All grades now posted

I have now posted all grades for the course, including the fourth exam, all homework, and all extra credit points.  The only thing not there are 3 points for those who show up at tomorrow's class to fill out the form letting me know if you want to take the final.  For those wanting to take the final, I will do some quick review to help illustrate the level of detail for the final.

In total, there is a column for the total points in the class (there are 500 possible points in the class).

Here's how many points you need for....
A: 450 points
B: 400 points
C: 350 points
D: 300 points

I've put a preliminary course grade in Blackboard based on the total points you have earned to this point.  This does not include Thursday's points (for those showing up tomorrow).  If you are within a couple points of the next grade, make sure you show up to fill out the final exam form.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Final exam review sheet

Our fourth hour exam is on Tuesday, May 1st and it covers Chapters 8-9, 11, and 13.

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The final exam is scheduled during the final exam week.  For the 9:35 section, your final exam is scheduled for Monday, May 7 at 10am.   The final exam for the 11am section is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8 at 7:50am, but let's start the exam at 8:30 instead (we can all use the extra 40 minutes of sleep, can't we?)

When the semester is over, there will be 5 exam scores total (4 hourly exams and 1 final exam).  Only the top four scores count.  So as long as you didn't miss an hourly exam, you do not HAVE to take the final exam.  But it can only help your score, not hurt it.

I will have a form to fill out next Thursday (after the fourth exam) indicating whether you will take the final exam.  Those who fill out the form (i.e., simply show up to class on May 3rd) can earn 3 extra credit points.  You MUST show up next Thursday if you are taking the final exam.  Of course, even if don't take the final, you can still earn an extra three points if you need them.

The final exam will cover all chapters in the text (except chapter 12), but not in as much detail as the hourly exams.  To help you prepare for the final, don't use the regular review sheet that you may have been using for the hourly exams - it has too much detail and we already took an exam on those details.  Instead, I've put together a more limited and focused final exam review sheet.  If it is not listed on this sheet, there is virtually no chance that it will be on the final.

Please let me know if you have questions about the final exam.

Crime insurance examples

Which insuring agreement applies to the following scenario?

1. A gunman enters a convenience store and demands money from the register 
2. A convenience store is closed when a burglar breaks the window, uses a blowtorch to crack open a safe, and steals money 
3. A convenience store is closed when a burglar breaks the window, but the police quickly arrive and nothing is stolen 
4. An office building is closed when some teenagers break the window and smash office equipment 
5. A liquor store is closed when a burglar breaks the window and steals cases of expensive inventory 
6. A liquor store is closed when an employee leaves the premises with inventory to be delivered to another store in the area. A criminal attacks the employee and takes the merchandise
7. An employee burns their employer’s store, destroying all inventory and cash 

Limit for all crime insuring agreements is $10,000

1. Employee is robbed while depositing $25,000 in bank 
2. Same employee is unfortunate enough to be robbed again the next week 
3. Employee embezzles $200,000 through over 200 transactions each less than $10,000 each

Thursday's class - April 19th

I will not be available for office hours on Tuesday and Thursday - I am out of town.

Because of this, we will not meet formally as a class on Thursday, April 19th.  Instead, I've posted some videos presenting Chapter 13 material.  The chapter is much more accessible (easier to read) then other chapters.  Make sure you are comfortable with definitions.

Here are three videos presenting the material (here are the notes for chapter 13).  Please let me know if you experience any problems accessing the videos:

• Introduction to surety bonds (12 min)
• Contract bonds (14 min)
• Other surety bonds and conclusion (18 min)

Homework #5 - Crime Insurance Questions

First, I won't be very accessible for the rest of this week.  In fact, office hours are canceled on Tuesday and Thursday.

Second, Homework #5 presents some short crime coverage questions similar to what we did in class.

Please write up your answers to turn in by Tuesday, April 24th. We will review these problems in class.

Personal lines satisfaction with claims

A student passed along this interesting report showing that despite the increase in weather related catastrophes last year, insurers seem to be doing a good job when it comes to homeowners claims.

Tuesday, April 10th

After Thursday's exam, there is a Symposium put on by the Katie School at the uptown Normal Marriott.  This year's topic is sustainability.

I want to encourage each of you to go to the Symposium and at least attend one or two sessions (about one presentation per hour).  Therefore, we will not meet on Tuesday, April 10th.

There is no cost for students, but if you want lunch you should register for the event.

More information is on the Katie School site.

• Informational brochure
• Registration link