CICA announces finalists for its 2021 student essay writing contest

Saint Joseph’s University, Temple University and the University of Southern California (USC) all have teams representing them in the finals of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) essay contest for college risk management and insurance students.

The essay contest is based around the subject: Using Captive Insurance to Better Manage Risk, Improve Your Bottom Line. Two-person teams were asked to describe how and why a captive insurance company could be used as a cost-effective means of alternative risk financing.

Ashley Martin and Maxwell Bernstein from Saint Joseph’s University, and Natalie Kojababian and Terra-Lynn Tokiwa of USC, both wrote essays about college student housing. Joseph Simmons and Jake Smedley of Temple University used the case study of classic auto sales and collision centres.

The three finalist teams will now work with a mentor from Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS) to revise and enhance their essays, which will be judged again to determine first, second and third place. Winners will be announced at an upcoming CICA webinar hosted by contest sponsor SRS.

CICA received entries from students studying accounting, business administration, finance, insurance and risk management. CICA president Dan Towle said: “Our industry draws on skills from many disciplines and the contest helps students see how their skills can be applied to solving risk management challenges with captive insurance solutions.”