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Canyon College

online risk management and insurance course at Canyon College

Series Syllabus: Certificate Program
Risk Management and Insurance


Certificate Program Title:
Department:
Instructor: 		Risk Management and Insurance
Business
George E. Thibodeaux, MBA, ARM Contact | Vita

I. Certificate Series Description: Risk Management and Insurance

This certificate program will endeavor to give the student the fundamentals of Risk Management and Insurance that can serve as a foundation for those intending to make a career in either field. It will also provide an excellent source of information for our use as informed citizens and consumers. This series will consist of 4 four-week modules leading to a Certificate of Risk Management and Insurance and 8 semester hours credit of business electives. The modules are titled:
  1. Risk, Risk Management, and Insurance
  2. Life and Health Insurance
  3. Property and Liability Insurance
  4. Financial Risk Management
Risk, and insurance to protect ourselves from risk, is a fact of life in this society. Every year billions of dollars exchange hands between insurance companies and the people they insure. But what is the reason for insurance, and how did this industry evolve into the financial giant and major employer that we see today? What are the legal and ethical consideration of insurance in today's business and society? Why does our Life, Health, Auto, and Home insurance cost so much; and what can we do about it. Is the handling of personal and corporate finance affected by risk? Also, what is this concept of managing risk, and how does that differ from insurance? This four course series will explore these issues and more.

II. Series Objective

At the conclusion of each module the student should be familiar with the following concepts:

Risk, Risk Management, and Insurance
  1. The concept and definition of Risk
  2. The history and application of Risk Management
  3. The function of insurance in Risk Management
  4. The process of a Risk Management review
  5. The application of risk control and risk financing
  6. The private insurance industry
  7. Regulation of the Insurance industry
  8. Legal considerations
Life and Health Insurance
  1. Managing personal risk
  2. Social insurance programs
  3. Basic concepts of life insurance
  4. The provision of a Life Insurance contract
  5. Life Insurance as it relates to estate planning
  6. Health insurance as it relates to medical and disability expenses
  7. Employee benefits as it relates to Life and Health Insurance
Property and Liability Insurance
  1. Homeowners insurance
  2. Other personal property insurance
  3. Negligence and legal liability
  4. Individual liability insurance
  5. Personal automobile and it's legal implications
  6. Commercial liability, auto, property, and workers compensation
Financial Risk Management
  1. Business risk and counterpart risk
  2. Funding risk
  3. Basic derivatives
  4. Interest rate risk
  5. Currency risk
III. Textbooks: Online Bookstore

Essentials of Risk Management and Insurance, 2nd Edition; Emmett J. Vaughan and Therese M. Vaughan; ISBN #: 047133183X - Modules 1, 2, and 3

The Financial Risk Manual Revised; John Holliwell; ISBN #: 0273624180 - Module 4

IV. Grading and Course Logistics

Each module will be graded separately and given a final letter grade.

Weekly assignments
Final Exam 		50% - Objective and Subjective
50% - Open book, multiple-choice exam.


In order to earn the Certificate of Risk Management and Insurance, the student must earn a grade of “D” or better on each module, and an overall four modules average grade of “C” or better.

A
B
C
D
F 		=
=
=
=
= 		100% - 90%
89% - 80%
79% - 70%
69% - 60%
Below 60%


Assignments must be completed on a weekly basis. Please submit weekly assignments via e-mail by Sunday evening of each week. Late assignments will affect your grade. Each assignment will be graded and your score returned to you.

Each of the four modules take 4 weeks to complete, but must be completed within 5 weeks of an agreed starting date. Participants are given twelve (12) months to complete the program.

The instructor may be contacted by e-mail with any questions or concerns. If person to person conversation is necessary, the student should e-mail the instructor with a time and phone number where the student can be reached.

Academic honestly is highly valued at Canyon College. A student must present the product of his or her own original work.

V. Weekly Course Outline

(This is the optimal course time frame that works well to keep the student motivated toward completion.) However, I do realize that you have chosen Canyon College because you have active professional and social lives outside of college. Exception to the optimal time frame must be discussed with the instructor and will be considered on a case by case basis.

Module 1: Risk, Risk Management, and Insurance

Week 1
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 1, 2, and 3: The Problem with Risk, Risk Management, The Insurance Device
  1. Chapter 1, p. 14, Questions for review 4, 5, and 8. Questions for discussion 2 and 5.
  2. Chapter 2, p. 30, Questions for review 1, 2, 9, and 10. Questions for discussion 3 and 4.
  3. Chapter 3, p. 49-50, Questions for review 1, 4, and 7. Questions for discussion 3 and 5.
Week 2
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 4, 5, and 6: The Risk Management Process, Risk Management Applications, The Private Insurance Industry
  1. Chapter 4, p. 68, Questions for review 1, 5, 6, and 10. Questions for discussion 4.
  2. Chapter 5, p. 86-87, Questions for review 4, 7, and 8. Questions for discussion 1 and 2.
  3. Chapter 6, p. 108, Questions for review 3, 5, and 8. Questions for discussion 2 and 4.
Week 3
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 7, 8, and 9: Function of Insurers, Regulation of the Insurance Industry, The Legal Framework
  1. Chapter 7, p. 127-128, Questions for review 1, 3, 8, and 9. Questions for discussion 2 and 5.
  2. Chapter 8, p. 150-151, Questions for review 5, 6, and 8. Questions for discussion 4.
  3. Chapter 9, p. 168-169, Questions for review 4, 6, 7, and 10. Questions for discussion 4 and 5.
Week 4
Review and EXAM

