Jim Jones

Jim Jones is the Executive Director of the Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services at Illinois State University. The Katie School supports 450 students majoring in either risk management and insurance (RMI) or actuarial science. Jim works with the Dean of the College of Business (COB), industry executives, chairs of departments across the university, faculty from multiple disciplines across campus, including business faculty in risk management and insurance, marketing, sales, and management, and faculty in actuarial science, statistics, and economics. Jim undertakes and facilitates research on industry issues including employment trends and skills needed to succeed in the risk management and financial services industry, and technical research on issues such as the causes of workers compensation insurer insolvencies. His main area of research is on the development of microinsurance and index insurance for farmers in Africa. He has published several articles in this field including the development of drought index triggers, the drivers of demand for insurance, and influence of insurance on the willingness of microfinance institutions to loan money to farmers in Africa. Jim works directly with students in developing and facilitating undergraduate research projects including topics including: The Use of Drones in Insurance, Autonomous Vehicles, Health Insurance, Flood Insurance for Urban Areas, Pet Insurance Market Development, The Factors Affecting Customer Retention, Underwriting Risks Using Remote Sensing, The Use of Social Media by Agents, and the Impact of Fossil Fuel Prices on Automobile Claims. Jim works with students and developed an insurance industry certificate Leadership and Business Acumen. He helps develop and facilitates insurance industry career awareness programs for high school and community college students including two, week-long summer programs, the Redbird Risk Management Challenge, and Minority High School Scholars Academy. Jim has written and edited textbooks for the Institutes AIC program on Workers Compensation, Liability Claims Practices, and the Management of Bodily Injury Claims. Jim has been an executive coach for financial services executives from numerous companies in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia/Pacific. Jim does presentations for both academics and industry and has presented various insurance topics for audiences around the world. He has presented on leadership and ethics to over 4000 people in the past ten years. Jim has served as an expert witness on dozens of court cases around the United States including a multi-million dollar case in federal court in New York City in 2015. Jim serves in a leadership role at the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation, board member on the Loman Foundation, and chairs the Nominating Committee for the CPCU Society.