As someone interested in a career in risk management you likely already know that a risk management and insurance degree can open up many exciting career opportunities. But you may still have some questions about what exactly these programs entail and how to choose the right one.
In this complete guide, I’ll walk you step-by-step through everything you need to know about earning a bachelor’s degree in risk management and insurance. From required courses to potential career paths, I’ve got you covered!
What is Risk Management and Insurance?
Let’s start with the basics – what exactly is risk management and insurance?
Risk management is the practice of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks that could negatively impact individuals or organizations. The goal is to minimize the effects of these potential losses.
Insurance is one of the main tools used in risk management It involves pooling funds from many insured individuals or entities to pay for losses sustained by a few of them,
Insurance helps protect against the financial consequences of various risks like illness, lawsuits, natural disasters, cyber attacks, and more. By purchasing insurance policies, individuals and companies can transfer some of their risk exposure to the insurer.
Risk management and insurance work hand-in-hand. Risk managers leverage various insurance products to manage their organization’s exposures. And insurance providers design policies and set premiums based on risk management principles.
Why Earn a Risk Management and Insurance Degree?
Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in risk management and insurance is a great way to launch a career in this fast-growing field. Here are some of the top reasons to earn this degree:
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Job opportunities – The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for insurance underwriters and risk managers to grow 8% from 2021-2031, faster than the average across all occupations. This steady growth means new job openings.
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Versatility – Risk management skills apply across industries from finance and healthcare to construction and technology. This versatility gives you flexibility across business sectors.
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Competitive salaries – The average annual wage for risk managers is over $100,000 according to the BLS. Underwriters earn around $77,000 annually on average.
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Advancement potential – With experience, risk managers can become leaders within their organizations. Some even start their own risk management or insurance consulting firms.
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Job stability – Managing risks will always be crucial for companies and governmental entities. So positions in this field tend to be more recession-proof than others.
By earning a specialized degree, you position yourself for the wide range of opportunities this industry offers.
What Will I Learn in a Risk Management and Insurance Program?
These undergraduate programs provide a strong foundation in all aspects of managing risk. Common courses and concepts covered include:
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Insurance principles – Learn about various insurance products from life and health to property and casualty insurance. Study insurance regulations, underwriting, claims adjusting, and sales.
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Risk assessment – Identify and analyze an organization’s exposures. Estimate frequency and severity of potential losses. Assess current risk management strategies.
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Risk control – Explore tools like risk avoidance, risk retention, risk transfer, and risk reduction. Apply risk control methods to case studies.
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Enterprise risk management – Take a big picture view of risks across an entire organization. Coordinate risk management company-wide.
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Data analysis – Utilize data modeling, statistics, and analytics to quantify risks and inform decision making.
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Finance and accounting – Understand financial statements, capital management, and concepts like time value of money.
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Laws and regulations – Learn the legal environment and regulatory framework for insurance. Study important legislation like HIPAA, the Affordable Care Act, and ERISA.
Programs blend insurance expertise with core business skills like management, finance, economics, and statistics. Coursework balances risk management theory with plenty of practical application.
What Are the Requirements to Apply?
Like any bachelor’s program, risk management and insurance majors require you to first apply and be accepted into the university. Entry requirements vary by school but generally include:
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High school transcript – Most schools require at least a 2.5 GPA for admission. The higher your grades, the better your chances of getting into more selective programs.
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Test scores – Submit standardized test scores from the SAT or ACT. Some schools are test-optional so check each university’s policy.
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Letters of recommendation – Have 1-2 mentors like teachers or coaches write recommendation letters supporting your candidacy.
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Personal statement – Write a short essay about why that school is a good fit for your interests and goals.
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Application fee – Fees range from $25-$90 to submit your application materials. Fee waivers are available for qualifying low-income applicants.
Meeting the minimum requirements gets your foot in the door but doesn’t guarantee admission, especially at more competitive schools. Go beyond the basics to strengthen your application wherever possible.
