An innovative simulation requiring nine York business and economics student teams run their own insurance companies over four condensed quarters provided real-world experiential learning and taught students the value of putting theory into action.
By Elaine Smith
There’s nothing like running your own insurance company to give students a real understanding of insurance risk management – just ask Shayaan Haider.
Haider, a York University international student in his final year of a business and economics program, took part in a class simulation, requiring groups of five students to run their own insurance company through four condensed quarters of a year to see if their market decisions would make the company a success. The simulation, an experiential education activity, was part of the course Principles of Risk Management and Insurance, spearheaded by the Risk and Insurance Studies Centre and taught by contract faculty member Barbara Bellissimo, a former industry executive who previously headed State Farm Canada.
As an added challenge, the course was delivered online due to the pandemic.
