How the Internet of Things (IoT) is Adding Proactivity to Insurance

20 pagesIn recent years, the insurance industry has seen a major shift in how data is used, specifically in the realm of risk prevention. Advancements in technology within the Internet of Things (IoT) have enabled more comprehensive data analysis, changing the way the industry views risk. This has led to an increased emphasis on solutions that are proactive, preventing risk as opposed to merely mitigating losses. Despite the industry being historically slow-moving and focused on response to risk, new offerings are now promoting prediction and prevention of risk. This report will explore the implementation of the Internet of Things into the insurance industry. First, the concepts of IoT and proactivity will be described. The state of the insurance industry will then be examined, followed by the culture of innovation within insurance companies and how it holds a significant role in driving the industry forward. A select overview of insurtech solutions that contribute to the theme of proactivity within IoT will be detailed. To follow, looming adoption issues will be addressed. Finally, the report will outline up-and-coming strategies in the industry, including the rising trends of integration and gamification

Career Opportunities in the Iowa Insurance Industry

5 pagesThe Iowa insurance industry is an economic powerhouse, creating an $8.9 billion impact in the Des Moines – West Des Moines MSA alone. The industry’s scale has spawned two start-up accelerators focused on insurtech, each with a global reach. The Iowa workforce has experienced twenty-five percent growth since 2000. Insurance carriers are attractive employers exhibited through a high level of compensation, wage growth at a rate above the national average, and a suite of employee benefits that are generous, flexible, and well-aligned with the desires of generation Z. Over the next decade, nearly twenty percent of the workforce will reach retirement age. This retirement wave will create rapid advancement opportunities for younger employees, especially those with skills in technology, data analytics, distribution, and product development. The demand for actuaries is expected to grow at a rate three times greater than the average occupation while actuarial compensation exceeds the median annual salary of other mathematical science occupations. Actuarial careers are consistently ranked among the best in both business and STEM fields and have above-average upward mobility

State of Iowa vs. Sam Craft, Brief for the Appellant

Legal Brief. 38 pages2023 Supreme Court Competition Problem: Sam Craft lives in a small home on Birch Street in Eldora, Iowa. Craft owns the home and is its sole occupant. The back yard is surrounded by a fence. The front yard is unfenced. There are four other houses on Birch Street, which is a short dead-end side street. Birch Street connects onto Main Street, between a grocery store and a small church. In early 2020, DCI Special Agent Trails suspected that there was some activity related to fentanyl trafficking at Craft’s residence. She obtained permission from the city to install a small digital video camera on a telephone pole just across the street from Craft’s residence. Throughout 2021, the camera was active and pointed at the front of Craft’s house. Agent Trails monitored the feed. She could also review footage, after the fact. She was able to zoom in to get enough detail to see license plate numbers or facial expressions. But most of the time, the camera was zoomed out to capture a wider shot of the exterior of Craft’s home. No part of the interior of Craft’s home is visible in any of the footage that Agent Trails used. In March 2022, Special Agent Trails applied for a warrant to search Craft’s home. In her search warrant application, she relied on that video footage to establish a pattern of what looked like mid-level drug distribution activity: regular visits by known users and low-level dealers, and bi-weekly visits from a subject with no other known connection to Eldora, who drove a different rental vehicle on each visit to Craft’s residence. A magistrate found probable cause to issue the search warrant. Agents found a large quantity of fentanyl in his home, and evidence that would help prove an ongoing intent to distribute it (including drug ledgers, scales, and packaging supplies). Craft was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver. Craft moved to suppress all the evidence discovered during the search of his home. He argued that the search warrant was issued based on evidence that was obtained through a warrantless search that violated Craft’s rights under the Fourth Amendment. The State argued that warrantless visual surveillance of the area surrounding a home does not constitute a search. The State argued that any subjective expectation of privacy in activities that occur in public view—just outside of Craft’s residence—would never be objectively reasonable. And if there’s no expectation of privacy, the State is free to view and record that activity. The District Court granted Craft’s Motion to Suppress. It acknowledged that the unfenced front yard of Craft’s home was open to public view. But it held that surreptitious, continuous surveillance of the front of a private home for an entire year is unreasonably invasive and violates a reasonable expectation of privacy—even if widespread availability of new technology makes it easy to do. So it ruled that using the pole camera was a search that violated the Fourth Amendment, and it suppressed all of the evidence found through the search warrant. The State appealed, and the Iowa Supreme Court retained the appeal. The State must convince the Justices that the district court was incorrect, and using this pole camera was not a search. Craft must convince the Justices that the district court got it right, and that this as a search. This is a novel, complex, and difficult issue—but our intrepid finalists are up to the task

