Scholar Winners

The IRUA Scholars Committee recently invited interns and recent graduated employees of IRUA member companies to participate in its Annual Scholars Essay Program. Participants submitted a 3,000-4,000 word white paper on an industry-relevant topic of their choosing, with the winning entries earning monetary prizes to help offset their education expenses. Below are the our 2025 Scholars Essay Program Winners and a link to their papers.

2025 Scholars Essay Program - Winning Papers

Joint First Place - Vy Lan Chin (Indiana University Bloomington), who interned at Munich Re, for her paper entitled:
Risk or a Renaissance: Generative AI Governance in the Insurance Industry
Joint First Place - Andrew Ivanovski (St. John's), who interned at Arch Re, for his paper entitled:
Distorting Risk: The Burden of Litigation Finance on Casualty Insurers 
Honorable Mention - Kayla Cosentino (Montclair State University), who interned at Everest Re for her paper entitled:
Collateral Damage: Litigation Funding’s Toll on the Insurance
Honorable Mention - Morgan Beggs (Gettysburg College), who interned at Everest Re for her paper entitled:
Insuring The Energy Transition: Managing Risks in Renewable Energy 

2024 Scholars Essay Program - Winning Papers

Joint First Place - Reilly Melvin (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who interned at Arch Re for her paper entitled:
The California Insurance Crisis.
Joint First Place - Nick Siracuse, who is a first-year, full-time employee at Guy Carpenter hired in August 2024, took Second Place for his paper entitled:
PFAS: The Next Asbestos or The Boogeyman? 
Third Place - Rylie Martin (University of Iowa)  who interned at Guy Carpenter took Third Place for their paper entitled: 
Secondary Perils Become Primary Concerns 
Honorable Mention – Allison Degree (Fairfield university) who interned at PartnerRe was awarded Honorable Mention for her paper entitled: 
Escaping PFAS: The Impossible Dream

Congratulations to all our winners! Thank you for participating in this years IRUA Scholars Essay Program.  We wish you every success with your future (re)insurance careers. 
 

For more information regarding the Scholars Program or becoming a member of the IRUA, please contact Jerry Wallis, IRUA Executive Director at: jwallis@irua.org.