AM Best Names Four Finalists in Student Challenge Competition

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has selected students from the University of Wisconsin and Florida State University as finalists for its third annual Student Challenge competition, which tasked entrants with creating solutions for managing insurance risks. The 2023 competition was open to undergraduate and graduate students, who were invited to submit as individuals or in teams.

Chris Lane and Madison Wescott of the University of Wisconsin were selected for their submission, “TikTok as a Penetration Tool for Insurance,” which couples the pervasiveness of the quickly growing social media app with insurance awareness for younger audiences.

Siddarth Upadhya and Rail Minazetdinov from the same university earned their spot amongst the finalists for their submission, “Resilience Bonds for Risk Mitigation in the Energy Sector.” Their proposed resilience bond would support investment in the industry and resilient infrastructure, thereby mitigating commodity price risk by removing carbon-based energy sources.

Kevin Taheri and David Leemon, another team from the University of Wisconsin, have made it to the final round with their proposal, “New Framework to Assess the Risk and Underwriting for Autonomous Vehicles.” Taheri and Leemon’s proposed framework would assess the risk, underwrite the policy and set prices of autonomous vehicles alongside manufacturers.

Finally, Hannah Youngblood from Florida State University was selected for her submission, “Telemedicine Platform for Prescriptions.” Her proposed platform would perform a comparative analysis of a consumer's prescriptions based on their insurance coverage and suggest the most cost-effective solution.

Final presentations will be posted on the Student Challenge website for viewing and voting Wednesday, March 23, through Monday, April 10. Finalists will be notified of the results via email on Tuesday, April 18, and the winner will be published in Best’s Review^® Thursday, June 1.

“Our annual Student Challenge connects with one of AM Best’s core values: to innovate the insurance industry by tapping into the next generation of professionals,” said Lee McDonald, group vice president of AM Best Information Services. “It’s a pleasure to see the creative solutions these students come up with each year.”

AM Best’s 2023 Student Challenge is one of the company’s ongoing initiatives to support the development of new talent in the insurance industry. It is sponsored by the AM Best Foundation, which supports charitable organizations that encourage education and thought leadership in insurance and risk management. AM Best also provides an analytical development program for college students, along with internship opportunities. For more information about the competition, please visit our website.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2023 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.