St. John’s Insurance Industry Program Earns Key Partnership Honor

A popular St. John’s University experiential learning partnership has earned a top honor from the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE), a nonprofit dedicated to helping colleges and universities bridge the gap between the academic world and professional experience.

The St. John’s-MLMIC Foundations of Insurance (FOI) program, which prepares undergraduate and graduate students for careers in health-care liability insurance, recently received EACE’s Excellence in Employer Partnership Award, given to employers and institutions whose joint efforts help students transition from the classroom into careers while developing the next generation of industry talent.

MLMIC, formerly the Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company, is the largest writer of medical malpractice insurance in New York State. MLMIC is a subsidiary of MedPro Group, a leading health-care liability insurance provider with more than $2 billion in annual premiums and 300,000 clients.

The four-year-old FOI program is managed by University Career Services through The Peter J. Tobin College of Business. Through the program, St. John’s and MedPro hope to increase diversity in the industry by reaching students who might not have considered an insurance career.

“It is an industry that students overlook, but once students hear about it, they are interested,” said Robert Beaudet ’86M.B.A,, Director, Advising and Employer Relations, University Career Services. “This program gives them an awareness of the industry and the skills to succeed in it.”

“There are just so many opportunities that exist in insurance,” Mr. Beaudet continued. “It is probably the most stable industry. It did not fall during COVID-19, and artificial intelligence is improving it.”     

To date, more than 80 St. John’s students have taken part in the FOI program, which operates independently of the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science, whose students already pursue insurance-industry opportunities.

Students of all majors and from all Schools and Colleges, from first year through graduate school, can apply during the fall semester. The program begins the following spring. Cohorts average about 20 students. Of the 57 students who comprised the initial three cohorts, 55 completed the program and 23 entered the industry. Nineteen students earned internships with either MLMIC or MedPro.

As part of the program, St. John’s students attend six on-campus lectures and workshops and two mentorship conferences with industry leaders, participate in initiatives supporting broader career access, and take part in an immersion day at MedPro’s corporate offices in Fort Wayne, IN. Such resources are designed to provide students with industry knowledge, career pathways, mentorship, professional development, and internship and job-related interviewing tips.

David Ramdeen ’24TCB took part in the first cohort in Spring 2023. Now an actuarial analyst at industry leader Liberty Mutual Insurance, he said the program helped build his foundation in insurance and risk management. It also expanded his professional network while providing essential knowledge learned outside of the classroom.

“It made the learning curve way easier for me,” Mr. Ramdeen said. “Being open to all students—that inclusivity is valuable since not everyone knows that they can find a lucrative career in the insurance industry. The program helps to fill that gap.”