Risk Management and Insurance Operations

2013 CAS Online Course 1
Risk Management and Insurance Operations
Risk Management and Insurance Operations is called Online Course 1 by the CAS and CA1 by The
Institutes. (Prometric lists this course as CAS1 on its Web site under The Institutes.) Online Course
1/CA1 prepares CAS candidates for a two-hour, seventy-five-point multiple-choice examination. The online course and exam were developed collaboratively with The Institutes. The online course is available through the CAS Online Courses Web Page on The Institutes’ Web Site. Similarly, the exam is administered by The Institutes at Prometric test centers during four, two-month testing windows annually. The CAS will grant a waiver of CAS Online Course 1 to those who have the Chartered Property
Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.
The study material for CAS Course 1/CA1 is contained in the online course access. The fee for access to the online course includes one attempt at passing the exam. Candidates are required to purchase the online course to obtain access to the exam. Exam retakes may be purchased separately if needed.
Purchasing the course requires that candidates declare the testing window in which they are planning to take the exam. To register for the exam, a candidate must:


Call The Institutes at [phone] or [phone], extension 6000, to register for the exam itself. This will place the candidate on an eligibility list for Prometric.



Then make an appointment with Prometric for a specific date and time during the testing window.
Early registration for the exam is strongly encouraged as seats fill quickly. There is a $105 fee for changing testing windows.



Schedule your appointment when you know you will be ready to sit for the exam. Effective January
1, 2012, Prometric will charge a $50 fee to candidates who reschedule their appointments between 3 to 12 business days of a test date. Changes to the appointment date/time are not permitted within 3 business days of the appointment.

Questions or concerns regarding CAS Online Course 1/CA1 should be directed to The Institutes’
Customer Service Department at [phone] or [phone], extension 6000, or
[e-mail].

Assignment 1: Introduction to Risk Management
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Understanding and Quantifying Risk

Describe each of the following in the context of risk:
 Uncertainty
 Possibility
 Possibility compared with probability
Explain how the following classifications of risk apply and how they help in risk management:
 Pure and speculative risk
 Subjective and objective risk
 Diversifiable and nondiversifiable risk
 Quadrants of risk (hazard, operational, financial, and strategic)

Classifications of Risk

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Financial Consequences of Risk
Basic Purpose and Scope of Risk Management

Loss Exposures

Risk Management Benefits

Risk Management Program Goals

The Risk Management Process

Describe the three financial consequences of risk.
Describe the basic purpose and scope of risk management in terms of the following:
 How risk management is practiced by individuals and organizations
 The basic distinction between traditional risk management and enterprise-wide risk management
Describe the following elements of property, liability, personnel, and net income loss exposures:
 Assets exposed to loss
 Causes of loss, including associated hazards
 Financial consequences of loss
Describe the benefits of risk management and how it reduces the financial consequences of risk for individuals, organizations, and society.
Summarize pre-loss and post-loss risk management program goals and the conflicts that can arise as they are implemented.
Describe each of the steps in the risk management process Assignment 2: Risk Control
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Risk Control Techniques

Describe the six categories of risk control techniques in terms of the following:
 Whether each reduces loss frequency, reduces loss severity, or makes losses more predictable
 How each can be used to address a particular loss exposure  How they differ from one another
Explain how an organization can use risk control techniques and measures to achieve the following risk control goals:
 Implement effective and efficient risk control measures  Comply with legal requirements
 Promote life safety
 Ensure business continuity
Explain how risk control techniques can be applied to property, liability, personnel, and net income loss exposures. Describe business continuity management in terms of its scope, the process used to implement it, and the contents of a typical business continuity plan.

