Insurance professionals with the appropriate level of experience and education can be accredited by certain trade and insurance organizations. When shopping for an insurance professional to work with, ask what accreditations the agent or brokers in the office possess.

Accreditation can also come from the insurers the agent or broker produces for. This type of accreditation can be important if it directly pertains to the business insurance client.

However, often such accreditation is more sales driven than actually helpful to the business client.

The most useful type of accreditation for an insurance professional working with a business client is the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Professional (CPCU) designation. The CPCU accreditation follows two paths: commercial or individual. You will want to make sure your insurance professional followed the commercial course work because a CPCU designation will not get you a more valuable professional if that professional focused on individual insurance. Insurance professionals with this designation often belong to the CPCU Society and this provides your insurance professional with up-to-date information and a network of other professionals to contact. Ultimately, your business benefits.

The CPCU designation requires the professional to take a series of courses, have a high level of experience and requires the professional to take an exam to earn the designation. Also, the professional must agree to adhere to a set of ethical rules that are more strict than most state requirements.

Since property and casualty insurance can be the most important coverage you have - insist on a qualified professional to work with you.