risk management & insurance track in finance

Bauer College, in the Department of Finance, has increased the curricula for Risk Management and Insurance significantly. This expansion was in part funded by the generosity of Houston Casualty Company Beginning in 2003.

From 2 courses, Risk Management and International Risk and Insurance, added were

Liability Insurance
Property Insurance
Insurance Operations and Regulation
Energy Insurance and Risk Management
Life Insurance

Each of these courses are 3 semester hours for senior level students except that Energy Insurance, on a case study format, includes MBA students. The combination of all these courses is 21 hours, short of the number required to be recognized as a major in Risk Management. The property and liability courses are taught by Mr. Mack Rogers, a partner in John L. Wortham, on alternate semester bases. The life insurance course is taught by Sam Bridgeman who is a top trainer with New York Life Insurance Company.

Finance students will be able to participate in a Risk Management and Insurance track, and upon completion students will receive a certificate of the RMI Track. Students from Bauer College as well as from other colleges are able to select a Risk Management and Insurance minor from these 7 courses.

Track in Risk Management and Insurance

The RMI track would require fifteen of the twenty-four hours for a finance major from the following courses (with FINA 4354 or FINA 4355 as required courses):

FINA 4354 Risk Management and Insurance
FINA 4355 International Risk and Insurance
FINA 4356 Insurance Operations, Regulation and Statutory Accounting
FINA 4357 Commercial Liability Insurance
FINA 4358 Property Insurance
FINA 4359/7397 Energy Insurance
FINA 4397 Life Insurance

(Finance majors are required to take an additional finance course at the 4000 level and six hours of advanced business electives to meet the twenty –four hours required for the major.)

Risk Management and Insurance Minor

Minor in risk management and insurance, with the following requirements:

Prerequisites:
- *MATH 1313 and MATH 1314 (or MATH 1431, MATH1432, and MATH 2431)
  *ACCT 2331
- *ECON 2304
  *DISC 2373
- *DISC 3331 (or MATH 3338 and MATH 3339)
Required Courses: 15 semester credit hours
- FINA 3332: Principles of Financial Management
Plus twelve hours (with FINA 4354 or FINA 4355 as required courses) from:
- FINA 4354 Risk Management and Insurance

FINA 4355 International Risk and Insurance
FINA 4356 Insurance Operations, Regulation and Statutory Accounting
FINA 4357 Commercial Liability Insurance
FINA 4358 Property Insurance
FINA 4359 Energy Insurance
FINA 4397 Life Insurance

Students cannot double count courses toward the RMI minor and toward their business major requirements or another business minor. These courses can, however, be used to meet advanced business elective requirements.

Risk Management and Insurance courses

Risk Management and Insurance – Finance 4354

Provides a broad perspective of risk management that, while emphasizing traditional risk management and insurance, introduces other types of risk management and stresses that the same general framework can be used to manage all types of risk. Students are provided a framework for (a) making risk management and insurance decisions to increase business value (b) understanding insurance contracts and institutional features of the insurance industry, and (c) understanding the effects of and the rationale for public policies that affect risk.

International Risk and Insurance – Finance 4355

Decisions about how to deal with some risky activities and processes have become incredibly complex. The consequences of wrong decisions or just plain bad luck can have profoundly adverse affects, not only on decision-makers, but also on employees, customers, suppliers, and citizens. Increasingly, adverse effects can spill across industries and even national borders, causing grave harm to the innocent and uninvolved. For these reasons, the study of the management of risk in global context is more important than ever.

Energy Risk Case Study – Finance 4359/7397

This course would bring hands on examination of both risk identification of energy risk with available and selection of solutions for the management of these risk. It is recognized that all risk of most any form cannot be easily digested in short time periods, however at least 8 – 10 different firms prospective can be presented over a semester. These firms would differ from semester to semester. Graduate students and MBA students are utilized as team leaders for the undergraduate students and organize the several class presentations with their team.

Commercial Liability Insurance and Risk Management – Finance 4357

All businesses and other organization face liability loss exposures or loss. A liability loss is the money that an organization pays as a result of a specific liability claim or suit against that organization. These losses can range from small “nuisance claims” to multi-million-dollar judgments. Improperly managed, liability loss exposures can prevent organizations from reaching its objectives or can even lead to bankruptcy. Most organizations therefore try to prevent liability losses from occurring and to arrange the most efficient way to finance (pay for) liability losses that cannot be prevented.

Insurance Operations – Finance 4356

Insurance is a system in which payments of participants (individuals, businesses or others) are made in exchange for a commitment to reimburse for specific type of losses and under certain conditions. The organization or entity that facilitates the pooling of funds and the payment of benefits is called and insurer.
The principal function of an insurer is the acceptance of risks transferred to it by others. This task is divided into insurer functional areas consisting of marketing, loss control, underwriting, premium audition, claims and reinsurance. Because of their complexity, insurer functions are segmented into specialty departments who must work together to be successful in performing the task of risk transfer.

Property Insurance – Finance 4358

The various methods used by business and others organizations (such as governmental or non profit entities) to control the effects of property losses is studied. A property loss is any loss that a person or organization sustains as a result of the damaging destruction, taking or loss of use of property in which that person has a financial interest.

Life Insurance - Finance 4397

Life Insurance addresses the fact that human life possesses many values, most of them irreplaceable and met conductive to measurement. Life Insurance is concerned with the economic value of a human life, which is derived from its earning capacity. This course then provides a basic view of these values and covers all the topics that constitute the foundation for study of some more specialized aspects of life insurance.

GAMMA IOTA SIGMA

In April of 2003, an insurance and risk management fraternity was chartered on the University of Houston campus. It now has over 40 members and is active in the insurance community attending RIMS, CPCU and other meetings. Its greatest value will be the networking provided to the students available among 44 chapters in the United States and Canada.

This organization is providing to be an outstanding networking vehicle for the students not only for Houston but also for the other cities with Chapters or where there are insurance centers.