GSRM Students Demonstrate Innovation in Insurance

Six Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science (GSRM) students are the winners of the inaugural Student Innovation in Insurance Contest conducted by the GSRM’s Center for the Study of Insurance Regulation (CSIR) and sponsored by the Society for Law & Insurance, Inc. The contest was held during the 2021 spring semester.

The winners were selected after an evaluation of the respective essays and virtual presentations by a panel of judges that included representatives of the law firms supporting the CSIR -- Eversheds Sutherland, Greenberg Traurig, Kennedys, and Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass -- as well as members of the GSRM faculty. 

The winners of the cash prizes are:

• First place ($2,000): “Captive Surplus Notes CDO,” presented by graduate Enterprise Risk Management student Mohammad “Mo" Soltani-Nejad  
• Second place ($1.000 per student): “Improvements in Constructing a Risk Assessment Matrix,” presented by undergraduate freshmen Grace Comas, Connor Davidson, and Hannah Manjooran
• Third place ($500 per student): “Blockchain: An Insurance Context,” presented by undergraduate Actuarial Science major Allon Pevzner and undergraduate Quantitative Risk Analysis major Ethan Snider

The contest aimed to promote GSRM students’ awareness of key issues in the insurance industry and to help them develop professional research and presentation skills. All the members of the contest committee, which was chaired by John Pruit, Partner and Practice Group Leader for Insurance at Eversheds Sutherland, were pleased with the quality of all essay submissions and online presentations by the selected teams.

“Mohammad successfully demonstrates how to help captive insurance companies raise new capital, while Allon and Ethan suggest the benefits of blockchain technology-based smart contracts to life and property/casualty insurance companies,” said W. Jean Kwon, Ph.D., CSIR Academic Director and Edwin A.G. Manton Endowed Chair Professor. “Grace, Hannah and Connor, three freshmen who were just started their study of Risk Management and Insurance, attest to their true interest in their majors and their academic talent.”      

The Center for the Study of Insurance Regulation was established in 2013 as a center for thought leadership in the field of insurance by creating a forum for candid discourse on the subject of insurance regulation. The Society for Law & Insurance, Inc., founded in 2021, is a non-profit organization that supports the educational and charitable purposes of the GSRM.