Students from the University of Akron, Florida State University and the UW-Madison – Wisconsin School of Business have been selected as finalists for AM Best's 2025 Student Challenge competition, which gives undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to develop innovative solutions for risk management and insurance.

The finalists and their entries are:

• Tausif Utchhash and Connor Donahue of the University of Akron for their idea for a dynamic inventory management app for homeowners, which would offer real-time assessments of personal property values and replacement costs to help homeowners maintain accurate inventories and coverage limits, as well as provide claim submission.
• Tom Budz of Florida State University for his proposed insurance education tool for new and small businesses, which would help business owners understand, before operations have begun, how those operations could affect their insurability.
• Hernán Burgos and Alexander Porte of UW-Madison – Wisconsin School of Business for their proposed tropical storm parametric microinsurance solution for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which would provide coverage to low-income individuals and micro enterprises in LAC coastal regions using real-time meteorological data.

Each of the finalists will receive:

• An interview with AM Best TV
• A feature article in Best’s Review magazine
• Recognition on AM Best social media channels
• Access to an AM Best professional to provide feedback on the development of their solution
• An academic medal and trophy

Each finalist’s recorded presentation of their proposed solution will be posted on AM Best’s 2025 Student Challenge website for viewing and electronic voting by insurance industry executives. Presentations will be posted from March 18 to April 4, 2025. The winner will be announced in Best’s Review on June 1, 2025.

“We appreciate all of the students who chose to participate in AM Best’s 2025 Student Challenge,” said Lee McDonald, AM Best’s senior vice president, publication & news services. “Every idea we received from students showed insight and innovation about an insurance industry opportunity. The challenge served as a catalyst for students to develop real-world ideas—and get feedback from AM Best experts, gain recognition for their efforts and expand their resumes with an insurance-specific project.”

AM Best’s 2025 Student Challenge is one of the company’s ongoing initiatives to support the development of new talent in the insurance industry. AM Best also provides an analytical development program.

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.

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