III IC-45 study plan
III IC-45 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
General Insurance Underwriting
Define underwriting and explain its role in the insurance value chain, distinguishing it from sales, claims, and actuarial pricing
Identify the six core steps of the underwriting process from submission to policy issuance and describe the output of each step
Classify the main sources of underwriting information (application, inspection reports, financial statements, loss runs, MVR, credit) and state what each reveals
Build a one-page glossary of at least 25 General Insurance Underwriting terms with your own definitions
Your checkpoint
A one-page underwriting process flowchart plus a 25-term glossary, both written from memory and then corrected against your study material
General Insurance Underwriting
Explain the underwriting authority hierarchy: producer, underwriter, senior underwriter, and home office referral, including why limits exist
Apply the concepts of insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, and proximate cause to underwriting decisions
Distinguish representation from warranty and explain how each affects coverage and voidability
Interpret a loss run and calculate a three-year loss ratio from given premium and incurred loss figures
Your checkpoint
Five short written scenarios where you state whether to accept, decline, or refer, with the authority level and treaty principle cited for each
General Insurance Underwriting
Explain how rating basis is selected for property, liability, and package policies and why exposure base matters
Differentiate manual, judgment, and experience rating and state when each is appropriate
Describe the function of deductibles, limits, coinsurance, and retention in shaping the insured's risk share
Compute a coinsurance penalty on an underinsured property loss using a worked example
Your checkpoint
A worked problem set of eight calculations (loss ratios, coinsurance penalties, deductible effects) with full steps shown
General Insurance Underwriting
Identify the major hazard categories (physical, moral, morale) and give two underwriting responses to each
Explain how protection, occupancy, construction, and exposure (COPE) data drive property underwriting decisions
Map common coverage extensions, exclusions, and endorsements to the risks they address
Evaluate reinsurance's effect on an underwriter's capacity and appetite decisions
Your checkpoint
A COPE-based risk assessment of three hypothetical commercial properties with a recommended terms sheet for each
General Insurance Underwriting
Analyze financial statements to assess a commercial applicant's ability to pay premium and retain risk
Explain how business income, contingent business income, and extra expense exposures are underwritten
Describe liability underwriting considerations: premises, operations, products-completed operations, and contractual exposure
Summarize how claims history, safety programs, and management quality influence a liability submission
Your checkpoint
A two-page mock underwriting report on a fictional manufacturer covering property and general liability, with recommended limits, deductibles, and conditions
General Insurance Underwriting
Explain the purpose and mechanics of portfolio management, including concentration, aggregation, and catastrophe exposure
Describe how underwriting guidelines, appetite statements, and line-of-business referral triggers are applied in practice
Outline the regulatory and compliance obligations that constrain underwriting decisions
Distinguish binder, certificate, and policy issuance documents and identify who may bind coverage
Your checkpoint
A one-page summary of underwriting governance covering authority, referral triggers, aggregation limits, and compliance duties
General Insurance Underwriting
Diagnose the most common underwriting errors: inadequate information, poor documentation, and inconsistent application of guidelines
Explain how technology, data analytics, and automated decisioning are changing underwriting workflow and where human judgment remains essential
Apply ethical reasoning to conflicts of interest, adverse selection, and fair treatment of applicants
Practice timed multiple-choice answering on the full underwriting syllabus, targeting 80 percent accuracy
Your checkpoint
A timed 60-question practice set with a written error log categorizing every miss by cause (knowledge gap, misread, or guess)
General Insurance Underwriting
Consolidate the full syllabus into a single-page concept map linking process, principles, rating, hazards, and governance
Re-drill the error log from week 7 until each missed concept can be explained without notes
Simulate exam conditions with a full-length timed practice session and review every answer rationale
State your personal weak-area list and confirm final review coverage of each item
Your checkpoint
A completed full-length timed practice exam plus a final one-page revision sheet covering your five weakest areas
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 70 percent on a self-made 20-question quiz on the underwriting process, authority, and treaty principles, and explain each wrong answer aloud without notes
Week 4: Correctly compute at least 7 of 8 rating and coinsurance calculations and justify each accept, decline, or refer decision in your scenario set
Week 6: Produce the governance summary from memory and confirm it names authority levels, referral triggers, aggregation controls, and at least three compliance obligations
Week 7: Reach 80 percent or higher on the timed 60-question set, with the error log showing fewer than five knowledge-gap misses
Week 8: Score at least 85 percent on the full-length timed practice exam and show that every week 7 error-log item is resolved