Download Examination Syllabus - Singapore College of Insurance

Examination Syllabus|v
Examination Syllabus
1 – Nature Of Economics Systems
1.1.
Free market economy
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the characteristics of the free market economy
1.2.
Planned economy
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the characteristics of the planned economy
1.3.
Mixed economy
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the characteristics of the mixed economy
2 – Demand And Supply
2.1.
Demand
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the demand curve
- identify the factors that affect demand
2.2.
Factors that affect demand for insurance
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the various factors that affect demand for insurance
2.3.
Supply
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the supply curve
- identify the factors that affect supply
2.4.
Supply of insurance
Candidates should be able to:
- know the various factors that affect supply of insurance
2.5.
Determination of market prices
Candidates should be able to:
- understand market equilibrium
- explain impact on market prices caused by:
o changes in market price levels
o government price control
o supplier influence
o government economic policy on demand and supply curves
|v
vi | B u s i n e s s a n d E c o n o m i c s
2.6.
Price sensitivity – elasticity of demand and supply
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the elasticity of demand and supply
- describe market clearance and its application to the insurance industry
3 – Market Structure And Its Application To Insurance
3.1.
Factors that determine the level of competition in a particular market place
Candidates should be able to:
- identify barriers to entry
- understand cartels and other restrictive trade practices
- explain the impact on takeovers and mergers
- state the impact of product knowledge on competition
3.2.
Market Structure
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the perfect competition and monopoly markets
- explain imperfect competition, oligopoly and monopolistic competition
- understand the nature of competition in the insurance industry
3.3.
Importance of marketing
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the four Ps in the marketing mix
3.4.
Role of insurance in production
Candidates should be able to:
- discuss the national income and production
- list the factors of production
4 – Inflation And Unemployment
4.1.
Inflation
Candidates should be able to:
- understand inflation and compute the price index
- explain the causes of inflation
- describe the consequences and control measures of inflation
- understand deflation
4.2.
Unemployment
Candidates should be able to:
- explain the causes and major trends of unemployment within Singapore economy
- describe the characteristics of a low inflation and low unemployment economy
- understand the effects of unemployment, inflation and deflation on the insurance
industry
E x a m i n a t i o n S y l l a b u s | vii
5 – Monetary And Fiscal Policy
5.1.
Monetary policy
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the objectives and identify the instruments of monetary policy
- outline the types of monetary policy
5.2.
Fiscal policy
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the government budget
- identify the instruments of a fiscal policy
- outline the effect of monetary and fiscal policy on the insurance industry
6 – Balance Of Payments, Exchange Rates And Government Regulation
6.1.
Balance of payment
Candidates should be able to:
- understand balance of payment and its statistics
- describe the effect and implications of current account surpluses and deficits
- identify the causes of current account surpluses and deficits
o international competitiveness
o exchange rate
o trade cycle
6.2.
Balance of payment policy
Candidates should be able to:
- identify trade deficit and trade surplus
- list the options available to correct a trade deficit
6.3.
Exchange rate
Candidates should be able to:
- understand floating exchange rate and fixed exchange rate
- compare the advantages and disadvantages of a fixed exchange rate
6.4.
Relationship between insurance and balance of payment and exchange rate
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the effect of insurance transactions on balance of payment
- identify international organisations relevant to world trade, including insurance
transactions
viii | B u s i n e s s a n d E c o n o m i c s
7 – Consumer And Employee Protection
7.1.
Customer expectations and consumer protection
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the Singapore consumer protection legislation and other consumer
protection measures and instructions
- describe the Financial Industry Dispute Resolution Centre (FIDReC) and the dispute
resolution process
- describe the function of the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE)
7.2.
Financial services legislation
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the Insurance Act (Cap 142) Rev. Ed. 2002
- describe the supervisory objectives and principles of Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS)
7.3.
