Individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in insurance often select a broad undergraduate degree program in business or finance. However, some schools offer baccalaureate programs specifically tailored to the insurance field, such as a Bachelor of Science in Insurance and Risk Management.
Essential Information
A bachelor's degree program in insurance and risk management prepares students to help businesses and individual clients foresee potential risk problems and minimize losses. Students often focus on the principles of business, finance, economics, and organizational management while learning about the theories behind risk management and loss management. These 4-year programs should also provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge in the insurance industry. Courses cover the basics of life and health insurance policies, insurance laws and regulations, commercial insurance, and personal insurance. Graduates should have sufficient educational background and technical training to pass examinations for state licensure, if required.
Bachelor's Degree in Insurance and Risk Management
Undergraduate students who are interested in studying insurance and risk management can enroll in a university's school of business or finance and declare an insurance major in their sophomore or junior years. They should also maintain an overall grade point average of at least 2.0 in order to qualify at most schools. A bachelor's degree program in insurance and risk management typically features courses that provide a background in both business principles and insurance theory. Some examples of such course topics are listed below:
Popular Career Options
The insurance industry encompasses many roles, and these are often open to graduates from a baccalaureate program in risk management and insurance. Some potential entry-level positions in the field include the following:
Employment Outlook and Salary Information
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), insurance sales agents could expect job growth of 10% from 2012-2022. Insurance underwriters, the BLS predicted, could expect a 6% decline in job opportunities during the same decade. The BLS reported median annual salaries of $47,860 for sales agents and $64,220 for underwriters as of May 2014.
Continuing Education
Continuing education programs are a very important element of the insurance field. While there are some master's degree programs in risk management available, many insurance professionals count on seminars and conferences to learn about new laws and emerging technologies in the industry.
Licensing requirements for insurance professionals vary by state. Some states require that individual insurance adjusters acquire a license, while others just require professionals to work for licensed insurance companies.
Masters Programs in Insurance: Degree Program Info
Master's degree programs in insurance are designed to teach students various methods for identifying, measuring and managing corporate risk. In these programs, students primarily concentrate on current legal, financial, and ethical issues facing insurance professionals.
Essential Information
Applicants to a master's in insurance program need a bachelor's degree and a familiarity with corporate financial practices, microeconomics and statistics. Students can demonstrate proficiency by obtaining a grade of 'B' or better in undergraduate classes related to these subjects, or by passing a competency exam given prior to admission. Other admission requirements may include submitting scores from the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a recommendation by the prospective student's professional supervisor, a resume detailing the applicant's leadership experience and a written statement of the student's personal, educational and career goals. Some master's degree programs in insurance also require the student to have professional designation as a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) before admission. A CPCU is awarded when a candidate passes exams specific to property casualty underwriting, meets experience prerequisites and agrees to follow a stringent code of ethics. In order to graduate from the master's program, students are expected to complete approximately 30 core credits, 12 elective credits, and a thesis or comprehensive exam. Most full time students can complete these programs in one year. Many schools offer both on campus and online formats for the degree program.
Master in Insurance
Students learn alternative and unconventional risk management concepts for mitigating financial loss; the application of statistical and simulation tools to develop corporate risk management strategies, as well as the fundamentals of various insurance products. A few master's degree programs in insurance and risk management allow those who hold the CPCU designation to apply a specified number of credits toward the degree. Common coursework includes:
Employment Outlook and Salary Information
Risk management professionals work primarily in the finance and insurance industries. Specific positions available to graduates from these programs include securities and commodity contract mediator or manager in a business enterprise and insurance carrier agent. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that jobs for risk managers and other types of financial managers will increase by about 9% from 2012 to 2022. Financial managers earn a median annual income of $115,320 as of May 2014, according to the BLS.
Continuing Education Information
Those interested in continuing their academic pursuits after graduating from a master's degree program in insurance and risk management, can apply for admittance to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in a number of concentrations, including risk management and insurance. The CPCU society also offers continuing education opportunities through symposia, seminars and workshops. The CPCU Society Center for Leadership offers members leadership training and public speaking opportunities.
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