Business - Insurance (Optional Co-op)

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Courses - January 2025

Level 1

Course details

Introductory Financial Accounting I
ACCT1030

Description: This course introduces ASPE, IFRS, accounting terminology, the accounting equation, the double-entry system of bookkeeping, the accrual basis of accounting, financial statements and the ledgers and journals making up a basic accounting system for both sole proprietorship and corporation forms of businesses.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

College Reading & Writing Skills
COMM1085

Description: This course introduces students to the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills needed for academic and workplace success. Students will analyse a variety of texts and apply the steps of planning, writing, and revising to produce writing that meets the expectations of selected audiences and purposes. The course prepares students for college-level writing tasks, research, and documentation by asking them to produce clear, informed, and purposeful documents relevant to both academic and professional contexts.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Business Computing Applications I
COMP1056

Description:

During this course, the student will learn to effectively use Windows operating system, apply word processing techniques, create basic business presentations, and explore the power of spreadsheets . Students will also learn the skills necessary to operate effectively within the Conestoga College computing environment. An emphasis will be placed on the development of solutions to business problems using commonly available microcomputer tools.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Conestoga 101
CON0101

Description: This self-directed course focuses on introducing new students to the supports, services, and opportunities available at Conestoga College. By the end of this course, students will understand the academic expectations of the Conestoga learning environment, as well as the supports available to ensure their academic success. Students will also be able to identify on-campus services that support their health and wellness, and explore ways to get actively involved in the Conestoga community through co-curricular learning opportunities.
  • Hours: 1
  • Credits: 0
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Insurance Fundamentals
INS1005

Description:

The concept of risk, and how insurance is a mechanism to transfer risk and benefit society. The key insurance industry functions of selling/distributing insurance, underwriting insurance policies, adjusting losses, and reinsuring risk. The elements needed to form an insurance contract. The regulation of insurance in Canada, including regulation of policy wordings, licensing of insurance professionals, ethical/professionalism considerations for insurance professionals, and the role of insurance industry organizations. A full day field trip is spent at a local brokerage where students will experience hands on training and exposure to the daily life of a brokerage.

  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Business Mathematics I
MATH1010

Description: The purpose of the course is to provide the student with a mathematical basis for personal and business financial decisions through four instructional modules. The course stresses business applications using arithmetic, algebra, ratio-proportion and graphing. Applications include payroll, cost-volume-profit analysis and merchandising mathematics. This course stresses logical reasoning and problem solving skills. A Texas Instrument BAII “Plus” calculator is required for the course.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Marketing I
MKT1040

Description: Marketing is about knowing the customers and the creative and strategic processes to meet their needs, wants and desires. This highly interactive course introduces you to the world of marketing from both a societal and organizational perspective. You will participate in a variety of hands-on practical activities and projects to immerse yourself in the fundamentals of marketing.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Level 2

Course details

Organizational Behaviour
BUS1021

Description: This course is a study of workplace behaviour at the individual, team and organizational level. The course explores theories of motivation, perceptions, emotions, team effectiveness, decision making, leadership, power, culture, and change. The concepts and application explored will guide students in their application of best practices to strengthen organizations and their overall effectiveness as global citizens.
  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Co-op and Career Preparation
CEPR1020

Description: This series of modules will prepare students for job searching for their co-op work terms with the guidance of a Coop Advisor. Students will familiarize themselves with the co-operative education policies and procedures and will learn the expectations, rules, and regulations that apply in the workplace regarding social, organizational, ethical, and safety issues while developing an awareness of self-reflective practices. Students will reflect on their skills, attitudes, and expectations and examine available opportunities in the workplace. Successful completion of these modules is a requirement for co-op eligibility.
  • Hours: 14
  • Credits: 1
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Introduction to Economics
ECON1080

Description:

Students will learn basic principles that are essential to an understanding of contemporary economic issues facing Canadian society. It will include both microeconomic issues and macroeconomic issues. Topics of study include principles of economics, market demand and supply, firm production and cost, and business behaviour and decision making in a market; macroeconomic indicators - gross domestic product, unemployment, and inflation - aggregate demand and aggregate supply, international trade, exchange rates, and the impact of domestic and international influences, and of government policies.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Applied Ethics
ETHS1080

Description:

Applied Ethics will allow the students to explore the important ethical issues facing the insurance industry today; issues which typically arise in the areas of catastrophe insurance, claims investigation, autonomous vehicles, information asymmetry, compensatory justice and conflicts of interest, to name only a few. Students will be introduced to the concepts that are relevant for resolving ethical problems and given an opportunity to develop the necessary reasoning and analytical skills for doing so.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Essentials of Loss Adjusting
INS2010

