs-based consultative selling, this course teaches producers to compare a client’s financial objectives to their existing resources. This approach makes the needs for additional insurance crystal clear to the client.

Advanced Course: Introduction to Advanced Markets

This course outlines the concepts producers must understand to move into advanced markets. It explains how to prospect for and get the attention of business owners, as well as discusses succession planning, group insurance, executive bonus plans, split dollar, qualified retirement plans, and more.

To successfully complete the FIC program, all new candidates must meet the following qualifications:

Pass the Basic, Ethics, Intermediate, and Advanced final examinations. Exception: The Intermediate and Advanced final examinations are waived for FIC candidates who have received the CLU, ChFC, or CFP designations.
Work with current fraternal benefit society for 6 consecutive months. Fraternal benefit societies must be members of the Fraternal Field Managers’ Association in order for affiliated candidates to meet the qualification requirements.

Exams

Final exams for these correspondence courses consist of multiple-choice questions. Grades are reported as a percentage of correct answers. Candidates who answer 70% or more of the questions correctly pass the test. Those not passing a test may retest after 30 days and payment of required fees.

Applying for an Exam

Application: Exams are included as part of the online course package purchased for each candidate by their society official. No formal application is needed to take the exam with Kaplan Financial Education.
Timeframe: Candidates have an online subscription period of one year. They may take the exam as many times as they want until they attain a passing score.
Fees: The cost of each examination is the responsibility of the candidate or the candidate’s society.

Exam Administration and Proctoring Rules

The candidate shall have a private place free from distractions in which to take the exam.
The candidate must not have at hand, or refer to, the study courses or any sources of reference. Exams are designed to be fair and adequate tests of a candidate’s knowledge of the FIC/FICF course materials.
The candidate must not see the test questions before sitting for the exam.
If the exam is being taken for state CE credit, any state proctoring or other course completion rules will apply.

FICF Program Overview

Graduate I Estate Planning Concepts

This is an advanced markets course for fraternal field agents seeking to both successfully sell life insurance for estate protection purposes and work with other members of the estate planning team. The course covers the use of estate liquidity in connection with trusts—both as a funding medium for business agreements and as an effective combination with the estate tax marital deduction.

Graduate II Business Insurance Concepts

The insurance needs of proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations are discussed in this comprehensive course. It explains key employee insurance, deferred compensation, split dollar, executive bonus plans, group insurance, and advanced sales agreements. Learners receive valuable prospecting tips and sales ideas.

Graduate III Financial Products Training Course

This course presents an overview of today’s key investment options—how they work, tax consequences, strengths, and weaknesses. It covers deposit accounts, insurance, annuities, securities, mutual funds, and qualified retirement plans.

Enroll in the program by emailing fraternals@kaplan.com or calling 888.450.4685.
The FIC designation costs $49.00 per course.
Receive one year of online access for each course.
Printed textbooks are available for an additional fee.
Take an online exam for each course.
Retake the online exam until you successfully pass the course.
Upon successful completion of the FIC program, a diploma and fraternal pin will be sent to you.

To successfully complete the FIC program, all new candidates must meet the following qualifications:

Hold the FIC designation
Pass the Graduate I, II, and III final examinations.
Work with a current fraternal benefit society for 6 consecutive months. -Fraternal benefit societies must be members of the Fraternal Field Managers’ Association in order for affiliated candidates to meet the qualification requirements.

Exams

Final exams for these correspondence courses consist of multiple-choice questions. Grades are reported as a percentage of correct answers. Candidates who answer 70% or more of the questions correctly pass the test. Those not passing a test may retest after 30 days and payment of required fees.

Applying for an Exam

Application: Exams are included as part of the online course package purchased for each candidate by their society official. No formal application is needed to take the exam with Kaplan Financial Education.
Timeframe: Candidates have an online subscription period of one year. They may take the exam as many times as they want until they attain a passing score.
Fees: The cost of each examination is the responsibility of the candidate or the candidate’s society.

