The Changing Insurance Industry

Abstract

My involvement in the Work Experience Senior Individualized Project (WESIP) has been a great learning experience and positive step in my business career. The WESIP allowed me to put concepts learned in the classroom to practical use. In doing so, I was able to gain a greater knowledge of the overall insurance industry and an in depth understanding of the expanding roles self-insurance and self-insurance brokers play in this industry. In this paper, I will discuss the conclusions I have drawn as a result of this research. Primarily, I find the insurance industry to be rapidly and creatively changing. More and more, insurance programs are being tailored to better meet the risk management needs of insureds. The basic outline of this paper will consist of three sections: 1). The Research Section In the first section, I will introduce Alexsis and the products they offer. Next, I will give a short summary of recent industry developments. Following the industry background, will be a brief description and analysis of traditional insurance companies. I will then compare traditional insurance to some alternative facilities such as self-insurance, captive insurance, and financial reinsurance. Finally, I will give the conclusions drawn as a result of this research. 2). The Work Involvement Section In this section, I will describe some of the functions I performed while working in the cash management department of Alexsis Risk Management Services. Included with this will be examples from the procedural manual written by me during my internship with Alexsis. 3). The Integration Section Finally, section three is a short section, which discusses the integration of my classroom and work experience. I will discuss some of the experiences I have had at Kalamazoo College and how these should assist me in attaining my future career goals.