WSIA for Students

WSIA offers a variety of educational and outreach programs to support college students majoring in risk management and insurance and those interested in working in the excess and surplus lines industry.  Sign up here to receive the WSIA U-News and stay updated on all the opportunities for students and the information below.

Insurance Scholarships 

Each spring, the WSIA Education Foundation awards up to 22 scholarships worth $5,000 each for the next academic year to undergraduate students studying risk management and insurance as part of the Derek Hughes Scholarship Program. The 2020 application deadline is March 1. Learn more here. 

Symposiums

Three annual two-day college symposiums are held throughout the year for Risk Management and Insurance majors. All include a Career Fair, networking opportunities with industry professionals, and educational sessions with both young and experienced professionals. Registration is only $25 for students and includes free or reduced hotel stay and meals. Learn more here. 

Extreme Risk Takers - Los Angeles, hosted by University of Southern California
February 28, 2020 | Los Angeles, CA

Extreme Risk Takers - Chicago, hosted by Illinois State University
March 27-28, 2020 | Chicago, IL

Extreme Risk Takers - Santa Barbara, hosted by University of California-Santa Barbara
April 3, 2020

Extreme Risk Takers - Tempe, hosted by Arizona State University 
October 16-17, 2020  | Tempe, AZ
(This symposium includes a component for Actuarial Science majors)

Extreme Risk Takers - Atlanta, hosted by Troy University
November 2020  | Atlanta, GA

Internships

Each fall, 20 interns are selected for a nine-week summer experience (four weeks with a carrier and five weeks with a broker) at WSIA member firms across the country. Students are paid $18 per hour and WSIA provides transportation and housing. Learn more here.

Campus Presentations

WSIA schedules visits by industry professionals on college campuses where they present information about careers in the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines industry or industry cases studies to classes or GIS chapter meetings. To request a presenter, please complete the College Visit Request Form.

Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS) Involvement

WSIA and the WSIA Education Foundation participates in the GIS International Conference Career Fair and education sessions. Students can stop by the WSIA table or attend a presentation to receive brochures and flyers about programs and events and to ask questions of WSIA staff. For more information on Gamma Iota Sigma and to learn more about their events, click here.

White Paper Contest

WSIA sponsors a White Paper Contest to and expand surplus lines awareness and knowledge for college students – i.e. risk management and insurance, actuarial science, finance and business students. For the Spring 2020 contest, participants must write and submit an 8-10-page research paper on one of the following topics: CTE/Head Trauma, Product Recalls and the Meat Industry, or Wildfires.

Winners will receive:

  • 1st place - $1,500 award
  • 2nd place - $1,000
  • 3rd place - $500

Click here for the WSIA White Paper Rubric. All winning papers will be published on WSIA’s website. 

Winning White Papers

Surplus Lines Fundamentals Online Course

Students and faculty can access an online course to learn why the surplus lines market is needed, how its distribution system works, how surplus lines transactions are regulated and how the surplus lines market is able to successfully underwrite risks that the standard market has declined. Anyone interested in accessing the course should contact Julie Fritz at julie@wsia.org.