Risk Control Goals

Application of Risk Control Techniques

Business Continuity Management

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Assignment 3: Risk Financing
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Risk Financing Goals

Explain how individuals or organizations can achieve their overall and risk management goals by fulfilling the following risk financing goals:
 Pay for losses
 Manage the cost of risk
 Manage cash flow variability
 Maintain an appropriate level of liquidity
 Comply with legal requirements
Describe the following aspects of retention and transfer:  Retention funding measures
 Limitations on risk transfer measures
 The advantages of both retention and transfer
Explain how the following can affect the selection of the appropriate risk financing measure:
 Ability of a risk financing measure to meet risk financing goals
 Loss exposure characteristics
 Characteristics specific to an individual or organization Explain how an organization meets its risk financing goals by using the following risk financing measures:
 Guaranteed cost insurance
 Self-insurance
 Large deductible plans
 Captives
 Finite risk plans
 Pools
 Retrospective rating plans
 Hold-harmless agreements
 Capital market solutions

Retention and Transfer

Selecting Appropriate Risk Financing Measures

Risk Financing Measures

Assignment 4: Enterprise-Wide Risk Management
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Traditional Risk Management Versus ERM
Improving Strategic Decision Making With
ERM

Contrast traditional risk management and ERM.
Explain how an organization can improve its strategic decision making by incorporating enterprise-wide risk management (ERM).
Explain why ERM is an effective approach to use to face business uncertainties.
Summarize the main risk management frameworks and standards.

ERM in Approaching Business Uncertainties
Major Risk Management Frameworks and
Standards

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Assignment 5: Insurance as a Risk Management Technique
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

How Insurance Reduces Risk
Benefits of Insurance

Explain how insurance reduces risk through pooling.
Explain how insurance benefits individuals, organizations, and society.
Explain why each of the six characteristics of an ideally insurable loss exposure is important to the insurance mechanism.
Explain how the six characteristics of an ideally insurable loss exposure apply to commercial loss exposures. Explain how the six characteristics of an ideally insurable loss exposure apply to personal loss exposures. Explain how state and federal governments are involved in the insurance market and the rationale for, and level of, their involvement.

Characteristics of an Ideally Insurable Loss
Exposure
Insurability of Commercial Loss Exposures

Insurability of Personal Loss Exposures

Government Insurance Programs

Assignment 6: Overview of Insurance Operations
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Classifications of Insurers

Explain how insurers have organized to provide property-casualty insurance.
Describe the major goals of an insurer.
Describe the internal and external constraints that impede insurers from achieving their major goals.
Describe the measurements used to evaluate how successful an insurer is at meeting its established goals. Describe the core and supporting functions performed by insurers.

Insurer Goals
Constraints on Achieving Insurer Goals
Measuring Insurer Performance

Functional View of Insurance

Assignment 7: Insurance Marketing and Distribution
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Property-Casualty Insurance Marketplace

Describe the following attributes of the competitive property-casualty insurance marketplace: distinguishing characteristics of insurance customers, insurer marketing differentiations, and unique factors in the insurance marketplace.
Explain how typical insurer marketing activities are performed and why they are performed.
Describe the main types of insurance distribution systems and channels, including the principal characteristics that distinguish one distribution system from another.
Describe the functions performed by insurance producers. Insurer Marketing Activities
Insurance Distributions Systems and Channels

Functions of Insurance Producers

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Distribution System and Channel Selection for
Insurance Marketing

Describe the key factors an insurer should evaluate during the distribution-system and distributionchannel selection process.

Assignment 8: The Underwriting Function
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Purpose of Underwriting
Underwriting Activities

Describe the purpose of underwriting.
Describe the underwriting activities typically performed by line and staff underwriters.
Describe the importance of compliance with underwriting authority in individual account selection. Describe the constraining factors considered in the establishment of underwriting policy.
Describe the purposes that underwriting guidelines and underwriting audits serve.
Describe the steps in the underwriting process.
Explain how an insurer’s underwriting results are measured and how financial measures can be distorted. Underwriting Authority

Constraints in Establishing Underwriting Policy
Implementing Underwriting Policy
Underwriting Process
Measuring Underwriting Results

Assignment 9: Underwriting Property and Liability Insurance
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Underwriting Property Insurance Using the
COPE Model
Property Policy Provision Underwriting
Considerations

Describe in detail each of the COPE factors used to evaluate property loss exposures.
Explain how insurable interest, policy provisions for valuing losses, and insurance to value affect a loss payment amount under property insurance.
Explain how underwriters use policy amount, amount subject, normal loss expectancy (NLE), probable maximum loss (PML), and maximum foreseeable loss (MFL) to measure potential loss severity.
Describe the underwriting considerations for business income and extra expense coverage.
Describe the underwriting considerations and risk control techniques associated with employee dishonesty and crimes committed by others.
Describe the loss exposures and the underwriting considerations for commercial general liability insurance. Describe the underwriting considerations for personal and commercial auto insurance.
Describe the underwriting considerations for workers compensation insurance.
Describe the underwriting considerations for umbrella and excess liability insurance.

