A Graduate Certificate in Insurance Law and Practice will be offered at Melbourne’s Victoria University from July.

LMI Group MD Allan Manning, who is also an adjunct professor at the university, will direct the course, assisted by Associate Professor and LMI Chief Knowledge Officer Neil Myhre.

The course aims to improve the skills of underwriters and claims managers, focusing on the principles of general insurance and in-depth product knowledge.

Topics include the fundamentals of insurance law, practice and regulation in the insurance market, property insurance and liability insurance.

“The more technically competent people we’ve got in the industry, the better the whole industry is,” Dr Manning told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The course’s advisory board includes industry representatives from major insurers, the National Insurance Brokers Association, the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance and some broker groups.

The course is offered online with teacher telephone consultation, and there are also plans to offer the course in Asia.

There are also plans to offer a Masters degree in insurance law and practice.

Dr Manning says he is looking forward to giving something back after a lifetime of study.

“It will be nice when I retire that all those years of study are not lost,” he said. “The next generation will benefit.”

Details of the course can be obtained here.