ICEA, continuous and innovative training in the insurance sector

ICEA has been one of the leading promoters of continuing training in the insurance sector. Since its foundation in 1963, this non-profit organization has been a reference in training services and statistics for this industry.

Its wide range of courses has allowed hundreds of professionals to continue training in a sector where keeping up to date with concepts and trends is fundamental. 

But that’s not all. Beyond the development of these courses, ICEA has designed an examination system for official and certified training that allows its students to comfortably take their exams remotely, just as they have taken the course. This ensures that the remote experience replaces the classroom experience with all the benefits that this entails. 

Innovative training in a restrictive industry

For ICEA, the decision to go for remote training and examination arose from the need to offer users who cannot travel to their on-site facilities the possibility of taking exams in the same security conditions as a face-to-face exam. 

This may also allow them to increase the number of exams performed by not depending on a physical space. 

One of the difficulties they encountered in setting up this system was that the banking-insurance industry is a very restrictive sector for external tools. 

Fortunately, they found a proctoring tool that perfectly suited their needs as a company and allowed them to comply with current regulations: SMOWL’s technology.

SMOWL and the advantage of data protection for training in the insurance sector

One of the main reasons why ICEA chose Smowltech’s software is its ability to minimize the impact on security and privacy, thus complying with the data protection and formal training certification regulations that are so restrictive in the insurance sector.

In their case, ICEA has chosen to monitor users through webcam and computer activity collecting data on opened applications or connected peripherals – among others – only at exam time. 

They have also recently incorporated Smowl Lock to prevent the user from performing other tasks on the computer that have nothing to do with the activity.

With all this, SMOWL has enabled them to authenticate the identity of users and prevent fraud during online assessments, allowing their students to take the exam from any location and at any time without time reservations. In addition, they have avoided the costs associated with a traditional assessment, such as travel and paper.

A positive experience for insurance sector professionals

ICEA training professionals and students have enthusiastically welcomed the ease of installation and use of the SMOWL tool. Most of them prefer the online option because it is easy to use and does not require special permissions on their computers.

In any case, the generational barrier is still visible, with younger users seeing proctoring as something natural. In contrast, more experienced users still need to be convinced about this technological tool. 

As defined by Miguel Angel Peña, Head of Platforms and External Integrations at ICEA, “100% online training is not an easy path, but we must take advantage of the benefits that technology offers us“. These advantages have allowed them to overcome the barriers of “limited physical spaces and closed exams”. 

SMOWL, the right proctoring system for training in the insurance sector

The example of ICEA makes it clear that SMOWL is the right proctoring system for companies and institutions seeking to apply secure and comprehensive assessments in their remote continuous training processes.

Miguel Angel Peña expressed his satisfaction with the “ease of access to monitoring data”. With SMOWL, it’s straightforward to check and evaluate all the evidence generated by the tool.

However, Peña recommends “making very clear the company’s needs towards the tool” to know “how to deal with possible incidents”. 

He also recommends that companies and institutions in other sectors interested in implementing a proctoring tool such as SMOWL “know exactly what legislative restrictions they face in their sector”.

If you belong to one of these companies, feel free to look at the different proctoring products that Smowltech offers. You can request a free demo to get to know our tool in depth and see if it adapts to the needs of your company or institution.