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Semester: Summer 2017
Group Project
The project is designed for team work. Write a paper on important insurance topics selected by your group (or from the list of topics proposed by the instructor). The outline of the project (1-2 pages) is due on June 6. Selected reference list (at least 6) must be provided in the outline.
The general instruction of written report:
Cover Page Course Name, Instructor, Date, Project Title, Name of Students, Class time
Abstract A short summary of the paper, primarily include the questions you study, and the
conclusion you draw.
Contents of the paper (total 8-12 pages, font size 12, double space) Introduction and background Your analysis on the issue Conclusion
Tables and figures attached (no more than 8 of them) Excel tables and figures, must be readable
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***Any Plagiarism will be punished by the failure of the whole group project.
Optional Topics:
1. Discuss cyber risk exposures and cyber risk management.
2. It has been predicted by insurance company professionals that by the year 2020, usage-based insurance (UBI) will capture more than 50 percent of the personal auto insurance market. Please discuss what is UBI, why UBI will grow rapidly over the next 10 years, what it will look like, what it will do to the traditional market, and what are the impediments to the wider adoption of UBI.
3. Discusses the development of the technology-based online payment system, Bitcoins, the value and the risks associated with it, its legitimacy, and the need for risk management and insurance.
4. Discuss the development of driverless cars and trucks, and the challenges insurance industry may face on this.
5. Discuss the development and the future of social media in insurance services (underwriting, claim adjusting, and marketing), and major challenges and risk exposures faced by the using of social media.
6. Credit scoring: The use of credit scoring by insurers in underwriting and pricing personal lines of insurance (such as auto insurance) has brought on increased interest, oversight and even some action by insurance regulators and state legislatures. Discuss if it is proper to use credit scoring as a rating factor, and related issues on the balance between social and actuarial equity.
7. Medical Malpractice Crisis – Many reasons have been cited for the medical malpractice crisis. Physicians have blamed the litigiousness of society. Consumer
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groups have cited mismanagement of insurers. What is the cause? More importantly, what is the resolution?
8. Discuss how the legalization of marijuana will affect a company’s employment policies in the United States and its impact on insurance industry.
9. The Federal Aviation Administration has been directed to commercialize airspace for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) operations by 2015. This means “The Drones are Coming!” Everything from crop dusting, electric line inspections and oil seismic surveying, cargo deliveries and more will likely be implicated in relation to drone use. Please discuss the liability exposures associated with drone use, and how risk managers and insurance industry would like to deal with the exposures.
10. A multitude of businesses and industries are exploring / investing in 3-D printing as a means to reduce product development costs while accelerating the product development process. Everything from food and machine parts to clothes and safety equipment has successfully been produced on 3-D printers. Please discuss the challenges in 3-D printing business, new risk exposures crested by the practice, and how risk managers and insurance industry deal with the risks.
11. Discuss the development of Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing companies, risks associated with the rideshare scheme, and related insurance issues.
12. In recent years, we have observed that more insurance companies outsourced their investment to money management firms. Please analyze why insurance companies outsource their investment rather than managing assets in-house, what companies are more likely to outsource, what assets are more likely to be outsourced, the advantage and disadvantage of outsourcing, future trends regarding outsourcing, and other related issues.
13. The delivery of health information and healthcare services is rapidly changing. Discuss the revolution of eHealth, risks associated with eHealth (telemedicine, telehealth, mHealth), the regulatory landscape, and possible risk management solutions and other effective strategies for incorporating these methods of care delivery into current medical practice.
14. As PWC 2016 report suggests, we are currently seeing the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), or “intelligence” that is not the result of human cogitation. Please discuss (1) what is AI, the development of AI, and its current and proposed usages; and (2) the potential of using AI in financial services, especially in insurance industry, and the benefits, challenges, and risks associated with it.
15. Any alternative topic you choose, upon approval of the instructor.
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Reference
Style: We will use hanging indents for references (in Word, Format— paragraph—Indent and Spacing—Special—Hanging—By 0.5”)
The specific style for different sources of reference is as follows:
For books and monographs: Fama, Eugene F., and Merton H. Miller, 1972, The Theory of Finance (Hinsdale, IL:
Dryden Press).
Edited books: Muller, C. F. J. (ed.), 1990, 500 Years – A History of South Africa (Johannesburg, South
Africa: JL van Schaik (Pty)).
For contributions to collective works: Grossman, Sanford J., and Oliver D. Hart, 1982, “Corporate Financial Structure And
Managerial Incentives,” in John J. McCall, ed., The Economics of Information and Uncertainty (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 632-687.
For periodicals: Jensen, Michael C., and William H. Meckling, 1976, “Theory Of The Firm: Managerial
Behavior, Agency Costs And Ownership Structure,” Journal of Financial Economics 3: 305-360
For newspaper articles:
Jones, Edward, 2005, “Spitzer Sues Marsh,” New York Times, October 25, 2005, p. 1.
Jones, Edward, 2005, “Spitzer Sues Marsh,” New York Times, October 25, 2005, pp. 1, 12. [In case story is continued on other pages.]
For newspaper or periodical articles where the name of author is not given:
From Chicago Manual of Style 16.41:
“If the name of the author is unascertainable, the reference entry should begin with the title of the work.”
“Health is Best, but Medical Insurance is a Must,” 1990, Cover 3, part 1 (June): 39-41.
Notice here that the reference is to volume 3, part 1 of the publication Cover.
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For speeches:
Bolkestein, Frits, 2004, “Building a Single EU Market for Insurance,” address at conference organized by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in association with Reactions magazine at Chatham House, London, England (February 2).
For conference presentations:
Rusconi, Rob, 2004, “Costs of Saving for Retirement – Options for South Africa,” paper presented at the 2004 convention of the Actuarial Society of South Africa, Capetown, South Africa (October 5).
For Interviews:
Enright, Thomas, 2005, Response to interview questions posed by the authors, July 16, 2005. Thomas Enright is President, Irish Insurance Company, Dublin, Ireland.
For Swiss Re Sigma Publication:
Swiss Re, 2003, “Unit-Linked Life Insurance in Western Europe: Regaining Momentum,” Sigma, No. 3.
For Websites:
SCOR, 2003, Bancassurance Across the Globe: Meets with a Very Mixed Response, www.scor.com.
Government and Regulatory Documents and Reports:
Basel Committee, 2001, “Working Paper of the Regulatory Treatment of Operational Risk,” Bank for International Settlements, Basel, Switzerland.