Measures of Potential Loss Severity

Underwriting Business Income and Extra
Expense Coverage
Underwriting Commercial Crime Insurance

Underwriting Commercial General Liability
Insurance
Underwriting Personal and Commercial Auto
Insurance
Underwriting Workers Compensation Insurance
Underwriting Umbrella and Excess Liability
Insurance

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Assignment 10: Risk Control and Premium Auditing
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Insurer Risk Control Goals
Risk Control Services Provided by Insurers

Describe the goals of insurer risk control activities.
Describe the risk control services provided by insurers. Explain how risk control cooperates with other insurer functions.
Explain why premium audits are conducted.
Describe the premium auditing process.
Explain why premium audits must be accurate.
Explain how premium auditing contributes to other insurer functions.

Cooperation Between Risk Control and Other
Insurer Functions
Reasons for Premium Auditing
Premium Auditing Process
Importance of Accurate Premium Audits
Premium Auditing Contributions

Assignment 11: The Claim Function
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Overview of the Claim Function

Identify the goals of the claim function, the users of claim information, and the parties with whom claim personnel interact.
Describe the claim department structure, types and functions of claim personnel, and claim personnel performance measures.
Describe the following activities in the claim handling process:
 Acknowledging and assigning the claim
 Identifying the policy and setting reserves
 Contacting the insured or the insured’s representative  Investigating the claim
 Documenting the claim
 Determining the cause of loss, liability, and the loss amount
 Concluding the claim
Explain how the law of bad faith relates to an insurer’s duty of good faith and fair dealing and how the legal environment affects the law of bad faith.
Describe the elements of good-faith claim handling.

Claim Department

Claim Handling Process

Law of Bad Faith

Elements of Good-Faith Claim Handling

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Assignment 12: Adjusting Property and Liability Claims
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Property Claim Handling Process

Explain how and why the activities in the framework for handling property claims are accomplished.
Describe the challenges of handling the following types of property claims:
 Residential dwelling claims
 Residential personal property claims
 Commercial structure claims
 Business income claims
 Merchandise claims
 Transportation and bailment claims
 Catastrophe claims
Explain how and why the activities in the framework for handling a liability claim are accomplished.
Describe the challenges of handling each of the following types of claims:
 Auto bodily injury liability claims
 Auto property damage claims
 Premises liability claims
 Operations liability claims
 Products liability claims
 Workers compensation claims
 Professional liability claims
Given a claim, determine coverage for a loss using the framework for coverage analysis and the activities in the claim handling process.

Handling Specific Types of Property Claims

Liability Claim Handling Process
Handling Specific Types of Liability Claims

Case Study: Applying the Framework for
Coverage Analysis and the Claim Handling
Process

Assignment 13: Reinsurance
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Reinsurance and Its Functions
Reinsurance Sources
Reinsurance Transactions

Describe reinsurance and its principal functions.
Describe the three sources of reinsurance.
Describe treaty reinsurance and facultative reinsurance. Describe the types of pro rata reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance and their uses.
Describe finite risk reinsurance and other methods that rely on capital markets as alternatives to traditional and non-traditional reinsurance.
Describe the factors that should be considered in the design of a reinsurance program.
Given a case, identify the reinsurance needs of an insurer and recommend an appropriate reinsurance program to meet those needs.
Explain how reinsurance is regulated.

Types of Reinsurance
Alternatives to Traditional Reinsurance

Reinsurance Program Design
Case Studies in Reinsurance Program Design

Reinsurance Regulation

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Assignment 14: Insurer Strategic Management
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Strategic Management Process
The Five Forces and SWOT Methods of
Analyzing the Environment

Describe the strategic management process.
Explain how the Five Forces and SWOT methods can be used to analyze the environment in which an insurer operates.
Explain how strategies are developed at the corporate, business, functional, and operational levels.
Describe the strategic reasons, considerations, and approaches for insurers to expand their operations globally. Given information about an insurer’s business strategies, conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate its strategy. Determining Strategy at Different
Organizational Levels
Insurers Global Expansion

Strategic Management Case Study

Assignment 15: The Underwriting Cycle
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

The Insurance Underwriting Cycle

Describe the phases of the insurance underwriting cycle and the strategies normally used by insurers and producers during each phase.
Explain how the following financial factors influence underwriting cycles
Explain how the theory of demand and supply applies to insurance and the underwriting cycle.

