“I’m so glad I made Risk Management and Insurance my major,” said Carey, who started with Chubb & Son, a large multinational insurance carrier, 18 months ago in the company’s training program. “With the two combined—Risk Management and Insurance—there are endless possibilities. Plus, what we’re learning can apply to positions in many other industries besides insurance.”

When the CU Denver Business School RMI Program launched a few years ago, Director Ajeyo Banerjee, PhD, CMA, said, many students were puzzled by the unfamiliar acronym. But they quickly learned and became intrigued, especially by the many career doors opened by the program. “These students are being hired early because the firms are worried they might be picked up by another company,” Banerjee said.

The story is in the numbers:

• The CU Denver Business School RMI program has a 100 percent job-placement record for graduates.
• Now in its fourth year, the RMI Program has seen 28 percent overall enrollment growth, from 19 students to 88.
• One-of-a-kind program. The CU Denver Business School offers the only RMI program between California and the Midwest.
• Sixty percent of the current RMI workforce in the United States will reach retirement age within five to 10 years.

“We’re the only program like this in this part of the country,” said Lori Genuchi, RMI Program manager, “so our students are a hot commodity.”

It’s a big industry, said Banerjee, adding that no business can do without insurance. “All of our graduates are doing very well,” he said. “That provides further incentive to our current students because it creates a visible pathway to a job with good salaries and benefits.”

Other firms that have hired current CU Denver Business School students include Lockton (two students on the payroll), CNA and Arthur J. Gallagher. “It indicates the marketability of our students,” Banerjee said. “And the fact that the program is providing a value that is easily recognizable by these potential employers.”

Tim Moehlenpah, Denver branch vice president for CNA, said he’s noticed a strong work ethic in RMI Program students. “We’ve been quite impressed by that right off the bat,” he said. “We also like that they have been exposed to various areas within the industry. And we like that the students are passionate about the insurance industry as a whole. Those three things really set them apart.”

The Business School’s “holistic approach” to RMI gives students ample opportunities to meet face to face with industry leaders before they graduate. All students participate in at least oneShadow Day, where they spend a day shadowing an RMI professional, including a 30-minute meeting with a senior executive. The days provide real-world insights for the students, while giving firms an opportunity to view prospective employees.

Recent graduates hired by insurance carrier CNA typically start out in claim origination, said Moehlenpah, who earned an MBA from the CU Denver Business School in 2006. “Seventy-five percent of our claims professionals will be of retirement age in next five years,” he said. “The industry is going through a cataclysmic change. In the next five years the amount of opportunity for young people who want to pursue an insurance career is going to be phenomenal.”

Consider just a few more “future-is-now” RMI students:

• Nick Lind (right), who had an internship with brokerage firm IMA last summer, will graduate in May and immediately go to work full time as an underwriter trainee at CNA’s Denver branch. He said his IMA supervisor introduced him to CNA, “so it all came full circle.”

That kind of networking is a major plus to the RMI Program, Lind said. “It really opens things up,” he said. “It let me build relationships with so many people that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”

• Randal Maestas (below left), who started working full time for Lockton this month (January) after doing an internship last summer, will graduate in May. “I will be pretty busy this spring, but it’s a lot of weight off my shoulders,” he said. Additionally, Maestas has worked at a bike shop during college.

“I’ve always worked to pay for my own tuition,” he said. “That’s why I like the RMI program, because they have all these scholarship opportunities and that kind of extra support.”

Seeded by a $200,000 donation from Pinnacol Assurance, the RMI Program has received $900,000 in scholarship funds from industry partners. Every RMI student who applies for a scholarship is awarded one, of varying amounts, Genuchi said. The program is awarding about $40,000 in scholarships each semester.

Maestas transferred to CU Denver to study finance after completing two years at Arapahoe Community College. He said RMI “wasn’t even on my radar” until he discovered the program shortly after arriving at CU Denver. “I like that there is an increasing demand for graduates who can understand risk,” he said. “Every year there’s a decreasing number of people working in the industry. It just seemed like a win-win—tons of opportunities.”

• Jonathan Doke (below right) graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in finance with an emphasis in RMI and a minor in mathematics. After a summer internship with Lockton Companies, an insurance brokerage firm, he moved into a full-time account administrator position in the energy group. Doke is a Navy veteran, having served as a power plant operator on a nuclear submarine, followed by a few years working as an oil and gas technician for Halliburton.

He took full advantage of the RMI Program’s Shadow Day—doing three of them. “Each company’s tie-in to finance was interesting, as was being able to interact with the people,” Doke said. “Shadow Day kind of opened my eyes and helped me realize the bigger picture of what all goes on in insurance.”

Because so much goes on, the RMI Program ensures that students get exposed to the field’s many dimensions. Other aspects of the program:

• Internships. Internships are required as part of the program. There are many opportunities to work for an insurance carrier or brokerage firm to get real-world experience.

Accolades for RMI Program