Summer Intern – Supervision & Regulation – Retail SMT Homeowners’ Insurance

Company

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is one of the 12 regional Reserve Banks that, together with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System. It helps formulate and implement monetary policy, supervises banks and bank and savings and loan holding companies, and provides financial services to depository institutions and the federal government. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia serves eastern and central Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware.

Bring your passion and expertise, and we’ll provide the opportunities that will challenge you and propel your growth!

Job Summary:

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is seeking a PhD level or graduate student with preferred majors in economics, finance, statistics, or applied mathematics. This opening is hybrid where the intern comes into the office 2-3 times a week to work with the project manager, though being fully remote will also be permissible.

The work schedule is Monday – Friday (40 hour per week). This is a 10-week paid internship. The hourly rate for this position is $26.00-$30.00 per hour depending on the candidate's education.  

What You Will Do  

Intern Project

The intern will work on a project focused on data collection and research regarding homeowners’ insurance. The project’s motivation is based on the notion that as homeowner insurance premiums continue to rise, many homeowners are looking for ways to save money. One common way to save money on insurance without reducing coverage is to increase one’s deductible. However, this comes with its own risks because if homeowners are budget-constrained and cannot afford a higher premium, it is unlikely that they have the savings to pay a higher deductible should disaster strike. This research project will quantify the trade-off that homeowners make between premiums and deductibles. 

Project timeline: 

• Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2): Perform a thorough review of relevant literature regarding homeowners’ insurance and insurance contract choice  

• Phase 2 (Weeks 3-5): Research and become familiar with insurance data 

• Phase 3 (Week 6): Generate descriptive statistics and data visualizations of basic patterns of insurance choice and renewal dynamics  

• Phase 4 (Weeks 7-9): Identify how data patterns may vary by geography or homeowner characteristics 

• Phase 5 (Week 10): The intern will prepare a written report and presentation on their findings and present this to the FRB as the capstone to this internship. 

• Extra Time: If the intern has requisite skills and experience, they will collaborate with the investigator to specify and estimate a discrete choice model of insurance policy choices to quantify the willingness to pay for various insurance policy characteristics.  

What You Have

• Graduate degree or PhD in in economics, finance, statistics, or applied mathematics 

Required Skills: 

• Experience creating data visualizations  

• Experience with statistical programming and a working knowledge of R is preferred 

Preferred Competencies: 

• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills 

• Strong technical writing skills 

• Strong interest in data visualization 

Additional Information:

• The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia takes your information privacy ser