Weathering the Storm: Evaluating Captive Insurance for Iowa Cooperatives in Crisis

4 pagesIowa agricultural cooperatives are facing a crisis in obtaining affordable and comprehensive property and casualty insurance due to the withdrawal of major carriers and significant increases in premiums and deductibles. The regulatory requirements for property and casualty insurance and its importance for securing commercial loans make this crisis particularly concerning. This paper examines captive insurance as an alternative for Iowa cooperatives, outlining the benefits and challenges of a self-insurance model. While captive insurance offers customization, potential cost savings, tax incentives, and risk management benefits, cooperatives must consider high start-up costs, limited risk pooling, and selective admission. The paper also discusses strategies for overcoming these challenges, such as purchasing reinsurance and diversifying captive membership. The issue will be further explored at an upcoming cooperative CFO conference in June 2023

Effective Cybersecurity Training Using Microlearning and the Drip Concept: A Case Study of a Large Regional Hospital

16 pagesCybersecurity is a critical aspect of any business, with organizations investing in sophisticated software to protect sensitive data from potential hacks or breaches. However, human error remains the leading cause of security breaches. Most employees access the internet and email, exposing businesses to various risks. Businesses and organizations within all industries take action to mitigate this risk by providing cybersecurity training. For most, cybersecurity training takes the form of an annual 60-minute-long video training with a short quiz or acknowledgement for completion. This traditional format has been proven ineffective. In contrast, the drip concept employs a constant steam of information to educate and persuade. The concept comes from the practice of and ‘drip irrigation’ and ‘drip marketing’ whereby small drops of water provide constant nourishment to plants, or automated emails capture viewers attention. We propose that the use of microlearning and the drip concept will allow employees to become better educated on the topic of IT security. The microlearning technique, which involves repeating small bits of information over an extended period, has been proven effective through programs like Duolingo and Fitbit. In our paper, we explore the implementation of cybersecurity microlearning in the healthcare industry. We utilized two group interviews followed by a member check where our findings were confirmed with the informants. We found that microlearning was effective when combined with effective incentives, however several professional groups required specialized training and different engagement methods

Suggestions for Solving Cheating Scandals at Public Accounting Firms

5 pagesThe purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions that may help to resolve problems that public accounting firms have experienced with employees cheating on the AICPA’s ethics exam and on training exams, including Continuing Professional Education (CPE) exams. To form these suggestions, we analyzed the recent cheating scandal at Ernst & Young (EY) that was widely publicized in June 2022. Our suggestions include: (1) impose more effective penalties and deterrents; (2) redesign the ethics exam; (3) implement mandatory time for CPE and provide confidential outplacement services, and (4) rethink CPE requirements for the profession as a whole

The Congruence Effects of Social Recognition Supplied and Needed on Individual Performance Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation

