During Fall Break, 18 Appalachian State Risk Management & Insurance (RMI) students participated in the October 2011 Gamma Iota Sigma national conference in Columbus, Ohio. More than 150 students from across the country attended the conference, which included workshops, industry networking events, and new ways to improve local Gamma chapters. Many students also had interviews for professional positions.

“This was the best conference that I have ever been involved with for students,” said Dr. Karen Epermanis. Epermanis, along with Walker College of Business Career Development Director Michelle Boisclair, accompanied the students on this trip.

“I feel that this conference will help raise the visibility around the nation of our RMI program at Appalachian, and will demonstrate our strengths. It was an awesome experience,” adds RMI Student Society Vice President and Walker Fellows member Glenn Steadman.

Appalachian State University is a “Rho” chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma, which was established in 1979.

RMI Society President Ryne Herring and RMI Society Vice President Glenn Steadman

Insurance is important. And often times, it's easy to find coverage. 

Insurers compete for your business, but it’s the only industry where they have to establish a price before they know what their costs will be. That problem is addressed by insuring a large number of homogeneous exposures where probability of loss can be accurately estimated. Most houses and cars, along with many other situations, fit this description

But what about those items which don’t share many common characteristics? A rare artwork. Unique fine jewelry. A career in racing. How can one design insurance plans when the normal rules don't apply?

Welcome to the Surplus Lines Insurance Market, a popular subject within the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center of Walker College. Our students are researching how best to insure hard to place and high value risks that standard insurers are either not willing or unable to cover. It's an exciting field with endless possibilities, and it's attracting enthusiastic students.

This video is a collaboration between the Brantley Center and the American Association of Managing General Agents to promote, as one student calls it, "This is the most exciting career you've never heard of." Surplus Lines Insurance encapsulates a variety of growing insurance needs, according to the AAMGA website.

Excess and surplus lines insurance is a segment of the insurance market that allows consumers to buy property and casualty insurance through the state regulated insurance market, where policyholders, agents, brokers and insurance companies all have the ability to design specific insurance coverages and negotiate pricing based on the risks to be secured. “Freedom of rate and form” has given the E&S market the ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and those of the consumers and commercial entities seeking this unique insurance protection.

The promotional video recently found success at the annual Videographer Awards, winning an Award of Distinction in the Recruitment category, and an Award of Excellence in the Creativity/Editing category. "It was a true team effort, and we won largely because of the efforts of the COB. students and their dedication to the project," said Greg Williams, producer and director of the video.

Exploring opportunities in Surplus Lines Insurance is just one of many goals within the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center, which in 2010 was called a "powerhouse" among the 10 Largest Risk and Insurance Schools by a prominent R&I magazine. The program has seen tremendous growth since its start in 1985 and now has more than 120 students enrolled.

UPDATE. ASU News has posted details on the Videographer award won by this video.

Risk management and insurance students in Dr. Dave Wood’s “International Insurance Markets” course, offered through the Walker College of Business, acted in, helped write and produce the video with guidance from Greg Williams, producer and director of Appalachian’s Interactive Video Services, and Glenn Bruce, an adjunct professor. The video was commissioned by the AAMGA and the Brantley Center to recruit prospective students into the surplus lines insurance field. The video was shown at the opening breakfast of the 2011 AAMGA convention and is being sent to 4,600 college and university career centers across the nation.

Walker College sophomores Cameron Annas and Rumbi Masamvu were recently awarded $5,000 scholarships by the Spencer Educational Foundation.The John T. Lockton Memorial scholarships are given annually toundergraduate risk management/insurance and business administration majors.

Masamvu is an international student from Zimbabwe and a member of the RMI Society. She also plays with the Appalachian State women’s golf team. She is participating in the Brantley Center’s Building Insurance Talent program, a diversity career exploration program sponsored by Liberty Mutual.

Annas is an officer of the RMI Society, a student club within Walker College. He is also a Student Government Association Senator. His father is an independent insurance agent in Granite Falls. Annas will be interning at Montgomery Insurance this summer.   

The mission of the Spencer Educational Foundation, Inc. is to stimulate, promote and encourage promising students of risk management disciplines by supporting them in fulfilling their educational goals. The Foundation provides scholarship awards, educational grants and knowledge programs for undergraduate, graduate and part-time MBA students.

The Richard S. Brantley Risk and Insurance Center, housed within the Walker College of Business, is included on Risk Management magazine’s September list of “The 10 Largest Risk and Insurance Schools.”

The program, based in the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance, is No. 4 on the list for the number of students it graduated in 2009-10, a total of 55. The University of Georgia had the biggest program with 129 graduates.

The magazine says Appalachian’s program began in the late 1970s and has grown steadily since then. “Though a relative newcomer compared to the top three (programs), App State is a powerhouse,” the magazine stated. “The school’s RMI Society (Risk Management and Insurance) invites professionals to speak to students each month and schedules philanthropic events such as working with Habitat for Humanity.”

The magazine also wrote that, “When it comes to teaching risk management, bigger is not always better. But the largest programs are respected for both their size and the future risk managers they teach.”

“The national recognition of our risk management and insurance program is very rewarding,” said David C. Marlett, chair of the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance. “Our program has grown thanks to the significant external support from the insurance industry and strong support within the college from Dean Randy Edwards. The faculty, staff and students work so well together and employers have taken notice. Organizations come from across the nation to recruit our students and our job placement rate continues to be strong even with the struggling economy.”

The Brantley Risk and Insurance Center was established in 1988 by the Independent Agents of North Carolina in honor of Dick Brantley’s service to that organization. You can become a part of the growing Brantley Center “powerhouse” by supporting its BRIC by BRIC Campaign.