Indiana State University Wins First Place in Selective Insurance Collegiate Competition

Indiana State University has won first place in Selective Insurance’s Collegiate Competition. Second place was claimed by Middle Tennessee University, while Appalachian State University placed third.

The month-long, intensive collegiate competition for risk management and insurance students is designed to help them gain industry knowledge and experience as they prepare for a career in insurance. The competition began in 2018 as a joint initiative of InVEST and the Big “I” Diversity Task Force and is now being sponsored and managed by Selective Insurance Company of America, an insurance company of Selective Insurance Group Inc. This year’s competition was launched at the beginning of February and concluded on February 21.

“There are so many different facets of the insurance industry,” said Chuck Musilli, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Selective Insurance, in a company press release. “This competition enabled the students to build their business and financial acumen by gaining valuable insights into key topics impacting the insurance marketplace and learn how their own interests and abilities can be applied to an exciting and fulfilling career in insurance.”

The competition uses the Agency Challenge computerized business simulation developed by PriSim, a provider of customized, computerized business simulation games and management simulation training, to allow each team to run its own virtual insurance agency.

The team of six students from Indiana State University (ISU) placed first in the competition for their strategic planning and decision making in running virtual insurance agencies in a computer simulated environment, beating out six other college teams. The team was comprised of juniors and seniors in the Insurance and Risk Management Program at ISU’s Scott College of Business and included support from leaders at Selective and an agency mentor, Peter Forsee, from ONI Risk Partners in Indianapolis, Indiana. Forsee and the leaders from Selective guided and advised the team as they navigated the challenges of the competition.

“The Selective Collegiate Competition offered a unique hands-on learning opportunity for our students to gain real-world knowledge on how to manage an insurance agency while also strengthening their communication and teamwork skills,” said Rebecca Wray, director of the Gongaware Center for Insurance and Financial Services at Indiana State University’s Scott College of Business, in the release. “From this experience, the students were exposed to the factors that go into running a successful insurance agency and enhanced their ability to analyze complex financial and personnel scenarios and implement decisions based on their analysis.”

Members of the ISU team will visit Selective’s corporate office in Branchville, N.J., to present their winning strategy to Selective’s executive leadership team, as well as participate in a design-thinking exercise in the company’s new innovation lab, LAUNCH.

The second and third place winning teams will be visiting Selective’s Southern Regional Offices in Charlotte, N.C., and will also present their strategies to the management team. They will also participate in networking opportunities with regional personnel and local agency mentors and learn more about insurance career opportunities from a carrier perspective.

The academic institutions participating in Selective’s Collegiate Competition included: Appalachian State University, Howard University, Indiana State University, Illinois State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Temple University and University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Source: Selective Insurance Company of America

Topics Education Universities