21 pagesThis study utilizes person-environment (P-E) fit theory as the theoretical foundation to examine how congruence between the perceptions of social recognition supplied by supervisors, and social recognition needed by employees can increase intrinsic motivation, resulting in increased employee performance. We tested our hypotheses using polynomial regression and response surface methodology. Our findings provided partial support for our hypotheses, as a congruence between perceptions of social recognition supplied and needed did increase intrinsic motivation when the congruence amount was high. This congruence effect was also indirectly positively related to organizational citizenship behaviors. This study addresses gaps in the social recognition literature by specifically examining the role of perceived social recognition provided by direct supervisors, and its effect on intrinsic motivation, and associated performance outcomes. We discuss the implications of our findings, limitations, and future research opportunities

Global Virtual Learning Collaboration Lessons Learned

Pecha Kucha presentation given by Alanah Mitchell, Aliber Distinguished Associate Professor and Chair of Information Management and Business Analytics at Drake University.Today’s educators are tasked to produce students that are able to work in a global business world. Presentation attendees will learn how adding intercultural projects to courses can allow for student learning in relation to course concepts as well as what it is like to work in a global, virtual world. This presentation introduces global, technology supported collaboration assignments where students in the United States have partnered with students from different countries across the world (e.g., China, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Taiwan) to complete class projects in order to learn about course topics as well as to become more globally aware and increase their intercultural competency. Tasks ranging from 1-week experiences, 8-week experiences, and semester long projects using widely available technology collaboration technologies (e.g., Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, What’s App, etc.) are presented. Findings, lessons learned, and best practices suggest that today’s widely accessible collaboration technologies provide a good fit for the development of intercultural competency

Internationalization across the Curriculum

Pecha Kucha presentation given by Mary McCarthy, Professor of Political Science at Drake University.In this presentation I explore changemaking through internationalization across the curriculum. I begin by presenting changemaking itself as a global concept, emphasizing the interdependence of our world and the UN Sustainable Development Goals as connecting to multiple facets of changemaking in higher education. I then introduce my narrower focus within the presentation, which is changemaking through “internationalization at home.” I define the concept of internationalization at home, giving prominence to its impact through the lenses of DEI and COVID. I then highlight two case studies. One is my course, Human Trafficking, which has a service-learning component that engages with community partners. The second is a faculty-student joint research project on the integration of the UN’s Women, Peace and Security agenda by Des Moines-area organizations. My presentation illustrates how students can and have engaged with changemaking through these endeavors that represent internationalization at home

Collaborative Research: The Des Moines Housing Study

Pecha Kucha presentation given by Elizabeth Talbert, Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Drake University.In collaboration with four community housing partners in the Des Moines area—Homeward, Habitat for Humanity, Anawim, and Home, Inc.—my course, “The Art of the Interview,” engaged in an iterative, community- and trauma-informed approach to interviewing people in unstable housing situations. Housing has increasingly become more unaffordable in Des Moines and across the country; in the wake of the pandemic, this issue must be understood locally as well within the national context to best address the impact of this social justice issue. Students in “The Art of the Interview” set out to ask people about their lived experiences with housing instability, analyze those experiences in a systematic way, and advocate with the community for change. This project is an example of community-based research that engages students in long-term change strategies. It is an example of changemaking that, with proper resources and alignment, could be scaled to achieve long-term collective impact. While one class cannot do that alone, this class is the first phase in creating a social innovation ecosystem at Drake to address the issue of affordable housing. Data from “The Art of the Interview” will continue to grow through continued research next semester. Additionally, it will be shared to inform discussions in a political science policy course next semester whose students propose new policy to Polk County Supervisors. It will inspire independent studies that turn the data into long-term advocacy and research agendas. And eventually it may provide a foundation for a partnership with the Entrepreneurship 101 where students would brainstorm innovative market driven solutions that do not yet exist to address the lived experiences of struggles with affordable housing. The possibilities are endless and exciting. This goes to show that practicing changemaking is something that spans modes and disciplines; we need the diverse perspectives and knowledge-making tools of every discipline involved in problem solving societal issues. In short, this project models the spirit of Drake’s inspiration statement: Together we transform lives and strengthen communities