Where Can I Earn This Type of Degree?
There are over 200 colleges across the country that offer risk management and insurance bachelor’s degrees. Here are a few top program options to consider:
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Temple University – Temple offers a Risk Management and Insurance BBA with tracks in healthcare risk, employee benefits, or corporate risk management.
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Florida State University – FSU provides an undergraduate Certificate in Risk Management and Insurance along with a BBA in Risk Management/Insurance.
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Indiana State University – ISU offers an ABET-accredited BS in Insurance and Risk Management. Students gain hands-on experience through paid internships.
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University of Georgia – UGA’s BS program has concentrations in actuarial science, employee benefits, personal financial planning, and more.
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St. John’s University – SJU provides a BS in Risk Management and Insurance with concentrations in analytics or claims investigation.
I recommend researching a range of schools to find the right balance of academics, experiential learning, career support, financial aid, and other factors important to you.
What Courses Make Up a Typical Curriculum?
While course sequencing and titles vary, risk management and insurance majors complete a mix of insurance-focused and general business courses.
Here are some of the core courses you can expect in your program’s curriculum:
Risk Management Courses:
- Principles of Risk Management
- Risk Control
- Risk Financing
- Enterprise Risk Management
- Risk Modeling and Analytics
Insurance Courses:
- Principles of Insurance
- Life and Health Insurance
- Property and Casualty Insurance
- Insurance Operations
- Reinsurance
Business Courses:
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Accounting
- Statistics
- Microeconomics
- Business Law
- Finance
Programs also integrate insurance-specific electives like employee benefits, claims investigation, commercial underwriting, and insurance fraud examination.
Real-world training through internships, case competitions, or research projects round out the curriculum at many universities.
What Can I Do With a Risk Management and Insurance Degree?
Your career options are extensive with this specialized business degree. Some of the top jobs for graduates include:
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Risk manager – Identify and control risks for organizations in various industries like healthcare, construction, and manufacturing. Develop risk reduction strategies and purchase insurance policies.
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Insurance underwriter – Evaluate and price policy applications for customers. Determine eligibility and appropriate premium costs based on risk analysis. Recommend policy limits and exclusions.
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Actuary – Analyze statistics to determine probability and likelihood of events like death, illness, injuries, or catastrophes. Help insurers develop premium rates based on risk factor projections.
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Loss control specialist – Conduct risk assessments for policyholders. Recommend safety and loss prevention measures. Investigate insurance claims.
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Benefits manager – Oversee employee benefit plans including health insurance, retirement plans, paid leave, and more. Control benefit costs and ensure compliance.
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Claims adjuster or examiner – Review insurance claims to confirm eligibility. Determine appropriate payments due and negotiate settlements with policyholders.
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Insurance sales agent – Sell various insurance products like property, casualty, life, health, and long-term care insurance. Acquire new clients and retain existing ones.
The list goes on and includes related roles like insurance broker, risk analyst, reinsurance professional, and more. A risk management and insurance degree offers you versatility across the industry.
How Can I Stand Out in the Job Market?
Beyond earning your bachelor’s degree, there are a few key ways to stand out when applying for risk management roles:
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Get licensed – Obtain industry designations like the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) or Associate in Risk Management (ARM). These demonstrate specialized expertise.
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Do internships – Get hands-on insurance experience at an agency, brokerage, or insurer while still in school. Internships can lead to job offers.
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Build a portfolio – Develop in-depth projects analyzing real company risks and insurance programs to showcase your skills.
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Join student organizations – Become a leader in
What Can I Do with a Risk Management and Insurance Degree?
Risk and insurance touches every aspect of daily life and business. When we drive our cars, we accept risk of damage to our expensive automobile and potential injury to ourselves and others. When we operate our business, we encounter risks to our business property, reputation, and livelihood. Risk management and insurance is what allows our lives and the economy to operate smoothly in spite of the risks and the reality that âbad thingsâ will occasionally happen. Risk management and insurance is what makes us whole when things go wrong in both our personal and business lives.
