The Australian College of Insurance Studies (ACIS) is set to launch its first online and on-campus law courses through the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland as it seeks to fill an education gap and raise standards.

ACIS, formed to design and teach courses in insurance law and practice for universities, is offering content ranging from classes on basic life and general sector principles through to advanced courses dealing with complex contractual, regulatory and corporate matters.

The not-for-profit organisation says it’s Australia’s first comprehensive tertiary-level education and vocational training program designed for insurance practitioners and services providers, including policymakers, actuaries, claims managers and regulators.

“The level and amount of complexity in insurance has increased significantly over the past decade and continues to accelerate but education and training has not kept pace, creating potential issues for customers, shareholders and other stakeholders,” faculty leader Ian Enright said.

Faculty board members also include Fred Hawke, Rob Merkin QC, Greg Pynt and Samantha Traves.

“There’s still a lot of on-the-job training in insurance which is a good start provided managers are suitably qualified, experienced and competent, however the financial protection of millions of Australian policyholders is too important to leave to chance,” Dr Enright says.

“Two years on from the financial services royal commission, the insurance industry must demonstrate that decisive action is being taken to address identified failures and plug the gap between current competency levels and required competency levels.”

Dr Enright has more than three decades experience in insurance, law and education and was awarded the Australian Insurance Law Association Insurance Law Prize in 2015.

From March, ACIS will offer online and on-campus courses as single subjects, graduate certificates and graduate diplomas. It is also developing a Masters of Insurance Business which will cover governance, risk, accounting, actuarial, pricing, underwriting and claims management subjects.

ACIS, whose partners include legal firm Clyde & Co as well as the WA and Queensland universities, says student fees will be paid to partner universities in accordance with their arrangements.