Financial Factors Influencing the Underwriting
Cycle
Effects of Supply and Demand on the
Underwriting Cycle

Assignment 16: Actuarial Data Management
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LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Data Quality

Summarize
 The concepts of data quality and information quality  The impact of data quality on the actuarial work product Given a principle of data quality, provide an example that illustrates the principle.
Given a concept from the Actuarial Standard of
Practice No. 23, provide an example of its application or use.
For each step in the life cycle for insurance data, describe the purpose, the responsible parties, and errors typically encountered.
Summarize metadata including:
 How metadata are defined
 The actuary’s role in creating and sharing metadata  How metadata are shared across an organization
 The data collected under different statistical plans

Principles of Data Quality
Data Quality—ASOP No. 23

Life Cycle for Insurance Data

Metadata

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The Need for Aggregate Insurance Statistical
Data
Types of Statistical Plans

Insurance Data Elements: Date Fields and
Amount Fields in Statistical Plans
Insurance Data Elements: Classification or
Rating Variable Fields and Exposure Data
Elements
Techniques and Applications to Improve
Information Quality

Auditing Data and the Actuary’s Responsibility in Assessing Data Reasonability

Explain the regulatory and business needs for statistical data.
Summarize the relationship of Statistical Plans to insurance rating elements and the two basic types of
Statistical Plans:
 Summary-based Statistical Plans
 Transaction-based Statistical Plans
Describe the functions of the date field and amount field data elements in a statistical plan.
Describe the following statistical plan data elements by line of business:
 Classification and Rating Elements
 Exposure
Summarize the following data quality analysis concepts:  Exploratory data analysis
 Data cubes
 Identifying missing data
 Descriptive statistics
 Box and whisker plots
Explain the following:
 The purpose and steps of data auditing
 An actuary’s responsibility in assessing data reasonability Study Materials for CAS Online Course 1
The online course itself contains learning objectives and all the educational material to meet these objectives and successfully complete the exam. The course fee includes one attempt at the exam.
The following printed materials are supplemental and may also be purchased from The Institutes, but are not required:
 Textbook contains material that is identical to the online course—only in a hardcopy format.
 Review Notes is a condensed version of the textbook.
 Course Guide contains sample questions and answers.
 Flashcards contain key words and phrases.
The materials described above may be purchased individually or in various package combinations.
Questions about potentially defective questions or material should be directed to The Institutes’
Customer Service Department at [phone] or [phone], extension 6000, or
[e-mail].

Publisher and Distributor
CAS Online Course 1/CA1 is available through The Institutes.
The Institutes, 720 Providence Road, Suite 100, Malvern, PA 19355-3433; telephone: [phone] or [phone] extension 6000; E-mail:[e-mail]; Web Site
Page for CAS Online Courses: www.aicpcu.org/cas.htm.

Exam Results
Candidates taking this computer-based test will receive unofficial pass/fail results at the conclusion of

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their exam. The unofficial pass/fail result will be displayed on the computer screen at the conclusion of the exam. In most test centers, a printed copy of the candidate’s unofficial pass/fail result will be available upon completion of the computer-based test from the proctor in the administrative area outside the testing room. The candidate, however, should carefully read the result that is displayed on the computer screen at the conclusion of the exam.
When the official grades have been processed, candidates will receive an e-mail from The Institutes stating that their grades are available. Candidates may then log into their account on The Institutes Web
Site (www.TheInstitutes.org) to access their grades. The grade report for each candidate will show the candidate’s overall score on the exam in ten point increments (e.g., 60 to 69%, 70 to 79%, and so on). It will similarly show the candidate’s performance by assignment using those same ten point increments.
Numeric scores are not released. Approximately three weeks after the close of the testing window, The
Institutes will send a copy of the grades directly to the CAS Office to be added to the candidates’ admissions records.

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