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United Kingdom · Qualification

ACII qualifications: the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Insurance

ACII stands for Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). It’s the designation members can use once they complete the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Insurance, a Level 6 qualification of at least 290 CII credits that builds on the Diploma in Insurance. The ACII qualification’s units are assessed mainly by coursework about your own role, and with five years’ experience it opens the way to Chartered status.

  • 290CII credits needed to complete
  • 5 yearsExperience needed for Chartered status
  • Level 6On the Regulated Qualifications Framework
See the Advanced Diploma

Updated November 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What ACII means and where it fits

The CII’s insurance designations go up by level: Cert CII for the Certificate in Insurance, DipCII for the Diploma in Insurance, ACII for the Advanced Diploma in Insurance and FCII for CII Fellowship. Members use them to show what they’ve achieved.

ACII is an insurance qualification, not an investment adviser one. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) list of qualifications no longer offered includes ACII for retail investment advice only where the holder has the right life and pensions modules, and from 31 December 2012 only with extra gap-fill learning. The CII’s own gap fill was available until 1 September 2021.

The Diploma in Insurance (DipCII) →

ACII qualification requirements

There are no entry requirements, but the CII recommends the Diploma in Insurance first. To complete, you need at least 290 CII credits:

  • at least 150 at Advanced Diploma level (Level 6 or 7)
  • a further 55 at Diploma level (Level 4) or above
  • the remaining 85 from any unit in the insurance framework

Those credits must include Insurance law (M05), either Insurance business and finance (M92) or Economics and business (530), and one of Advanced claims (820), Advanced insurance broking (930) or Advanced underwriting (960). If you hold the Diploma in Insurance, you already have M05 and M92 or 530.

Advanced Diploma in Insurance units

The CII’s 2027 brochure lists these Advanced Diploma units, all worth 30 credits at Level 6 unless shown:

  • 820 Advanced claims
  • 930 Advanced insurance broking
  • 945 Marketing insurance products and services
  • 960 Advanced underwriting
  • 990 Insurance corporate management
  • 992 Risk management in insurance
  • 993 Advances in strategic risk management in insurance (50 credits, Level 7)
  • 995 Strategic underwriting
  • 996 Strategic claims management
  • 997 Advanced risk financing and transfer

530 Economics and business also counts at Level 6. Units 991 London market insurance specialisation and 994 Insurance market specialisation have been withdrawn from sale.

How ACII units are assessed

Level 6 and 7 units are assessed by coursework tied to your own role. The CII’s 2027 brochure says a coursework unit has three written assignments, each typically 3,200 to 4,200 words, to pass within a 12-month enrolment. The CII’s assessment page gives 2,000 to 3,000 words, so check the guidelines in your RevisionMate course for your unit. The pass mark for each assignment is 50%.

The CII says some units may use a dissertation (50% pass mark), a written exam or a multiple-choice exam instead. Coursework results normally come within 63 calendar days of submission and dissertation results within 73. You may also be picked at random for an authenticity interview, where you talk through your assignment so the CII can check it’s your own work.

Chartered status after ACII

With the Advanced Diploma and five years’ experience, which needn’t come after you qualify, you can apply for Chartered status as a Chartered Insurer, Chartered Insurance Broker, Chartered Insurance Practitioner or Chartered Insurance Risk Manager. CII Fellowship is the step after that.

CII: Chartered status ↗

ACII qualification fees

ItemFee
Standard qualification fee (assessments)£1,912
Package fee (study materials)£928
CII membership, per year (optional)£210
Extra units: assessments£2,714
Extra units: study materials£2,008

The first three rows assume a UK non-member who already holds the Diploma in Insurance and picks digital options, as in the CII’s March 2026 specification. Membership is priced for a member qualified at Diploma level. The extra-unit rows apply if you don’t have the Diploma-level units the Advanced Diploma needs. Members get discounts on each unit’s shop page.

Is the ACII qualification equivalent to a degree?

It isn’t a degree. The CII puts Level 6 at about the level of a bachelor’s degree, and its specification calls it approximately undergraduate final year level. Its Total Qualification Time for moving up from the Diploma is 660 hours, rising to about 850 depending on the units you pick.

CII Advanced Diplomas compared →
Sources: CII · FCA Handbook and 4 more. Checked November 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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