Affordability is the final issue to be resolved as the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA) and the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) draw closer to finalising a new agreement on loss adjuster training.

A five-year contract under which ANZIIF delivers AICLA’s Diploma of Loss Adjusting course expired on June 30 but has been extended by three months to allow for further negotiations.

AICLA CEO Tony Libke told insuranceNEWS.com.au the diploma has migrated to online-only delivery in recent years, and AICLA – which owns the course content – believes the cost of the course should be lowered to reflect the lower cost of its delivery.

“The diploma course needs to be made more affordable to remain attractive for overseas students, many of whom have been adversely impacted by the high Australian dollar,” he said.

Mr Libke is “fairly confident” a new deal with ANZIIF can be struck, with negotiations set to continue at the Claims Convention in Sydney later this week.

But he says any agreement is likely to be shorter than the previous five-year deal.

The course itself has undergone a further change recently, following its reaccreditation by the Australian Qualification Training Framework which has seen a new compulsory unit “business fundamentals” added.