HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

152

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

requesting the board of regents to establish THE ASIA-PACIFIC RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE PROGRAM WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA.

 

 

WHEREAS, the insurance industry is a major contributor to the State's economy; and

WHEREAS, understanding insurance and risk management has become a top priority of corporations as they realize that risk managers do not simply pay the insurance premiums, but must understand all the risks a corporation faces and all the complex alternatives to address those risks; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has established a reputation as one of the world's top ten locations for captive insurance companies and is the premier domicile in the Pacific Basin with over one hundred active licensees; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's largest employers, as well as United States and foreign-based regional and multinational companies from a diverse range of industries, are numbered among those forming captive insurance companies in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii would like to support the State of Hawaii's vision of serving as the bridge between East and West in promoting a variety of economic and financial activities, including insurance business; and

WHEREAS, the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa would be an appropriate place to establish this bridge because of its strong reputation from its outstanding faculty, the ability of its students, and its innovative Asia-focused curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; and

WHEREAS, while there are at least sixty colleges and universities offering undergraduate risk management and insurance programs in the United States and Canada, there are only a handful of graduate programs with a focus in this area; and

WHEREAS, a graduate program in risk management and insurance at the University of Hawaii at Manoa would be the first program of its kind in the western United States and would set the University of Hawaii at Manoa apart among the nation's top schools of business; and

WHEREAS, not only would the establishment of an Asia-Pacific Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa increase research productivity in the rapidly growing financial services industry in the Asia-Pacific region, but it would also complement the College of Business Administration's strategic plan for becoming the best business school in the world with an Asia-Pacific focus; and

WHEREAS, the establishment of an Asia-Pacific Risk Management and Insurance Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa would:

(1) Promote the State of Hawaii as the global center for insurance research activities and as the meeting place for insurance market regulators and industry leaders for policy dialogues;

(2) Train and educate qualified professionals for the local insurance industry as well as in the Asia-Pacific region;

(3) Enhance the State's reputation as a leading captive insurance center in the world; and

(4) Promote the State of Hawaii as the insurance education leader in the Asia-Pacific region; and

(5) Contribute to diversification of the State of Hawaii's economic and labor force; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii is requested to establish an Asia-Pacific Risk Management and Insurance Program within the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Asia-Pacific Risk Management and Insurance Program is requested to:

(1) Include an undergraduate track in risk management and insurance as part of the College of Business Administration curriculum;

(2) Expand the Master of Science in Finance Program, which is currently under review by the University of Hawaii, to include a specialization in risk management, given the explosive growth of the insurance industries in Asia;

(3) Include specialized research programs in the insurance area focusing on best practices, policy issues, and regionalization and harmonization of insurance regulations;

(4) Create an advisory board that will oversee the University of Hawaii's proposed programs and provide guidance and be composed of: insurance commissioners and market regulators from the Asia-Pacific region; members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; senior executives from the local and international insurance industries; and internationally renowned scholars;

(5) Launch an annual Asia-Pacific insurance symposium to discuss insurance policy issues relevant to the United States and the Asia-Pacific region and to disseminate research findings and policy dialogues;

(6) Offer training and internship programs for Asia-Pacific insurance commissions and insurance company representatives; and

(7) Provide continuing education programs geared to meeting the needs of local insurance industry participants; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents is requested to report on the status of the Asia-Pacific Risk Management and Insurance Program to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, the President of the University of Hawaii, the Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Insurance Commissioner.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

UH; Program