Exam Administration and Proctoring Rules

The candidate shall have a private place free from distractions in which to take the exam.
The candidate must not have at hand, or refer to, the study courses or any sources of reference. Exams are designed to be fair and adequate tests of a candidate’s knowledge of the FIC/FICF course materials.
The candidate must not see the test questions before sitting for the exam. If the exam is being taken for state CE credit, any state proctoring or other course completion rules will apply.

FFSC Program Overview

FIC designees can obtain the FFSC by completing any three of the four courses listed below.
FICF holders can obtain the designation by taking any two of the four courses listed below.

Principles of Retirement Planning

This course familiarizes agents with the retirement planning market and the retirement planning process by covering three main areas: analyzing and identifying retirement income needs and how to address those needs; health care and health insurance options; and estate and distribution planning. Topics include needs analysis, Social Security, life insurance and annuities, investment products, qualified plans and IRAs, plans for small business owners, long-term care, and wealth distribution.

Investing Retirement Assets

Numerous factors must be taken into account to formulate suitable strategies for investing retirement assets for today's retirees. This course provides an introduction to distributions from tax qualified retirement plans, as well as an overview of principles of asset allocation that may be appropriate for a retired or retiring client.

Retirement Income Strategies

Retirees need to stretch their assets for 20 to 30 years or more. Savvy distribution planning can help. Learn when to tap different asset categories and how taxable funds differ from tax-free and tax deferred funds. Manage your client's risk so they won’t outlive their resources.

Financial Planning Process

Get clued into the financial planning process and the financial services industry. This course covers the basic analytic tools of the trade, income tax planning, risk management planning, retirement planning, wealth accumulation planning, estate planning, and business planning, and concludes with a look at the profession.

The FFSC designation costs $49.00 per course.
Receive one year of online access for each course.
Printed textbooks are available for an additional fee.
Take an online exam for each course.
Retake the online exam until you successfully pass the course.
Upon successful completion of the FFSC program, a diploma and fraternal pin will be sent to you.*

*Diplomas are printed directly through the Fraternal Portal’s Administrator. Lapel pins are provided after completion of the FFSC Designation from the Authorized Portal Administrator.

The FFSC designation is intended for fraternal members that hold both an insurance and securities license. To successfully complete the FFSC program, all new candidates must meet the following qualifications:

FFSC candidates must currently hold the FIC or FICF designation.
FIC designees can obtain the FFSC by completing any three of the four FFSC courses.
FICF holders can obtain the designation by taking any two of the four FFSC courses.

Applying for an Exam

Application: Exams are included as part of the online course package purchased for each candidate by their society official. No formal application is needed to take the exam with Kaplan Financial Education.
Timeframe: Candidates have an online subscription period of one year. They may take the exam as many times as they want until they attain a passing score.
Fees: The cost of each examination is the responsibility of the candidate or the candidate’s society.

Exam Administration and Proctoring Rules

The candidate shall have a private place free from distractions in which to take the exam. The candidate must not have at hand, or refer to, the study courses or any sources of reference. Exams are designed to be fair and adequate tests of a candidate’s knowledge of the FIC/FICF/FFSC course materials. The candidate must not see the test questions before sitting for the exam. If the exam is being taken for state CE credit, any state proctoring or other course completion rules will apply.

Fraternal Financial Services Counselor

FIC designees can obtain the FFSC by completing any three of the four FFSC courses.
FIC & FICF designees can obtain the FFSC by taking any two of the four FFSC courses.

The American College's Financial Services Certified Professional FSCP

Upon successful completion of the FIC, students will earn reciprocal credit saving students $302 towards the designation. Credit will be granted for The American College’s FA 202 (Techniques for Meeting Client Needs) if the student has passed the FIC’s Basic Introduction to Life Insurance course.
Upon successful completion of the FICF, students can receive reciprocal credit toward the FSCP designation. This is a savings of over $1,000, and students will have completed 60% of their FSCP education requirement. Credit will be granted for The American College’s FA 271 (Foundations of Estate Planning) and/or FA 251 (Essentials of Business Insurance) courses if the student has passed the FICF Graduate I Estate Planning and/or FICF Graduate II Business Insurance Concepts courses, respectively.