Description: The course focuses on insurance knowledge and conduct required of claims professionals. Students examine both the soft skills and technical skills which enhance the handling of insurance claims. Through a step-by-step process, students move from understanding claims situations and evaluation of policy coverage to determining how much of a claim is payable. Managing relationships in order to obtain critical information is discussed and students will also learn the fundamentals of investigation, evaluation, negotiation and settlement within the claims process. The types of claims examined include property, automobile and liability insurance.
  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Underwriting Essentials
INS2020

Description:

This course focuses on the essential skills required of an entry-level underwriter. Students begin with an overview of an underwriter's role as an investor of shareholder capital on behalf of an insurer and discuss the process of accepting and rejecting risk within parameters set by the insurer and imposed by the external environment. Hard skills, soft skills, and underwriting temperament are profiled and specifically applied in the analysis of individual property, automobile, and liability risks.

  • Hours: 36
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Essential Skills for the Insurance Broker and Agent
INS2030

Description: This course is an overview of insurance business practices from the broker/agent’s perspective and concentrates on the needs of both personal lines and small commercial risk clients. Students are given insights into the skills that a typical intermediary uses to perform effectively from initial contact with a client through the evaluation and application process, to binding and policy documents. All major insurance product lines and common policy transactions that a broker/agent may handle are reviewed.
  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Level 3

Course details

Co-op Work Term (Insurance-Property/Casualty)
COOP1460

Description: This co-op work term will provide students with college-approved work experience in an authentic, professionally relevant work environment. Students will be provided the opportunity to connect theory and practice by leveraging their academic training to develop a broad base of vocational skills. The practical applications of this work term will promote students’ awareness of key concepts and terminology in their field, cultivate their problem-solving and decision-making capabilities, encourage their development of professional autonomy and collaboration, and enhance their capacity to analyze and reflect on their demonstrated abilities in the workplace.
  • Hours: 420
  • Credits: 14
  • Pre-Requisites: CDEV1020 OR CEPR1020
  • CoRequisites:

Level 4

Course details

Insurance On Property
INS1015

Description:

Insurance on Property is an introduction to property insurance. As one of the building blocks of your CIP Program, this course lays the foundation for many types of property insurance, with explanations of the legislative framework that governs them and of their principles, doctrines, and other characteristics. Insurance on Property shows how that framework and those common features are reflected in the most common commercial and especially personal lines insurance policies. Insurance on Property also discusses applications of property insurance in the work of brokers and agents, underwriters, and claims adjusters. A full day field trip is spent at a local brokerage where students will experience hands on training and exposure to the daily life of a brokerage.

  • Hours: 52
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Personal Automobile Insurance
INS1025

Description:

Automobile Insurance— is a detailed study of automobile insurance in Canada. The course covers legislation related to automobile insurance and policies and regulations, concentrating mostly on personal coverages. Insurance professionals taking Automobile Insurance will get an overview of the different provincial approaches to automobile insurance and some of the problems related to it. You will deal in detail with Owner’s Policies or coverages specific to your own province. Automobile Insurance is one of the building blocks of your CIP Program . A full day field trip is spent at a local brokerage where students will experience hands on training and exposure to the daily life of a brokerage

  • Hours: 52
  • Credits: 4
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Insurance Against Liability
INS2000

Description: To understand liability insurance, you must first know something of the law and the Canadian legal system and the differences between the common law and the Civil Code of Quebec. This is not a law course but it does introduce you to those legal principles that affect liability insurance. It discusses common ways people become liable to each other and explains how this liability may be insured or why it cannot be insured.
  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Professional Insurance Communications
INS2140

Description:

This course will help you build your business communication skills designed with the property casualty insurance industry in mind. You’ll learn to create compelling written communications free of common grammar and usage errors. Students will learn how to and will practice presenting their ideas clearly, precisely, and effectively in various written formats including the writing of letters, memos, e-mails, and formal reports. You will learn to apply plain language principles that cut jargon, passive writing, and repetition. Insurance industry professionals also need well developed oral communication skills to communicate to customers and stakeholders quickly, clearly, and effectively. This course will teach you how to hone your oral communication skills on the phone, over video chat and in-person. Difficult conversations are a part of the job for agents, brokers, underwriters, and adjusters alike. This course will help you prepare for and practice difficult conversations. Well-developed communication skills will help you immediately as you prepare for your career in the property casualty insurance industry and will also you set you up for success as you build your career.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Electives: General Education
Student must pass 2 Course(s), selected in the Student Portal from available course options

Level 5

Course details

Fraud Awareness and Prevention
INS1030

Description:

This course focuses on learning how fraud may arise with respect to insurance policies and what initiatives the insurance industry has advanced to fight such fraudulent practices. The dollar cost of fraud to individuals and the industry is discussed, as well as the laws that affect how insurers must handle claims adjustment and settlement. Property, automobile and liability claims are covered. New business and renewals and the underwriting of each are discussed from the perspective of “red flags” which may indicated potential fraud at the beginning stages of an insurance contract.