Employment legislation
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the Employment Act and contracts of employment
- describe the maternity rights and working time regulations under the Employment
Act
- apply the equality and diversity in recruitment process
7.4.
Health and safety at work
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the duties of employers and employees to ensure safety and health of
person at work
8 – Governance And Social And Ethical Functions Of Insurance
8.1.
Corporate governance
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the need for and development of corporate governance
- describe the process of risk management
8.2.
Insurance governance and supervision
Candidates should be able to:
- outline the functions of insurance regulations and statutory requirements
- identify the trends and developments in regulatory framework
- describe the MAS regulatory framework
8.3.
Role of government supervision of insurance
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the purpose of state regulation
E x a m i n a t i o n S y l l a b u s | ix
8.4.
Supervision of intermediaries
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the objectives of the intermediaries
o Singapore Insurance Brokers’ Association (SIBA)
o Insurance (Approved Marine, Aviation and Transit Insurance Brokers and
Reinsurance Brokers) Regulations 2003
o General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA)
8.5.
Economic, social and ethical functions of insurance
Candidates should be able to:
- explain the economic function of insurance
- explain the social function of insurance
- explain the ethical function of insurance
9 – Technology And Insurance
9.1.
Contribution of Information Technology (IT) to the effectiveness of insurance operations
Candidates should be able to:
- identify the application of IT in
o claims handling
o risk assessment
o automation of functions
o sales and marketing
o operational management information
9.2.
E-commerce and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Candidates should be able to:
- understand e-mail and digital fax communication
- list the characteristics of EDI
- compare the advantages and disadvantages of EDI
9.3.
Mobile technology, call centres and the internet
Candidates should be able to:
- identify the uses of mobile technology
- describe the various operations of call centres
- understand the Internet and the World Wide web
9.4.
Opportunities and threats of electronic commerce
Candidates should be able to:
- distinguish the opportunities and threats in a electronic commerce environment
9.5.
Security of data
Candidates should be able to:
- list the types of storage media
- understand disaster recovery planning and disaster recovery options
x|Business and Economics
-
identify ways to control access to data
10 – Business Financing And Formulating Financial Objectives
10.1.
Need for short-term financing
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the need for short-term finance
- identify factors that cause short-term cash flow difficulties
- list the sources of short-term financing
10.2.
Need for long-term financing
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the need for long-term finance
- list the sources of long-term financing
10.3.
Sources of business finance
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the various sources of business finance; venture capital, internet, ‘Floating’
on the stock exchange
10.4.
Formulating financial objectives
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the business planning process
- understand the budgeting process
11 – Statutory Accounts
11.1.
Legislation
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the legal and regulatory requirements of a registered company
11.2.
Financial statements
Candidates should be able to:
- list the components of financial statements
- describe the Statement of Financial Position
- understand the Statement of Comprehensive Income
- outline the format of a Cash Flow Statement
- compare the accounts of a insurance broker and an insurance company
12 – Financial And Statistical Information And Taxation Of Insurance Companies
12.1.
Financial information of a company
Candidates should be able to:
- compare the groups interested in information about an organisation in the noninsurance industry and insurance sector
E x a m i n a t i o n S y l l a b u s | xi
-
outline the types of information available
distinguish between management and financial accounting
12.2.
Ratio analysis
Candidates should be able to:
- understand the various ratio used
o profitability ratio
o productivity ratio
o liquidity ratio
o activity ratio
o gearing ratio
- understand the ratios used in the insurance industry
o security, including solvency
o liquidity
o profitability
12.3.
Taxation and insurance company results
Candidates should be able to:
- describe corporate tax
- list the common terms used in corporate tax
12.4.
Rating agencies
Candidates should be able to:
- understand rating agencies
12.5.
Insurance company reserves and solvency margins
Candidates should be able to:
- describe the reserving methods
- understand solvency
- compute the required minimum margin
- understand the reasons for minimum solvency requirements
- describe the solvency margin and the MAS requirements