The Ohio State University: College of Education and Human Ecology

Project Proposal

Project Proposal

Below you will find an example proposal that I wrote for a multimedia project.

Auto Insurance Policy Basics

Topic and Context of Instruction

For this project, I would like to create multimedia learning objects to teach the basic concepts of an auto insurance policy. Some form of auto insurance coverage is required in every state. Often, members of the general public purchase a policy with limited understanding of the contract or how coverages work. When auto insurance claims occur, and the insurance company upholds the contract people get upset. This frustration stems from the public’s limited knowledge of the contract and it creates a negative stigma for the insurance industry. There is general, broad distrust of the work that an insurance company does – they are simply following the contract that the policyholder agreed to.

With this project, I would like to look at three topics of instruction. First, I will address the aspects of a legal contract. Covering this concept will shed some light on how auto insurance works, as most don’t realize it is a contract. Second, I will cover the sections of the policy, as these are universal from company to company. They will help learners to understand the forms they receive. And lastly, I’ll cover the auto insurance coverage options available in every state, with examples of how and when each coverage may pay out.

  • Contract Basics – Offer and Acceptance, Consideration, Legal Capacity, and Legal Purpose
  • Parts of Insurance Policy – Declarations, Insuring Agreement, Conditions, and Exclusions
  • Auto Coverage Options – Collision, Comprehensive, Bodily Injury, Property Damage, Medical Payments, UM/UIM BI and PD, and Rental Car Reimbursement

This information would be shared with the public as general education. The hope is that learners on a smartphone, tablet, or computer could access and view the materials. While the materials would help to educate someone looking to purchase insurance, they could also educate someone who is currently insured. The materials may also be used by insurance professionals as a refresher course. These concepts are covered in their licensing exams, which they take at the beginning of their careers and often forget after that. While it is understood that by working in the industry, these concepts are reinforced, but a formal refresher is never a bad thing.

Target Audience

The target audience for this project is the general public, including people who are shopping for or currently have auto insurance. It is my hope that the materials will help them to make an informed decision when shopping for insurance or to help them better understand the insurance they currently have. For this audience, I want to be sure to strip out as much “technical” language as possible to help the learner to understand the concept. I want to avoid stripping away too much, to avoid the learner missing the point. I think this can be achieved by providing them with conceptual accurate, real-world examples of how coverages pay out. The only prerequisite knowledge that the learner would be expected to have, is a general understanding that auto insurance coverage is required, and it pays out in the event of an accident or claim.

While the target audience for these materials is the general public, insurance professionals could use the materials as a refresher. Developed in a voice that the customer can understand, insurance agents could use these to materials to help their sales pitches to their audience – the general public. These materials can help them to explain coverages to auto insurance shoppers in terms that they can relate to.

Learning Objectives

  • At the end of the infographic, learners will be able to explain the four parts of the insurance policy with 100% accuracy.
  • At the end of the eLearning module, learners will be able to justify the purchase of the auto insurance coverages that they choose.

Proposed Products

As noted above, I’d like to produce two products for this project. First, I would like to create an infographic to help the learner to visualize their insurance contract. Allowing them to see the contract in a highly visual format will help them to relate more the material that is being taught. The infographic will help to remove the legalese of a legal contract to help personalize the learning. This is a good format for the audience, because it can be easily consumed, and the topic only covers four parts. With that, it is not overly complex, so something like a lengthy eLearning module may be too much for a project like this. This object will incorporate a few multimedia principles – The Multimedia Principle (I’ll be using words and graphics, this also falls under The Redundancy Principle), The Segmenting Principle (the parts of the policy will be “chunked” to make them easier to understand), The Contiguity Principle ( words and graphics will align) and The Personalization Principle (as noted above, the module will be written in a conversational manner).

The second learning asset that I would like to make is a learner-driven eLearning module covering the auto insurance coverages. In the module, I would like to define each coverage and provide an example of when a claim would be made for that coverage. I’d also like to share with learners the implications if they choose not to purchase certain coverages, so they get the “full picture” of each coverage. Within each section of the module, I’ll use images, text, audio and video to provide the information about each coverage. Exactly how these will be used and for which coverages will be determined as I begin to storyboard. This content is more complex, so I think it will be fitting for an eLearning module. I’d also incorporate a knowledge check at the end, to ensure that they are retaining the information – this would work better with an eLearning module as it can be built in.  This object will incorporate a few multimedia principles – The Redundancy Principle (I’ll be using audio and graphics and video, this also falls under The Multimedia Principle), The Segmenting Principle (the coverages will be delivered in parts and not all at once), The Contiguity Principle (words and graphics will align, also The Modality Principle as audio will be used) and The Personalization Principle (as noted above, the module will be written in a conversational manner).