As a risk and insurance professional, you will be responsible for putting lives back together. From insurance agents, risk managers, underwriters, claims, marketing, IT, human resources, to customer service representatives, everyone works in concert to make the world a better place. As a risk and insurance professional, your life will be far from boring and the type of work that you do can be extremely varied.
Insurance agents and customer service representatives are the front line in the business of risk management. Their objective is to match proper insurance products to the risks and needs of their clients. This requires getting to know and understand the unique risks of each client, learning their business, and building a helpful and trusted relationship. Many insurance agents own their own business and are very entrepreneurial.
Risk analysts and risk managers spend their time identifying and analyzing potential risks, and working with others both inside and outside of their organization to treat the risks. Risk treatment may include creative approaches to control, prevent, and reduce the losses that can result from various risks, which may or may not include risk transfer arrangements such as insurance.
Underwriters spend their time evaluating insurance applications, analyzing the risks that their insurance company is being asked to assume, determining an appropriate scope of coverage and price, and building relationships with their agency partners. Underwriting analysis must strike a balance between meeting the insurance needs of the marketplace and maintaining a profitable insurance operation.
Claims professionals investigate the circumstances of incidents, determine insurance coverage, and settle claims to help people and businesses rebuild and get back to normal after a negative event. They are directly responsible for making the insured whole again. Whereas this is one of the most challenging careers you may ever have, it will also be the most rewarding.
Loss prevention activities help people and businesses to reduce the likelihood of negative events and losses by inspecting their property and practices, making recommendations, and coaching them toward safer operations.
Risk and insurance activities include a number of other activities that are common to many industries, such as data analytics, accounting, information technology, marketing, customer service, and more. There is something for everyone in the risk and insurance industry.
Risk and insurance professionals typically find themselves working in office locations throughout the world. There are numerous opportunities in major U.S. cities, as well as in smaller field offices located in more rural towns. Some positions also offer flexible telecommuting options. Insurance is a global business as well, presenting the opportunity to work almost anywhere in the world. Some risk and insurance positions require the professional to be âin the fieldâ meeting clients, examining facilities, and leading projects.
Median entry-level salaries excluding benefits and bonuses (Salary.com)
Insurance Agent: $47,900*
Claims Adjuster: $45,200
Loss Control Specialist: $47,800
Risk Analyst/Manager: $54,800
Underwriter: $52,600
*Agents have the potential to earn a significant annual income.
Entry level salaries above can grow with experience. Claims Adjusters, Loss Control Reps earnings can rise into the $60,000s; Underwriting managers and directors can earn up to $150,000; Risk Managers rise into the $100,000s, and Agents owning their own business may eventually sell their agency business for seven-figures.
- Claims Investigator
- Loss Prevention Field Representative
- Risk Manager/Analyst
- Sales Agent/Broker
- Underwriter (Risk Selection)
- Marketing Representative
- Customer Service Representative
- Information Technology
- Product Development
- Finance/Accounting
- Management Executive
Risk Management and Insurance Degree | “Why I Chose MTSU”
What is a major in risk management & insurance?
The major in risk management and insurance prepares students with a logical framework to approach decision making amidst future variance and uncertainty. Risk based decision making is involved in every aspect of life and business and understanding how to approach risk is critical to success in every career path.
What is a risk management degree?
Risk managers working in higher education, for example, must also mitigate risks related to reputation, insurance, cybersecurity and international travel. Undergraduate degrees in risk management focus on mathematics, statistics and economics. They also cover business principles including economics and finance.
What can a risk management & insurance degree teach you?
The comprehensive curriculum associated with a risk management and insurance degree can prepare students for the workforce by teaching them about risk management, financial planning, property operations, life and health insurer operations and employee benefits.
How do I become a risk management major?
To be certified to the major, a student must meet the requirements for specialized admission programs in the College of Business. Upon completing all requirements for this major, the student will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Risk Management/Insurance. Courses for the major are updated each academic year.
