Insurance

Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk

With the stock market breaking records almost daily, leaving longtime market analysts shaking their heads and revising their forecasts, a study of the concept of risk seems quite timely. Peter Bernstein has written a comprehensive history of man's efforts to understand risk and probability, beginning with early gamblers in ancient Greece, continuing through the 17th-century French mathematicians Pascal and Fermat and up to modern chaos theory. Along the way he demonstrates that understanding risk underlies everything from game theory to bridge-building to winemaking.

A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller

"Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." —The New York Times

"An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." —The Wall Street Journal

"A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." —Business Week

"Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." —The Economist

"[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." —Worth

"No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers

"With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." —John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University

In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today.

"An extremely readable history of risk." —Barron's

"Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." —Money

"A singular achievement." —Times Literary Supplement

"There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly—witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)—and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." —The Australian

The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken and How to Fix It

An essential guide to the calibrated risk analysis approach

The Failure of Risk Management takes a close look at misused and misapplied basic analysis methods and shows how some of the most popular "risk management" methods are no better than astrology! Using examples from the 2008 credit crisis, natural disasters, outsourcing to China, engineering disasters, and more, Hubbard reveals critical flaws in risk management methods–and shows how all of these problems can be fixed. The solutions involve combinations of scientifically proven and frequently used methods from nuclear power, exploratory oil, and other areas of business and government. Finally, Hubbard explains how new forms of collaboration across all industries and government can improve risk management in every field.

Douglas W. Hubbard (Glen Ellyn, IL) is the inventor of Applied Information Economics (AIE) and the author of Wiley's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business (978-0-470-11012-6), the #1 bestseller in business math on Amazon. He has applied innovative risk assessment and risk management methods in government and corporations since 1994.

"Doug Hubbard, a recognized expert among experts in the field of risk management, covers the entire spectrum of risk management in this invaluable guide. There are specific value-added take aways in each chapter that are sure to enrich all readers including IT, business management, students, and academics alike"
—Peter Julian, former chief-information officer of the New York Metro Transit Authority. President of Alliance Group consulting

"In his trademark style, Doug asks the tough questions on risk management. A must-read not only for analysts, but also for the executive who is making critical business decisions."
—Jim Franklin, VP Enterprise Performance Management and General Manager, Crystal Ball Global Business Unit, Oracle Corporation.

The Essentials of Risk Management

Associate PRM Certificate Exam Registration

The Associate Professional Risk Manager (PRM) is a new PRMIA certificate program intended for staff entering the risk management profession, or those who interface with risk management disciplines on a regular basis, such as auditing, accounting, legal, and systems development personnel who want to understand fundamental risk management methods and practices. Designed to be mathematically and theoretically less detailed than the Professional Risk Manager (PRM(tm)) certification, the new program will cover the core concepts allowing non-specialists to interpret risk management information and reports, make critical assessments and evaluate the implications and the limitations of such results.

Trading Options For Dummies

Thinking of trading options, but not sure where to start? Trading Options For Dummies starts you from the beginning with clear, step-by-step advice on how to use top option strategies to reduce your risk while boosting your income and enlarging your retirement portfolio with index, equity, and ETF options.

This plain-English guide explains the common types of options and helps you choose the right ones for your investing needs. You find out how to weigh option costs and benefits, combine options to reduce risk, and build a strategy that allows you to gain no matter what the market may bring. You’ll learn the basics of market and sector analysis and what to look for when trying out a new option strategy. You’ll also find what you need to know about options contract specifications and mechanics. Discover how to:

• Understand option contracts and orders
• Determine and manage your risk
• Guard your assets using options
• Trade options on securities exchanges
• Protect your rights and satisfy your contract obligations
• Target sectors using technical analysis
• Minimize potential losses and optimize rewards
• Map out your plan of attack
• Limit your downside when trading the trend
• Combine options to limit your position risk
• Benefit from exchange traded funds
• Key in on volatility for trading opportunities
• Capitalize on sideways movements

Trading options is serious business. Trading Options For Dummies gives you the expert help you need to succeed.

