Course 2008-2009 a.y.

Course Objectives

This course covers the basic concepts in risk management and insurance, examining how to manage and protect firm value.

The purpose of the course is to equip students to develop a conceptual framework for making risk management decisions that increase business value. The emphasis is on traditional and innovative management of pure risk. However, the foundation for understanding other types of risk management is also established. The evolving concepts of enterprise risk management is introduced and blended into several parts of the course.

All topics are discussed firstly with a theoretical introduction and then by a more empirical approach, including exercises and cases discussion.

Course Content Summary

• Firm risks: taxonomy and analysis
• Risk management and firm value
• Principles of theory of risk
• Determining the insurance premium
• Designing an optimal insurance coverage plan
• Reinsurance
• The risk management process
• Simulation models for evaluating risk financing solutions
• The Enterprise Risk Management approach
• Pure risk tranfer through financial instruments and financial risk transfer through insurance instruments

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

• Exams are written, in-class, closed book and closed notes and cover all the topics taught during the course.
• Students have the possibility to do (written) partial exams.
• Students who have passed the first partial exam can take the second partial exam in either the first or the second exam session.

Textbooks

Required readings are downloadable at the Course Web Page.

Prerequisites

Students attending this course should be familiar with the concepts thought in the following courses: Financial markets and institutions, Financial mathematics, Statistics.