For upper level undergraduate/graduate courses in Principles of Insurance and Risk Management.

Drawing from the author’s 35-plus years of teaching experience, this book introduces students to basic insurance concepts from the consumer’s point of view and equips them with the tools to make intelligent, informed insurance purchasing decisions.

How do you ensure your course offers complete coverage—without leaving any gaps?

Comprehensive Coverage: Reflecting the insight of three decades of students, many colleagues, and countless reviewers, the ninth edition of Introduction to Risk Management provides solid coverage of the most critical concepts and issues. The book’s 24 chapters are divided into six sections covering basic principles and terminology; operational and regulatory background for the insurance industry; homeowners and auto policies most likely to be purchased by readers; professional financial planning, including life and health insurance topics; advanced risk management topics and commercial property and liability insurance; and employee benefits, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers’ comp.

OTHER POINTS OF DISTINCTION

What kind of backgrounds do your students have? What do they hope to gain from your class?

Broad Appeal: Introduction to Risk Management, 9eoffers valuable insight for every student—whether they want to simply understand how to buy a personal auto policy, gain risk management knowledge to help them in management, or pursue a career in insurance. The book’s thorough coverage equips readers with the insight to make informed buying decisions as well as a solid foundation to build upon in advanced risk management courses.

Critical Thinking and Moral Reasoning: Helping students sharpen their critical-thinking skills, the book provides many opportunities for logical analysis. It poses questions, such as, “What distinguishes socially acceptable from unacceptable characteristics in setting insurance rates? Could a capitalistic society function without a private insurance system? Should health insurance be provided on a public or private basis? Who should decide what type of treatments should be reimbursed under health insurance coverage? Should the insurance transaction be regulated at the federal or at the state level? How should an insurance agent or broker act when a conflict of interest arises with a client?”

How do teach students the importance of effective communication? How do you emphasize the importance of “precise” language in insurance documents?

Communication Emphasis: The book equips students with invaluable insight to help them improve communication skills and avoid common pitfalls. Its thorough discussion of actual court cases helps readers see for themselves that language must be used precisely to avoid unintended results. This sentence reads a little funny. Can you clarify or break it into two? It also effectively illustrates that the same words may mean different things to different people; that courts are often needed to interpret language when it is not used precisely; and that using ambiguous language can be very expensive.

How do you tie in the “behavior” factor?

Understanding Human Behavior: Emphasizing that insurance is not all stats and terminology, the book includes intriguing discussions of the role of human behavior in insurance transactions. It challenges readers to look at the psychological issues involved in risk management as it asks pointed questions: “Why are some exposures to loss insured while others are not? What role does human behavior play in causing or preventing losses? How can society encourage people to save for retirement and adequately insure their lives?”

How do you put insurance vocabulary and basic concepts in the context of current topics?

Hot Topics: One of society’s most effective tools for financing some of its most difficult problems, insurance remains a political hot button. The ninth edition of Introduction to Risk Management gives students hands-on experience grappling with the role of insurance in emerging and ongoing societal issues, such as financing health care costs, preparing for an aging society, determining who foots the bill for repairing our damaged environment, covering the costs of catastrophic natural events, and more.

How do you help students stay focused on the most important concepts?

Learning Tools: Introduction to Risk Management, 9e includes many features to help readers stay focused. Chapters begin with Learning Objectives and end with self-test reviews and questions that ensure students fully comprehend chapter material and are well prepared for exams. Discussion questions and Internet Research Assignments give students further practice putting concepts into real-world contexts. In addition, boldfaced type alerts readers to key vocabulary, while shaded boxes spotlight important material like insurance policy language and judicial decisions.

How do you get your students plugged in to additional online resources?

Web Links: Providing additional information, examples, and resources, Web sites are referenced throughout the text. And students need to look no further than the text site (http://www.prenhall.com/dorfman) for quick access to all of them. Hyperlinks are sorted by chapter and name.

What kinds of resources would help you manage your classroom?

Instructor Resources: Helpful resources are available online at www.prenhall.com/dorfman. The Instructor’s Manual includes Suggested Classroom Time, Chapter Overviews, Lecture Outlines, Answers to Review Questions, Answers to End-of-Chapter Objective Questions, and Ideas for Instructors and Teaching Methods for every chapter. The Test Bank includes true/false, multiple choice, and essay questions, and lively PowerPoint presentations are available as well.

This text is available for personalization in the PHCBR custom database program.  Select only the chapters you require or supplement with recommended case studies all under one cover.  CLICK HERE to go directly to the PHCBR book-build site or visit our product page for additional information at pearsoncustom.com/business.