Life and Health Insurance License Exam Cram

If you are studying for your life and health insurance licensing exam, we have the ultimate study tool for you. Life and Health Insurance License Exam Cram is a great resource to help you learn the concepts, laws, rate calculations and state and federal regulations that will be covered on the exam. You'll also receive a CD that includes a fully-customizable test engine, detailed score report and state-specific law supplement. No matter where you are taking your exam or which area you need to focus on during your studying, Life and Health Insurance License Exam Cram is your smartest way to get certified.

Trading Futures For Dummies

Explore single-stock futures, ETFs, and alternative energy futures

Protect your assets and maximize your profits in this risky yet lucrative market

Want to take advantage of the futures market? This plain-English guide gives you the surefire strategies you need to be a successful trader, with up-to-the-minute advice on the various types of futures, conducting research, finding a broker, entering and exiting positions, and minimizing your losses. You also get bearish and bullish strategies and tips for trading online.

Discover how to:

• Understand trends in the global economy
• Use charting patterns and indicators
• Execute successful trades
• Set realistic goals
• Avoid common trading pitfalls
• Keep your downside risk under control

Property and Casualty Insurance License Exam Cram

If you are preparing for a career in property and casualty insurance, you need to pick up a copy of Property and Casualty Insurance License Exam Cram. You will quickly learn the concepts, laws, rate calculations and state and federal regulations that will be covered on the exam. You'll also receive a CD that includes a fully-customizable test engine, detailed score report and state-specific law supplement. No matter where you are taking your exam or which area you need to focus on in your studies, Property and Casualty Insurance License Exam Cram is your smartest way to get certified.

Identifying and Managing Project Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project

There's a good reason project risk management is one of the most vital of the nine content areas of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (TM). Important projects tend to be time constrained, pose huge technical challenges, and suffer from a lack of adequate resources. It's no wonder that project managers are increasingly focusing their attention on risk identification.

Identifying and Managing Project Risk is a practical guide to minimizing the possibility of failure in critical projects. The book takes readers step by step through every phase of a project, showing them how to consider the possible risks involved at every point in the process. Relevant figures and diagrams support the text and illustrate key scenarios. At the end of each chapter is an analysis of how the principles just discussed applied to a supreme example of what many once considered a truly impossible project: the building of the Panama Canal.

Packed with real-world information, this book is essential reading for any project manager seeking to complete projects smoothly and successfully.

It’s no wonder that project managers spend so much time focusing their attention on risk identification. Important projects tend to be time constrained, pose huge technical challenges, and suffer from a lack of adequate resources. Identifying and Managing Project Risk, now updated and consistent with the very latest Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)® Guide, takes readers through every phase of a project, showing them how to consider the possible risks involved at every point in the process.

Drawing on real-world situations and hundreds of examples, the book outlines proven methods, demonstrating key ideas for project risk planning and showing how to use high-level risk assessment tools. Analyzing aspects such as available resources, project scope, and scheduling, this new edition also explores the growing area of Enterprise Risk Management. Comprehensive and completely up-to-date, this book helps readers determine risk factors thoroughly and decisively…before a project gets derailed.

Understanding Health Insurance

With Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billing and Reimbursement, you will learn about managed health care, legal and regulatory issues, coding systems, reimbursement methodologies, coding for medical necessity, and common health insurance plans. Exercises in each chapter give you plenty of practice to learn how to bill and reimburse. The accompanying workbook provides more application-based assignments for each chapter, content review, and additional case studies.

Dictionary of Insurance Terms (Barron's Business Guides)

A valuable quick-reference fact-finder for agents, brokers, actuaries, underwriters, and ordinary consumers, this handbook defines approximately 4,500 key terms used in the insurance industry. Definitions apply to life, health, property, and casualty insurance, as well as to home owners’ and tenants’ insurance, professional liability insurance, pension plans, and individual retirement accounts. Purchase of insurance policies constitutes a major lifetime expenditure for the average consumer, and an important function of this book is to help non-experts understand what they need and exactly what they are buying when they purchase insurance. Author Harvey Rubin, a Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter, opens with an overview of the insurance industry that points out the many financial instruments available from insurance companies to businesses, professionals and average consumers. He devotes the remainder of this book to definitions, descriptions, and examples that translate technical insurance terminology into clear, comprehensible English. Here is an enlightening and accessible business guide that deserves a place on every home bookshelf. The New York Times calls this book “. . . helpful, particularly for employee benefit and retirement issues.”