Insurance Executives' Perceptions of Insurance Instruction at the College and University Level

Abstract

At some point in meetings of insurance academicians, the conversation often turns to the employment prospects for students specializing in insurance subjects. Someone will comment on the insurance industry's apparent unwillingness to provide sufficient job opportunities for college graduates with insurance specialties. Inevitably, a comment also will be heard concerning the sensitivity of the insurance industry to criticism by the academic community, implying a relationship between this sensitivity and insurance industry hiring practices with respect to college graduates with insurance specialties. In a survey of insurer college recruitment practices, Berekson and Randall [1 ] found insurer college recruiters stated they would favor those students who had taken insurance courses over those who had not. The data regarding their actual practices, however, indicated this did not occur with any degree of regularity. A reasonable speculation is whether insurer hiring practices are founded upon preconceived beliefs concerning the background of job applicants (e.g., the applicability of insurance education). This study assesses the values insurance executives place upon insurance education at the college and university level. Specifically, the study considers the following questions: (1) How do insurance executives view college and university insurance instructors? (2) Do insurance executives place higher value on non-insurance courses taught at colleges and universities than they place on insurance courses taught at those institutions? (3) How do insurance executives feel about those insurance courses they personally have taken for academic credit at colleges and universities as opposed to non-credit insurance courses, lectures or seminars they have attended at colleges and universities?