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.
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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 deadline for 2021 applications is March 7, 2021.
Learn more here.
White Paper Contest
WSIA sponsors a White Paper Contest twice a year to expand surplus lines awareness and knowledge for college students studying risk management and insurance, actuarial science, finance and business. The Spring 2021 contest is open, and papers are due on Sunday, April 18. Download a White Paper Contest flyer here.
Spring 2021 White Paper Contest topics
- Civil Unrest & Public Entity Liability
- The Pandemic and its Impact on the Hospitality Insurance Market
- Insuring Global Pandemics in the P&C Industry
Winning papers are published on the WSIA website and winners receive: 1st place - $1,500 award; 2nd place - $1,000; 3rd place - $500.
Winning White Papers
Symposiums
Five college symposiums are held each year for Risk Management and Insurance students. All include a Career Fair, networking opportunities with industry professionals, and educational sessions with both young and experienced professionals. Learn more here.
Internships
Each fall,
22 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.
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.