Fellowship

The MIAS Fellowship is an educational challenge and opportunity sponsored by the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle.  The purpose of the MIAS Fellowship is to encourage employees of MIAS members to examine in depth a marine insurance topic of interest to the marine insurance community and present it to the MIAS membership for the benefit of the association.  MIAS member employees who successfully complete the Fellowship requirements will be accorded a professional award and designation of distinction, a Fellow of the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle. 

The Fellowship process consists of two steps, both of which must be fulfilled to be awarded:

(1) an application for the examination of a marine insurance topic of interest to the MIAS membership accepted by the Fellowship Committee; and (2) a detailed and thorough written submission on the topic, also accepted by the Fellowship Committee, having significance to the marine insurance industry.  The Fellowship standards are designed to ensure that the MIAS Fellow designation, if awarded, is well-earned and of great distinction, and becomes the individual’s permanent credential.

Topics

The range of potential topics for examination by a Fellowship applicant is as broad as the field of ocean or inland marine insurance.  Some potential topics include, but are certainly not limited to:

  • The need for or utility of the doctrine of uberrimae fidei

  • Limited regulation of marine insurance

  • Barge cargo insurance

  • General average

  • Yacht insurance

  • Doctrine of proximate cause

  • Inclusion or exclusion of express warranties in policies

The topic chosen by the applicant should be of general interest to the MIAS membership and should be an insurance topic, not a legal topic.  If any MIAS member employee has a topic to suggest, please email your suggestion to fellowship@miaseattle.org.

Process

Fellowship applications may be submitted by any employee of a MIAS member firm or company, including both active member firms and non-resident member firms. 

Click here to download the MIAS Fellowship application form. 

Completed applications should be sent to fellowship@miaseattle.org.  If an applicant would like to discuss her or his potential topic with the Fellowship Committee prior to submitting an application, please send an email to fellowship@miaseattle.org or call the MIAS office and a member of the committee will be happy to contact you. 

Applications are due May 1 each year.

The Fellowship Committee will notify each applicant whether her or his application has been accepted.  If the application is not initially accepted, the applicant will have the opportunity to revise it for consideration by the Committee. 

Once an application is accepted by the Fellowship Committee the individual will be considered a MIAS Fellowship candidate.  The Fellowship candidate will then need to devote herself or himself to researching and writing in detail on the chosen marine insurance topic for final submission to the MIAS Fellowship Committee for consideration.  The written submission can be in a thesis format or an alternative format such as a Powerpoint with oral presentation.  Fellowship candidates may utilize any assistance within or outside the candidate’s member firm as long as the candidate’s submission remains the candidate’s own work product.

Final submissions to the Fellowship Committee are due November 1 of the same year, six months after the May 1 application deadline.

Candidates may submit preliminary papers or presentations to the Fellowship Committee for review and feedback before submission of the final paper or presentation by the deadline.  The Fellowship Committee will evaluate each final submission and determine whether the submission meets the committee’s high standards to ensure a MIAS Fellowship award is well-earned and a designation of great distinction.  If awarded, the MIAS Fellow will then present her or his final submission to the MIAS membership, such as at the annual MIAS Day of Education or at one of the MIAS monthly luncheons, and may be made available on the MIAS website.

Awards

Fellowship decisions will be made by the Fellowship Committee in accordance with their high standards.  In general, the criteria will include the originality and thoroughness of the candidate’s research, sufficiency of detail in the submission, and the quality of the candidate’s analysis in her or his paper and/or oral presentation.  If, in accordance with standards set by the MIAS Fellowship Committee, the candidate’s submission is accepted, the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle will confer on the successful candidate the designation of MIAS Fellow with a prize award in an amount to be determined, to be formally bestowed at the annual MIAS banquet.

The decision whether to award a Fellowship to any particular candidate will remain in the sole discretion of the Fellowship Committee of the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle, whose decisions shall be final.

If you have any questions about the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle Fellowship, please send an email to fellowship@miaseattle.org and a member of the Committee will contact you.