LOMA 280 study plan
LOMA 280 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Principles of Insurance
Define insurance and distinguish it from gambling and hedging by stating the insurable-interest and fortuitous-loss requirements in your own words
Map the six characteristics of insurable risk (large number of similar exposure units, definite and measurable loss, calculable probability, noncatastrophic loss, accidental loss, reasonable expense) and give one counterexample for each
Explain the difference between pure risk and speculative risk and classify ten everyday situations accordingly
Describe how risk pooling and the law of large numbers let an insurer predict aggregate losses even when individual losses are unpredictable
Your checkpoint
A one-page glossary of 20 core terms (risk, peril, hazard, exposure, retention, transfer, adverse selection, moral hazard, insurable interest, indemnity) with a one-sentence definition and example for each
Principles of Insurance
Trace the historical development of life and health insurance from burial societies and assessment associations to modern legal-reserve companies
Differentiate stock, mutual, fraternal, and reciprocal insurers by ownership, governance, and how earnings are distributed
Compare the roles of insurers, agents and brokers, third-party administrators, and reinsurers in the distribution and risk-transfer chain
Outline the principal functions of insurance departments: licensing, solvency monitoring, rate and form review, market conduct, and guaranty associations
Your checkpoint
A comparison table of four insurer types across ownership, policyholder rights, capital source, and regulator focus, plus a 150-word summary of why regulation exists
Principles of Insurance
Explain the concept of insurable interest and identify who must hold it, when it must exist, and what happens when it is absent
Apply the principle of indemnity to property and liability situations and explain why life insurance is a valued rather than indemnity contract
Distinguish representations, warranties, and concealment and state the remedy available to the insurer for each
Describe the elements of a valid contract and identify which contract characteristics (adhesion, aleatory, unilateral, conditional) apply to insurance
Your checkpoint
A worked case file of five short scenarios where you identify the legal doctrine at issue, apply it, and state the outcome with a one-line justification each
Principles of Insurance
Explain the principle of utmost good faith and how it interacts with the duty to disclose material facts
Analyze the requirements for formation of the insurance contract: offer, acceptance, consideration, and legal purpose
Describe how waivers and estoppel can prevent an insurer from denying coverage it appeared to grant
Explain the parol evidence rule and how ambiguity in an adhesion contract is construed against the insurer
Your checkpoint
A 12-question self-test you write yourself on contract law principles, with an answer key citing the governing rule for each item; score at least 10 of 12
Principles of Insurance
Identify the standard provisions of a life insurance policy, including entire contract, grace period, reinstatement, incontestability, misstatement of age or sex, and policy loans
Explain the incontestability clause, its time limit, and the exceptions that survive the contestable period
Describe the free-look provision, assignment (absolute and collateral), and the facility-of-payment clause
Distinguish the rights of the owner, insured, and beneficiary, and explain revocable versus irrevocable designations
Your checkpoint
A labeled timeline showing when each policy provision becomes operative (application, delivery, free look, contestable period, incontestability) with a 100-word narrative of a claim denied inside and outside the contestable period
Principles of Insurance
Classify life insurance products as term, whole life, universal life, and variable life by premium, cash value, and death benefit behavior
Explain the tax treatment of premiums, cash value growth, policy loans, and death benefits
Describe dividend options for participating policies and how they differ from guaranteed cash values
Explain nonforfeiture options and how they protect a policyholder who stops paying premiums
Your checkpoint
A product comparison matrix of four policy types across premium flexibility, cash value, investment risk bearer, and tax treatment, plus a 150-word explanation of why cash value is not the same as a savings account
Principles of Insurance
Describe the underwriting process, the sources of underwriting information, and how risk classes are assigned
Explain adverse selection and the underwriting tools used to control it, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act and HIPAA privacy constraints
Outline the claim process for death, disability, and health claims, including proof-of-loss requirements and the timing obligations on the insurer
Explain the roles of MIB, attending physician statements, and paramedical exams in risk classification
Your checkpoint
A one-page process flow for a life insurance application from submission to policy issue or declination, annotated with the consumer-protection rule that applies at each step
Principles of Insurance
Review your weakest three topics from weeks 1 through 7 using your own error log
Re-derive the six characteristics of insurable risk and the elements of a valid contract from memory without notes
Complete two timed practice sets and analyze every missed item by domain and error type (knowledge gap, misread, or guess)
State in writing how you would explain the principle of indemnity and insurable interest to a client in plain language
Your checkpoint
A final one-page synthesis sheet of the ten highest-yield concepts with a self-assessed confidence rating (1-5) for each, plus a log of every missed practice question and its corrected reasoning
Milestones
Week 2: Explain aloud, without notes, the six characteristics of insurable risk and the difference between pure and speculative risk; record yourself and confirm no term is misdefined
Week 4: Score at least 10 of 12 on your self-written contract-law test and correctly apply insurable interest, indemnity, and utmost good faith to all five case scenarios
Week 6: Reproduce the standard life policy provisions and their time limits from memory, and correctly classify all four product types on the comparison matrix
Week 8: Score at least 80 percent on both timed practice sets and show a written error log where every missed item has an identified cause and corrected rule