The Chartered Insurance Institute has apologised for causing “significant distress” to 850 candidates who have experienced serious disruptions during exams since March 2020.

It has also offered a free resit to those who failed their exam during the period.

In a mea culpa sent to candidates by email today, CII chief customer officer Gill White says that the professional body had been looking for ways candidates could sit their exams since the pandemic struck, “especially where this is a licence to practise.”

She admits that July “did not go as well as [the CII] had wished.”

“We received candidate feedback of all of the remote invigilation issues, we focused on providing a mainly centre assessment offer for October; but some technical and logistical issues were encountered,” she writes.

“We understand the significant distress the exam issues have caused and deeply regret that this has happened.”

White writes that while the majority of CII’s 18,500 July and October exams were without incident, the professional body was “acutely aware” of unacceptable instances where there were problems in accessing remote invigilation sessions, accessing preferred exam centres, and a series of technical issues during sittings.

She writes: “We recognise these issues have caused 850 students significant stress and disruption, for which we are extremely sorry.”

The CII has offered a free resit, a free new enrolment if required, and a free revision session to any candidate who failed their exams in the period.

In addition, if any candidate feels they have been negatively impacted through this period, they can request that “special consideration” be taken into account during marking.