Chartered Life Underwriter^®

The Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) designation is a specialized certification for life insurance underwriting and planning offered by The American College of Financial Services. The CLU® certification gives financial professionals an in-depth understanding of life insurance products, underwriting, and solutions as a key part of a goal-based financial plan. This underwriting certification includes insights on life insurance for business continuity, employee benefits, and estate planning. It is similar in some respects to the Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designation; however, the CLU® designation offers a more focused course of study on the practical, legal, and ethical aspects of life insurance throughout clients’ lifecycles.

To become a successful life insurance underwriter through the CLU® designation program, you must complete the five-course program, including all associated classwork and a final exam for each course. These online courses make earning this financial planning certification easier to tailor to your busy schedule.

The CLU® Program is being updated to provide a clearer and more streamlined learning path. The revised program will feature four required courses instead of five. In this update, HS 311 will become a required course, HS 324 will be retired, and the elective fifth course is being removed. While the changes take effect on April 1, 2026, The College has already removed the option to enroll in HS 324 to prepare for the transition. The refreshed four-course curriculum officially begins on April 1, 2026.

The new CLU® Program required courses are as follows:

• HS 323 The Tools and Techniques of Life Insurance Planning
• HS 311 Fundamentals of Insurance Planning
• HS 330 Fundamentals of Estate Planning  
• HS 331 Planning for Business Owners and Professionals

With these changes, it is now possible to complete the CLU® Program in as little as four months.

Already enrolled in HS 324 or have other questions? Contact an academic advisor and see your options at CLUadvising@TheAmericanCollege.edu.

Yes! If you have already completed The College’s Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) or CFP® Certification Education Programs, your HS 311 and HS 330 courses count toward the revised CLU® requirements. This means you are only two courses away from earning your CLU® designation!

The Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) designation can be completed in 15 months or less and is considered a specialized life insurance underwriting certification for professionals who want expertise in all aspects of life insurance planning. According to FUSE Research’s 2024 Designation Outcomes Study, advisors who earn the CLU® designation report 81% higher growth in client retention, 36% higher growth in earnings, and 41% higher growth in production over a three-year period than their peers with no designations.

The CLU® designation includes information on life insurance concepts and law within the context of overall risk management, necessary knowledge to help clients address their estate planning needs, and solutions that address the life insurance needs of business owners and professionals, such as key person and related employee benefits.

Specializing in life insurance and life insurance underwriting provides financial protection for your clients’ loved ones in the event of their death, incapacity, or other situations. It ensures that clients are not burdened with significant financial stress during already difficult times. Life insurance can help cover funeral costs, outstanding debts, and everyday living expenses, such as mortgage payments or education fees, allowing your clients’ families to maintain their quality of life. Additionally, it can provide long-term security by replacing lost income and ensuring that your clients and their dependents can continue to meet their financial goals and needs, even after they are gone.

As one of the oldest professional designations in financial services with a history dating back nearly 100 years, the Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) designation is considered the industry’s gold standard life insurance underwriting certification and provides the necessary knowledge to convey all these points and more to your clients.

While The College’s CLU®, ChFC®, and CFP® Certification Education Programs offer different educational outcomes and areas of specialization, shared courses make it easy to grow in expertise and work toward completing multiple programs at once. The three programs share several common core courses, and all electives available in the CLU® Program are also part of the CFP® Certification Education Program and ChFC® Program. By earning the CLU® designation, you are six courses away from earning your ChFC® and five courses away from completing the CFP® Certification Education Program. Use this comparison chart to learn more about how you can expand your opportunities most efficiently.