Online Degrees in Insurance

Insurance education covers business fundamentals and applied techniques for assessing, pricing and managing risk, and administering different types of insurance. Insurance degrees may focus on:

• Insurance types: Life insurance, health insurance, property and liability insurance, casualty insurance, commercial insurance
• Insurance administration: Insurance operations, employee benefit plans and retirement planning, personal financial planning, insurance law and regulations, reinsurance, surety and bonds, insurance agency operations, and sales management
• Risk management: risk modeling, risk theory, risk financing, enterprise risk management, mathematical risk management (MRM), actuarial science

In addition, insurance degrees offer a general education designed to hone core communication, analytical and critical thinking skills. Some programs also emphasize business fundamentals, with courses in finance, management, marketing and accounting.

Insurance and risk management degrees are available at all levels, from associate to doctorate, and via a range of institutions. Although dedicated insurance degree programs do exist, many institutions offer insurance education as a specialization within a business degree program.

Associate degree programs in insurance generally focus on applied skills relevant to entry-level positions such as insurance agent, customer representative and insurance adjuster. Bachelor's and graduate degrees in insurance emphasize the strategic and theoretical basis for insurance policy, with a focus on managing risk.

Because the coursework for insurance degrees is largely academic, many classes work well in the online format. Online insurance degrees may incorporate an internship to allow students to apply their knowledge in a work context.

Online degrees in insurance include:

• Associate in Science or Associate in Applied Science. The two-year applied A.S. or A.A.S. in insurance is available at community colleges and vocational and technical institutes.
• Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Business Administration. The four-year undergraduate B.S. and B.B.A. emphasize different aspects of insurance. Bachelor of Science programs generally approach risk management as an academic discipline, emphasizing the mathematic and economic principles underlying insurance practices. The B.B.A., meanwhile, offers a broad education in business topics like marketing and finance, with targeted training in insurance.
• Master of Science or Master of Business Administration with a concentration in insurance. Similar to the bachelor's degree programs, the two-year graduate degrees offer different areas of focus. The MS primarily covers theoretical first principles, while the MBA offers a broad business education with insurance electives. At the graduate level, the curriculum is evenly divided between advanced coursework and a capstone research project.
• PhD The terminal degree offers an opportunity for original research in the field. Doctoral students in insurance develop new insights and approaches designed to improve insurance adjusting, risk management and other industry practices. Graduates may go on to strategic roles in industry or academic teaching positions.

In addition, mid-career insurance or finance professionals can upgrade their skills with continuing education certificates in key areas. Professional certification is also available in underwriting or various areas of administration--the Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU), Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI) and Insurance Institute of America (IIA) certifications are some of the top certifications in the field.

Traditional and online insurance degrees lead to various career paths in the insurance industry. Opportunities include:

• Insurance underwriter
• Insurance sales agent or broker
• Risk manager or risk analyst
• Compliance director
• Claims adjuster or manager
• Loss control specialist

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities in the insurance industry should be best for sales agents and adjusters.

• Growth: Insurance adjusters and sales agents are expected to see the most job growth in coming years. Sales agents should see employment growth of 12 percent in the 2008-2018 period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Salaries: Insurance sales agents earned a mean annual salary of $62,520 in 2010, and claims adjusters earned $60,200, the BLS reports.
• Education: Insurance degrees may focus on theoretical topics such as risk management or applied skills such as finance, sales or underwriting.