I hope you are doing well. COVID-19 has changed the world dramatically. It’s amazing to consider how much has really changed in the last few weeks. Here’s just a little perspective on what we’ve done at Bryan Ventures to react to the monumental lifestyle changes.

Early in March we sent a letter to insurance agents throughout our teaching area as an update from Bryan Ventures regarding how we planned to handle safety at our  LIVE CLASSROOM INSURANCE CE COURSES because of COVID-19. At that time, based on current news, we’d hoped to conduct our  LIVE CLASSROOM INSURANCE CE COURSES as planned with certain precautions.

Soon after, within hours, it became apparent those precautions would not be enough to ensure the safety of the insurance professionals attending our classes. We moved our March classes for ANOKA and DETROIT LAKES to later dates.

However, not knowing how long we should all limit contact with each other, we also began working to gain CE webinar approval from Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. This would allow us to instruct our courses from the safety of our offices, and give you the ability to participate from the safety of your home or office. This also means that agents in Des Moines, Milwaukee, or really anywhere could also easily attend a class via CE webinar that we might offer in Minnesota.

Webinar instruction of our LIVE CLASSROOM INSURANCE CE COURSES is already approved in Iowa and Wisconsin. They made it so easy for us. Just an email with the course ID numbers complete with a notice as to how we planned to monitor remote attendees and we were off and running with approval to conduct CE webinars for these two states.

Things were not as easy in Minnesota. They required new applications and fees. We responded as quickly as we could, but our ability to offer CE webinar insurance classes in Minnesota is still under review. I expect we will be in compliance, and I also expect they will do all they can to ensure these new webinars are approved.

I can tell you this new platform of insurance CE instruction is very exciting. In a blog like this, more than a year ago for our 2019 UPDATES, I talked about how Bryan Ventures would not be doing webinar instruction. I even used the line, “I’d rather gouge my eyes out than conduct a webinar.” I envisioned staring at my computer screen, trying to engage agents, who were busy in their office working away on other items.

Since then, I’ve been in these CE webinar platforms, and maybe you have too. With the social distancing and stay at home rules, I’ve attended my book clubs, game nights, and various other fun activities through ZOOM, the platform we will be using, and my gosh, I have no idea why I hadn’t tried this earlier. From the privacy of my own home, I can chat with others sitting at home, office, yard, or park–literally anywhere.

Everyone in our new CE webinar insurance courses will be able to see each other, very much like the picture above, and just like a live classroom environment, we’ll all be able to talk to each other. If you want to better see whomever is speaking, you can change the view to something like the image to the left. All of this and more is explained in the YOUTUBE VIDEO I created in my home which will probably be the location of our first few classes.

Right now, there are a number of things up in the air. At the end of April, we have three different locations planned for our LIVE CLASSROOM INSURANCE CE COURSES, but based on current indications, we will not be able to safely meet by then. As a result, we will probably change the full April format to just webinars and adjust the schedule accordingly.

This, however, is the most important part, if you like LIVE CLASSROOM INSURANCE CE COURSES for the interaction, no exams, engaging presentations, and entertaining format of a Bryan Ventures course, go ahead and still sign up. We’ll still be able to ensure all these criteria will be met with our new CE webinar insurance courses. I can’t wait to see y’all again!

This blog highlights the introduction of CE webinar insurance classes at Bryan Ventures.

Renee E. Bryan also publishes writing at her blog: WrongWayLizzie.Me.