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Office Hours: |
At least an hour everyday
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Course Description
This introductory course examines the important principles of an insurance contract.Legal principles such as insurable interest, premiums,compensation,claims payment and the principles of good faith like misrepresentation,disclosure and consumers rights' against manufacturers of goods are examined in an in-depth manner,devoid of legal technicalities.
Issues discussed in these topics are:What is an insurance contract?Who can be parties to it?What are the rights and obligations of these parties?What is the extent of their liabilities?What is the significance of agency in insurance contracts?What are the duties an agent owes his master (the Principal)?How broad and or limited are these duties?Who can sue or be sued in insurance contract?How does the court make assessment of claims - what are the guiding principles?Do consumers have rights against manufacturers of items they consume - how can these rights be enforced? What are the contrainsts?
Answers to these questions are discussed in a very lucid manner so that the learner can gradually come to a basic understanding of how insurance works in our everyday life.
Course Requirements
In the first part of this course, - titled "the Insured and Insurance Contracts",students must be able to: Understand who the insured and the insurer is,what is insurable interest and understand properly what premiums are.They must also be able to distinguish between misrepresentation and disclosure in insurance contracts.In the 2nd part, they must recognize the nature of Agency Relationship in Insurance contracts and understannd what makes it different from other types of contracts.Students in the 3rd Part must distinguish the differences and situations when an agent and its Principal can and cannot be sued, while also noting the similarities that exist regarding their duties and responsibilities.In the 4th part,the issue of when persons not a party to an insurance contract can claim benefits from it are thoroughly analysed,while the final part seeks to make students appreciate why is it that consumers have rights against manufacturers of goods they buy daily and circumstances when these rights can or cannot be enforced.
Course Goals
1. To enligthen students about the importance of insurance in our ever growing dynamic world.
2. To make seemingly difficult and intricate legal terminologies easy and understandable so that learners can correctly appreciate what insurance is all about,use and apply them in their daily life experiences.
3.To show them the rights and liabilities that are available to them and encourage them to take advantage of them.
4.To help students who want to sit some examinations in legal studies such as those who want a Paralegal Certification.
Reading Materials
There are at least one netlink,a test/quiz and an assignment at the end of each part or lesson.There are also sometimes a Class Poll and or a survey.
Students are encouraged to check these links.The Instructor prompts this by initiating discussions on them.
Necessary reading materials and updates on the lessons will always be posted on the Discussion and Class forums.Students will also be regularly informed through e- mails of any developments such as new instruction materials.
Grading Policy
The overall mark is 100.Participation in class will get 20.
All assignments has a grade of 50.
Tests and quiz has 30.
Participation means not only the frequency but also quality of contribution.
A Certificate of Participation/Attendance will be given to any student who gets between 10-20 in the overall 20 marks for participation.
A Certificate of Outstanding Achievement will be issued to any student who gets between 65 and 100.
A Student who gets between 55 and 65 will receive the Certificate of Merit.
