The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research has changed its 55-year-old name and logo to reflect the nonprofit organization’s evolution and expanded services. The insurance industry’s leading professional-development resource is now the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance, or simply The Alliance.
The rebranding process launched several years ago with research and input from stakeholders, which included volunteer board members in various industry roles, including carrier executives, faculty, and agency owners and service staff. The process resulted in a new name, logo and tagline, as well as an updated website.
“The changes honor the proud partnerships we’ve built for decades — serving three million participants since our founding in 1969,” says Eduard J. Pulkstenis, CIC, CPCU, FCAS, MAAA, chair of The Alliance Research Academy Board of Directors, and SVP and Chief Underwriting Officer of EMC Insurance. “But we’ve also modernized our look, and our new name better reflects the growing importance of risk management in the lives of businesses and families as well as in the careers of emerging industry talent.”
“Alliance” was retained in the nonprofit organization’s name to embody its volunteer partnerships, according to William J. Hold, MBA, CRM, CISR, President & CEO of The Alliance. The new name was solidified once the word “risk” was added, he says.
“Anyone who has talked with college students or professionals considering a career change knows the word ‘insurance’ by itself does not attract much interest,” Hold says. “But add the word ‘risk,’ and you’ve captured their attention. In sum, our name now represents the breadth of learning opportunities we offer and the fact that eliminating risk is the industry’s overarching goal.”
A new tagline (“Own your potential”) and URL ( are also part of the rebranding. The team’s decisions were guided by The Alliance’s updated mission: “We’re excited to create professionals through practical education and technical guidance to shape the risk and insurance industry of the future.”
The “.org” in the website address “is especially important because we want to highlight our nonprofit existence as a member-based resource,” says Hold. The new website features designation and course schedules; designee directories; links to webinars and podcasts; and the recently added online subscription membership options to help people earn designations more quickly, including the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR), Certified School Risk Manager (CSRM) and Certified Personal Risk Manager (CPRM).
The Alliance has introduced a new learning assistant that is based in artificial intelligence. As a nod to The Alliance, Hold says, “We call her ‘Ali Bot.’ She is walking the walk of our participants. She’s already passed the CISR designation and is working on her CIC and CRM. Ali Bot is just another way we’re helping our members grow into the future.”
About Risk & Insurance Education Alliance:
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (The Alliance) provides practical education and technical guidance to individuals at all career levels in the risk management and insurance industry. Conducting more than 1,900 educational programs each year, The Alliance has built a community of 53,000 active designated members and adds thousands of new designees yearly. Its Research Academy conducts and promotes practical research on all aspects of risk management and the insurance industry. Founded in 1969 by a small group of Texas independent agents along with University of Texas educators, The Alliance was the industry’s first nonprofit training and continuing-education resource.