Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: define economics and explain the primary sectors that make up local, national, and global economies, as well as the different types of financial institutions and the roles they play in the economy; describe the three types of insurance companies – stock, mutual, and fraternal benefit societies – and how their products can satisfy one or more of the four basic financial needs of customers; explain how changes in price levels due to inflation, deflation, or increasing / decreasing market interest rates can affect insurance or financial services institutions; explain the steps in the control process and describe the important control mechanisms insurance companies use to measure, evaluate, and improve their operational performance, including risk management, profitability, and solvency; understand key financial concepts such as simple and compound interest, minimum reserve requirements, minimum capital standards, required and risk-free rates of return, risk premium, the rule of 72, and future and present value calculations; describe the major components of a product's financial design, such as the cost of benefits, operating expenses, and investment earnings; describe how insurers can use benchmarking, total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, lean management, and business process reengineering (BPR) to improve operating efficiency, and how they use outsourcing, enhanced information technology, and remote work accommodations to reduce operating expenses; explain how insurers use information technology to manage information and improve business processes and relationships with customers; describe the three primary elements of a financial model and explain how insurers can use modeling to forecast future financial conditions; recognize essential information contained in the income statement and the balance sheet, as well as the purpose of cash flow and owners' equity statements and Annual Reports; and describe the ratio-based systems used by regulators and rating agencies to monitor and evaluate insurance company solvency and profitability.

Version 1 and 2: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: distinguish among the various stakeholder groups connected with a financial services company; recognize typical functional areas for insurance operations and classify units as line or staff units; define risk and return and explain the risk-return tradeoff; distinguish among product distribution systems and channels; explain how insurers assess the risks presented by a proposed insured and classify those risks; identify the purpose of customer service and describe some typical customer service transactions for individual life and annuity products; describe the participants and the steps in the claim process; explain how insurers use market segmentation and target marketing to identify the customers who are most likely to buy their products; compare and contrast the legal and compliance functions and describe the roles and responsibilities of each area; explain the responsibilities of the various operating functions involved in financial management; summarize the financial reporting requirements imposed by insurance and securities regulators.

Version 1: Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to: describe the insurance administration activities associated with underwriting individual and group life and health insurance; explain how reinsurance works and identify the fundamentals of administering reinsurance agreements; explain the process of administering claims for life, medical, and disability income insurance and recognize situations that may involve misrepresentation or fraud; recognize the importance of customer service and describe ways to provide quality service; and describe the process of administering annuities. Version 2: Students will be able to: describe the insurance administration activities associated with underwriting individual and group life and health insurance; explain how reinsurance works and identify the fundamentals of administering reinsurance agreements; explain the process of administering claims for life, medical, long-term care, and disability income insurance and recognize situations that may involve misrepresentation or fraud; and recognize the importance of customer service and describe ways to provide quality service. Version 3: Students will be able to: explain the importance of efficient administration practices to a company’s business processes, productivity, profitability, and compliance with regulatory and ethical standards; describe how marketing, actuarial, accounting, treasury operations, legal, compliance, human resources, and information technology coordinate with staff in insurance administration, notably underwriting, claim administration, reinsurance and customer service; describe how governments in the United States and Canada regulate discrimination, privacy, medical testing, replacements, money laundering, and financing terrorists during the underwriting process for both individual and group business; define key considerations, such as insurable interest, risk assessment and classification, suitability, information sources, and anti-selection that influence the decision to approve and issue insurance; how these determine whether coverage is preferred, standard, sub-standard, or declined; and if reinsurance may be necessary; list the basic features and underwriting considerations of various types of insurance, including multi-life policies, juvenile insurance policies, buy-sell agreements, key-person life insurance, split-dollar life insurance, creditor insurance and direct response policies; explain the importance of an insurer’s claim philosophy in guiding its claim practices, the steps it takes in evaluating a typical claim,  and any “red flags” that indicate potentially fraudulent claims; explain how claim analysts determine the proper payee for life insurance policy proceeds and describe situations involving the beneficiary, policy assignments, adverse claimants, community property laws, divorce, and simultaneous deaths that can complicate the payment process; recognize actions that qualify as unfair claim practices according to the NAIC Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, and requirements imposed on insurers by the NAIC Unfair Life, Accident and Health Claims Settlement Practices Model Regulation; describe how a database management system, data mining, predictive modeling, a business rules engine, a document management system, and an automated workflow system enhance insurance administration processes and reduce security risks; and identify the benefits to insurers of providing effective customer service including the typical ways that insurers organize customer service departments and the tools that automate and simplify customer service delivery.

Upon successful completion of course, students will be able to: define marketing and the elements of the marketing mix and describe factors in the marketing environment that interact with and affect the marketing mix; describe the steps in a customer’s purchase decision process and explain how companies use customer relationship marketing to manage the customer relationship; identify how companies use internal databases, marketing intelligence, and marketing research to acquire marketing information; explain the marketing management process and how companies use market segmentation and target marketing; identify characteristics of financial services that are unique from consumer products and describe the concepts of product development and product pricing as they apply to financial services; describe the marketing communication process and the promotion tools of personal selling, advertising, and publicity; describe the characteristics of direct (company-controlled) distribution channel and an indirect distribution channel that uses intermediaries and explain factors a company considers when selecting a type of distribution channel; describe the personal selling process financial professionals use to identify, contact, and qualify prospects and explain how they generate proposals, make sales presentations, answer objections, and close sales; and describe the four types of fraudulent, misleading, or unethical sales activities that financial professionals are prohibited from engaging in and specific regulatory oversight, from entities such as FINRA, the SEC and NAIC, aimed at preventing these practices.