The Training Environment For Financial Services

Understanding General Insurance Finance

29 Jun 2017, London

9:30am to 16:30pm

This course has already taken place click here to view our current courses

Outline & Objectives

This practical course will provide an antidote to the mystery surrounding insurance finance, Gaining a basic understanding of “the numbers” will help you interpret the accounts of clients, appreciate the financial pressures within the insurance business model and so improve your ability to identify and manage both risks and opportunities.

With the Regulators placing such emphasis on prudential management, capital adequacy and Solvency II, financial competence is very much under the regulatory spotlight

There are immense benefits in being able to understand where the numbers come from and the ultimate measures of business success. Attending this highly practical course will help you:

  1. Get to grips with the fundamental concepts and terminology of insurance finance
  2. Understand the dynamics of cashflow, revenues and claims reserving
  3. Know how to assess financial data: balance sheets, P&L and key ratios
  4. Better understand your business model: risks, dependencies and opportunities
  5. Explore the practical implications of Capital Adequacy and Solvency II developments
  6. Improve your financial risk management and decision making capabilities
  7. Meet regulatory expectations of financial competence

Who is it for?

If you work in a non financial specialism such as Compliance, Marketing or Risk, or are new to the Finance function, this course will give you insight into how money moves in the insurance industry and you will go away more comfortable and less fearful of the “the financial stuff”. The Regulators also expect Senior Managers to understand their business model and the risks within it. This means competence in financial processes, awareness of the industry dynamics and an understanding of the financial dependencies.

Training Approach

This workshop uses a combination of trainer input, group discussion and plenty of practical and participative exercises and case studies to bring the subject to life and reinforce confidence. it caters for a wide range of experience within a safe learning environment. Don't assume this course will be boring, it won't! Group size is kept to a maximum of 12 to facilitate sharing of experience among the delegates.

Course Tutor

John Constable has 22 years' training experience with both insurers and brokers. He was Head of People Development at JLT where he engineered a number of critical projects to support the business, including the development and implementation of robust structures, policies and procedures to comply with regulatory requirements for Training & Competence. He now runs regulatory, risk management and financial training, bringing commercial awareness, credibility and pure energy, to open courses, bespoke in-company works and board briefings. In addition, John authors industry on-line learning and his published articles have included several on Solvency II. John has a BA (Hons.) History degree from Kings College London, holds a financial qualification from the Open University, a Diploma in Management from Henley Management College and is a Member of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Course Programme

Session Aim Content
Introduction To introduce content and establish the learning goals
  • Overview of the day
  • Course and individual learning objectives.
Finance fundamentals To lay the business finance foundations
  • Commercial cash flow and profit
  • Capital, assets and liabilities
  • Financial principles, conventions and rules
  • Financial statements
Insurance fundamentals To establish the dynamics of insurance
  • The five distinguishing characteristics
  • Insurance cash flow and the main dependencies
  • Funded v accrual accounting
The mechanics of premium To analyse the principal elements of underwriting profit
  • Calculating written/earned and gross/net premium
  • Unearned premium provisions
  • Direct costs, management expenses and acquisition costs
Claims: the direct costs To appreciate the challenge and importance of  accurate claims reserving
  • Claims notified: paid and outstanding
  • Technical/case reserving
  • Ultimate claims cost and incurred but not reported
Investment To understand the role of investment and investment income
  • The purpose and types of investment
  • Risk and return – asset and liability matching
Financial reporting To work with insurance financial statements
  • Building the technical account/profit  & loss and the balance sheet
  • Interpreting the key performance ratios
  • Underwriting profit or return on capital?
Solvency II To introduce Solvency II and the main elements
  • Risk based capital adequacy
  • The balance sheet: where are the inherent risks?

This course can be delivered in-house at a time and location to suit your business and tailored to suit your people and organisation. We can also create bespoke training when something very specific is needed.Please contact us to discuss your requirements in more detail and at no obligation.

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