CIIG Diploma study plan

Define and distinguish the core insurance principles (insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, proximate cause, contribution, subrogation) and explain how each applies to a simple commercial property claim scenario.

Classify the main categories of risk (pure vs speculative, fundamental vs particular, financial vs non-financial) and map each to the appropriate treatment: avoidance, retention, transfer, or reduction.

Explain the role of pooling, the law of large numbers, and risk diversification in enabling insurers to accept risks that individuals cannot bear alone.

Calculate a basic gross premium from a pure premium, expense loading, and contingency margin, and identify which component covers which cost.

Outline the regulatory architecture that governs insurance conduct and prudential supervision, and explain the distinction between prudential regulation and market-conduct regulation.

Summarise the key legal doctrines affecting insurance contracts (offer and acceptance, consideration, capacity, illegality, misrepresentation and non-disclosure) and apply them to two short fact patterns.

Explain the purpose and mechanics of solvency capital requirements and how they constrain underwriting and investment decisions.

Identify the main consumer-protection rules that apply to policy wording, disclosure, and complaints handling, and state the consequence of breaching each.

Apply a structured underwriting process (information gathering, risk identification, hazard assessment, rating, terms and conditions, referral) to a commercial risk profile.

Distinguish physical, moral, and morale hazard, and specify the underwriting action (decline, load, excess, condition, exclusion) appropriate to each.

Evaluate the role of reinsurance and facultative vs treaty arrangements in enabling an underwriter to accept larger or more concentrated risks.

Assess how pricing, deductibles, and coverage limits are used to align the insured's incentives with loss prevention.

Explain the claims lifecycle from notification through investigation, coverage determination, quantum assessment, negotiation, and settlement or repudiation.

Apply the proximate cause test to distinguish covered from excluded loss in at least three multi-cause scenarios.

Identify the evidence and documentation required to validate a claim and recognise the red flags of exaggerated or fraudulent claims.

Explain how reserving practice and claims leakage control affect both the insured outcome and the insurer's financial results.

Read and interpret the principal financial statements of an insurer (balance sheet, income statement, and the relationship between premiums, claims, expenses, and reserves).

Calculate and interpret key ratios (loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, investment return, solvency margin) and explain what each reveals about underwriting and financial health.

Explain the roles of technical reserves, capital, and reinsurance in managing the insurer's balance sheet and liquidity.

Describe how underwriting profit, investment income, and capital adequacy interact in setting strategy and pricing.

Map the core insurance value chain (product design, distribution, underwriting, policy administration, claims, finance, and reporting) and identify where technology changes each step.

Explain how data, automation, and digital distribution affect underwriting accuracy, claims speed, fraud detection, and customer experience.

Identify the main technology and data risks (cyber, model, data quality, third-party dependency) and the controls that mitigate them.

Evaluate the operational and conduct implications of automated decision-making and digital advice for customers.

Explain the fair-treatment-of-customers outcomes and how they apply across product design, sales, claims, and complaints.

Apply an ethical decision framework to at least two dilemmas involving disclosure, conflicts of interest, and vulnerable customers.

Identify the conduct risks in remuneration, incentives, and sales practices, and describe the controls that mitigate them.

Explain how complaints, root-cause analysis, and remediation are used to evidence fair customer outcomes.

Synthesise the eight domains into an integrated view of how strategy, underwriting, claims, finance, technology, and conduct interact in an insurer's decision-making.

Evaluate a strategic scenario (for example, entering a new line or market) using risk appetite, capital, regulatory, and conduct criteria.

Complete a timed mixed-topic practice assessment and analyse errors by domain to target final revision.

Produce a personal revision plan for the final days before the exam, prioritising weak domains and high-frequency calculation types.