  • Hours: 36
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Integrated Insurance Applications
INS2055

Description:

In this course students will gain an appreciation of the reason for the existence of the insurance industry. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing senior management in the insurance industry, as well as philosophical questions such as the role of insurance in society and the way business is conducted. The structure and interdependence of industry members are discussed, along with the market forces that shape the marketplace and the regulatory structure. Throughout this course, we will explore the insurance industry's relationship with its external environment and examine international issues. A unique set of financial concepts will be introduced, and students will learn about insurance marketing, product pricing, broker-insurer relationships, and regulatory environments. Economic issues surrounding insurance and pricing of product & service are also studied. This course emphasizes the central principle that the industry in Canada is based on trust, and ethical behaviour is an essential part of the many industry relationships that drive the insurance transaction forward. This course builds on everything students have learned in their insurance studies. The purpose of this course is to integrate the knowledge students have learned and show how it all ties together.

  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Bodily Injury Claims
INS2061

Description:

This course introduces the basics of human anatomy and physiology and how they are important to the insurance adjuster. The investigative process is outlined and the factors involved in claim evaluation and negotiation are considered. Key topics include injuries that are likely to be encountered and the medical treatment normally prescribed, interpretation of medical reports, as well as rehabilitation and the role of the adjuster in the process.

  • Hours: 36
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites: INS1000 OR INS1005
  • CoRequisites:

Advanced Underwriting
INS2135

Description:

You will review the nature of an underwriter’s work and the types of knowledge, skill and temperament an underwriter needs. Advanced Underwriting examines how these characteristics must be broadened and deepened to analyze the needs and loss experience of larger, more complex risks. You will be exposed to some more unusual or specialized lines of insurance. You will consider the broader perspective a more experienced underwriter needs in dealing with the legal and regulatory environment, manuscript wordings, alternative risk transfer, reinsurance and international risks.

  • Hours: 48
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Insurance Capstone
INS2150

Description:

The capstone course is designed to integrate the final-term students’ previous learning with valuable hands-on experience. The capstone course includes will help the student develop a wide range of skills, including creative and strategic thinking, effective communication, problem solving and research analysis. Students will work to come up with innovative solutions for real insurance industry challenges. The course will help the students develop skills that are highly valued by employers and will help them progress in their chosen careers. The capstone course is designed to integrate the final-term students’ previous learning with valuable hands-on experience. The capstone course includes will help the student develop a wide range of skills, including creative and strategic thinking, effective communication, problem solving and research analysis. Students will work to come up with innovative solutions for real insurance industry challenges. The course will help the students develop skills that are highly valued by employers and will help them progress in their chosen careers.

  • Hours: 42
  • Credits: 3
  • Pre-Requisites:
  • CoRequisites:

Electives: General Education
Student must pass 1 Course(s), selected in the Student Portal from available course options

Program outcomes

  1. Distinguish the organization, structure, and roles and responsibilities associated with property and casualty insurance companies and intermediaries
  2. Analyze the coverage and policies currently available through companies providing property and casualty insurance to inform client communications, recommendations and underwriting
  3. Apply the processes and procedures used in adjusting losses, settling claims and explaining and completing documentation specific to property and casualty insurance
  4. Evaluate the factors affecting the acceptance and underwriting of property and casualty insurance risks
  5. Use common technology and software towards the completion of property and casualty business tasks
  6. Model ethical and appropriate working relationships using knowledge of property and casualty insurance, customer service skills, and interpersonal communications
  7. Illustrate how basic economics and property and casualty insurance market cycles affects brokering, underwriting, and claims
  8. Distinguish how the legal system and legislation affects the property and casualty insurance businesses
  9. Apply marketing and sales techniques to property and casualty insurance scenarios
  10. Research the issues, concerns, and potential solutions regarding business corporate responsibility in a property and casualty insurance environment
  11. Apply the appropriate use of, endorsements, coverage, contracts, and policies associated with property and casualty insurance