Module 2: Life and Health Insurance

Week 1
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 10, 11, and 12: Managing Personal Risks, Social Insurance Programs, Introduction to Life Insurance
  1. Chapter 10, p. 193-194, Questions for review 1, 3, 6, and 8. Questions for discussion 3.
  2. Chapter 11, p. 217-218, Questions for review 1, 6, and 7. Questions for discussion 2 and 4.
  3. Chapter 12, p. 238-239, Questions for review 1, 6, and 9. Questions for discussion 3 and 5.
Week 2
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 13, 14, and 15: The Life Insurance Contract, Buying Life Insurance and Estate Planning, Health Insurance: Disability Income Insurance
  1. Chapter 13, p. 259-260, Questions for review 1, 5, 7, and 10. Questions for discussion 4.
  2. Chapter 14, p. 277-278, Questions for review 2, 6, and 10. Questions for discussion 2 and 5.
  3. Chapter 15, p. 295, Questions for review 3, 5, 6, and 9. Questions for discussion 3.
Week 3
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 16 and 17: Health Insurance-Coverage for Medical Expenses, Employee Benefits and Business Uses of Life and Health Insurance
  1. Chapter 16, p. 328-329, Questions for review 1, 4, 5, and 6. Questions for discussion 5.
  2. Chapter 17, p. 349-350, Questions for review 3, 5, 7, and 10. Questions for discussion 5.
Week 4
Review and EXAM

Module 3: Property and Liability Insurance

Week 1
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 18, 19, and 20: The Homeowners Policy, Other Personal Forms of Property Insurance, Negligence and Legal Liability
  1. Chapter 18, p. 382-383, Questions for review 1, 4, and 9. Questions for discussion 4 and 5.
  2. Chapter 19, p. 397-398, Questions for review 1, 5, and 8. Questions for discussion 2 and 4.
  3. Chapter 20, p. 413-414, Questions for review 1, 4, 7, and 8. Questions for discussion 2 and 3.
Week 2
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 21, 22, and 23: General Liability Insurance for the Individual, The Automobile and Its Legal Environment, The Personal Auto Policy
  1. Chapter 21, p. 432-433, Questions for review 1, 4, and 9. Questions for discussion 1 and 3.
  2. Chapter 22, p. 451-452, Questions for review 1, 3, and 6. Questions for discussion 3 and 5.
  3. Chapter 23, p. 474-476, Questions for review 1, 2, 8, and 10. Questions for discussion 2.
Week 3
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 24 and 25: Commercial Property and Liability Coverages, Insurance of the Future
  1. Chapter 24, p. 498-500, Questions for review 1, 7, 12, 15, 17, and 20. Questions for discussion 3.
  2. Chapter 25, p. 517-518, Questions for review 1, 3, 8, and 10. Questions for discussion 2.
Week 4
Review and EXAM

Module 4: Financial Risk Management

Week 1
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 1 and 2: Business Risk, Counterparty Risk
  1. Chapter 1: On the top of page 5 is a list of 17 “principal business risks”. Compose a brief (2-3 sentences) example that demonstrates your understanding of each.
  2. Chapter 2: Due diligence Page 24-27. For each of the following: a.) Buying a business, b.) Entering into a major contract, and c.) Lending money to your brother-in-law; which of the bullet points on pages 25 to 27 would be most important to you and why.
  3. The instructor will provide a sample balance from which to calculate specified ratios.
  4. Differentiate between a Documentary Letter of Credit and a Standby Letter of Credit and give an example where each would be most beneficial.
Week 2
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 3 and 4: Funding Risk, Derivatives: The Basics
  1. Chapter 3: Write a monthly (for 6 months) cash flow summary for your new small business. Include cash balance, sales, cost of goods sold, taxes, etc.
  2. Chapter 3: Differentiate among these types of equity funding and give an example where each should be used: Common stock, preferred stock, convertible shares, and warrants.
  3. Chapter 4: Differentiate among these types of derivatives and give an example where each should be used: Futures, swaps, and options.
  4. Chapter 4: Differentiate among these types of risk and give an example where each should be important: Credit risk, settlement risk, market risk, and liquidity risk.
Week 3
Weekly Assignment:
Chapter 5 and 6: Interest Rate Risk, Currency Risk
  1. Chapter 5: Differentiate between variable rate facilities and fixed rate facilities and give the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  2. Chapter 5: Differentiate between interest rate futures and interest rate options and give the advantages and disadvantages of each.
  3. Chapter 6: Differentiate among currency spot value, forward contracts, and currency options and explain the primary uses of each.
  4. Chapter 5 and 6: The instructor will provide sample problems.
Week 4
Review and EXAM