The foundation on which insurance is based is referred to as the law of large numbers, but it's not really a law. No one pays a fine or goes to a gulag if it's violated. The law of large numbers is the mathematical principle that says the more exposure units in the mix, the easier it becomes to predict a group's losses. As the saying goes, flip a coin three times and it might come up heads all three instances. Flip it a million more, however, and the odds of an even heads-to-tails ratio becomes more likely. Poof! Insurance was born.

So says the first training module in National Underwriter's Personal Lines Coverage Specialist designation program. It's the first step in a continuing education initiative we're undertaking at the magazine to keep us at the top of our game. The PLCS program employs interactive, self-paced studying and technology to help keep us educated on the issues you face so that we can, in turn, work to keep you at the front of the knowledge pack.

This isn't a commercial for National Underwriter products (in the interest of full disclosure, National Underwriter is the parent company to Claims). But it is an endorsement for continuing education programs and conferences as boomers retire and new adjusters slowly trickle into a profession whose job description has gone through the shredder in the last several decades.