Alphonso Franco announced the creation of a new professional designation at the 6th World Critical Illness Insurance Conference, which was attended by about 450 people at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal April 6-8. It's called the Registered Critical Insurance Specialist (RCIS). According to Mr. Franco, who is also the conference organizer, the launch of this training program marks a world first.

After having worked on course development for nearly four years and meeting with prominent people from various fields, Mr. Franco and his team have delivered a program that aims to increase advisors' sales and productivity.

The courses that lead to the designation provide financial advisors with the supplementary knowledge they need to offer their clients critical illness products with complete confidence.

Several areas are covered, including sales planning and marketing, actuarial science and insurance, public speaking, as well as individual, business, and group sales. A quarter of the evaluation is based on the effect the course has on the sales of advisors who enrol in the program. Mr. Franco also expects to launch his program globally. His next stops: Taipei, Bangkok, and Mumbai.