Career Potential
Today's insurance companies offer everything from product liability insurance to financial planning services. A career in insurance can mean many different things.
The insurance program at UNT is in the College of Business Administration, one of the finest business schools in the state. The college's degree programs are accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, meaning they have passed strict academic standards for excellence in education.
By choosing to study insurance, you may become an insurance agent, selling policies for an insurance firm. You may become a broker, investigating several insurance firms to find the best possible insurance for clients, or a claims adjustor, investigating the circumstances surrounding a damage or injury claim.
You also may become an underwriter - a person who analyzes information on insurance applications, input from insurance agents and brokers, and other data to determine if his or her company will approve the insurance application. Underwriters specialize in health insurance, life insurance, and property and liability insurance (automobile and fire insurance and worker's compensation).
Many people in the insurance profession work for large national firms with numerous branch offices or for exclusive agencies. Other insurance professionals represent companies that sell insurance through brokers or independent agents. Independent agents, brokers and claims adjustors may be self-employed.
Study in insurance also can prepare you for a career in insurance-related financial consulting and estate planning or for a career in insurance marketing, which involves developing, distributing, pricing and promoting insurance for a company. Some graduates of UNT's insurance program have become actuaries - people who measure the risk of accidents or damages, analyze statistics to calculate the possibility of death, illness, injury and property loss in certain groups of people, and estimate the cost of risk. For example, an actuary for an automobile insurance company may assess risk in teen-age drivers. Other graduates of UNT's insurance program are employed in managerial positions with insurance companies or work in risk management for other businesses.
UNT's Career Opportunities Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers. It assists with resume and letter writing, job search strategies and interview preparation.
Insurance
As an insurance student, you may take courses in risk theory, life insurance, property and liability insurance, estate planning, and the financial effects of risk on businesses and nonprofit organizations. You may also take courses in inter-national financial systems and employee benefit programs.
Faculty members in UNT's Department of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law - the department from which you will receive your degree - are professionals in their fields as well as dedicated teachers. Two faculty members were named Regents Professors for outstanding research and teaching; Regents Professors devote at least half of their teaching load to introductory-level courses. Another faculty member received a Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award.
As an insurance student, you may become involved in UNT's Insurance Club, which sponsors field trips to firms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and lectures by professionals in the field. Club members also attend the annual conference of the Dallas-Fort Worth Risk and Insurance Management Society. The club sponsors a trip to Austin each spring to give students a chance to visit the Texas Department of Insurance and other state agencies.
The department offers a number of scholarships for insurance students. To qualify for most of the scholarships, you must have completed at least 24 credit hours at UNT, have a high overall GPA and be able to demonstrate financial need. The insurance student adviser has more information about departmental scholarships.
Getting Hands-On Experience
As an insurance student, you may complete an internship with a company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for three hours of course credit.
Upon completion of 12 semester hours at UNT, including at least six hours in your area of study, you may work in a part-time job related to your field through UNT's Center for Cooperative Education. You may earn money for your college expenses while gaining valuable work experience. Through cooperative placement, more than 300 Dallas-Fort Worth companies employ UNT students. Many students go on to full-time positions with co-op employers after graduation.
How to Prepare Before You Come to UNT
To prepare for college course work, we suggest that you complete four years of English, math and social science, including economics, geography, government and history; three years of science and foreign language; and one year of fine arts courses, among other subjects. You also should become proficient in using computers.
At UNT, you will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to taking courses in your field. You may declare your intention to study insurance immediately upon enrolling at UNT.
Charting Your Path with Academic Advising
Full-time staff advisers in the College of Business Administration will help you plan your schedule of classes each semester and select courses you will need to earn your degree. In addition, the faculty member who is the student adviser for the Department of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law can assist you and provide career advice. The department office is located in the Business Administration Building, Room 178.
For More Information on this Program
www.coba.unt.edu/firel/
Email: braswell@cobaf.coba.unt.edu
Phone: (940) 565-3050
Fax: (940) 565-4234
University of North Texas
Department of Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law
Undergraduate Adviser
P.O. Box 305339
Denton, Texas 76203-5339
