The southern border of the United States has garnered a lot of attention over the last few months due to immigration issues. Lesser known is the growing presence of risk management education in the Borderplex, the nexus of the area where Mexico, New Mexico, and Texas converge. The three major metropolitan areas in the Borderplex are El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

When insurance and the Mexican border are used in the same sentence, it usually involves the question of coverage in a standard private passenger automobile policy while driving in Mexico. Some insurers along the border may provide limited coverage within a few miles inside Mexico, but others are dropping that option and selling a separate policy for such coverage. It is not unusual to see makeshift folding tables or stands with laptops set up right at the border for the purpose of offering auto insurance to Mexicans while traveling in the United States for a day or perhaps longer.

Related:  6 hiring lessons insurance agents can use right now

Educating future risk managers

New Mexico State University (NMSU) near Las Cruces, about 40 miles from the Mexican border, has the oldest and most established Risk Management & Insurance Studies (RMI) program in the region. While RMI classes have been offered at NMSU for at least 30 years, the program really took off with the establishment of the Mountain States Insurance Group Endowed Chair in 2006. That $1 million chair, along with major funding provided by New Mexico Mutual Insurance and other industry supporters, resulted in adding an RMI minor and RMI specialization within the finance major, and established the Center for the Study of Insurance and Financial Services.