IC-86 Risk Management: Syllabus & Study Guide
IC-86 Risk Management is another popular high-credit optional, often chosen alongside IC-85 Reinsurance Management when planning optional subjects for Associateship or Fellowship. Where reinsurance is one specific tool, IC-86 is the broader discipline: how organisations identify, assess and treat risk — insurance being just one of several responses.
Why risk management is its own paper
Insurance professionals don't just sell risk transfer — increasingly they advise clients on managing risk holistically, and insurers themselves apply the same discipline internally (enterprise risk management). IC-86 builds that broader lens, which is valuable well beyond the exam.
What the IC-86 syllabus covers
- The risk management process — identification, assessment (likelihood × impact), and treatment.
- Risk treatment options — avoidance, reduction, transfer (including insurance), and retention.
- Risk identification techniques — surveys, checklists, loss history analysis, and hazard/peril distinctions.
- Risk assessment and measurement — qualitative vs quantitative approaches, and basic risk-ranking tools.
- Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) at a foundational level — how organisations manage risk holistically rather than department by department.
- The relationship between risk management and insurance — insurance as one treatment option among several, not the default.
High-value topics
- The four risk treatment options. Avoidance (don't do the activity), reduction (mitigate likelihood/impact), transfer (insurance or contractual transfer), retention (accept and fund internally). Exam scenarios often ask which treatment best fits a described situation.
- Risk identification vs risk assessment. Identification is finding what risks exist; assessment is evaluating how significant they are. Keep these as distinct steps in your mental model.
- Likelihood × impact. The core logic behind prioritising risks — a low-likelihood, high-impact risk (like a fire) is treated very differently from a high-likelihood, low-impact one.
- Why insurance is only ONE treatment. A recurring exam theme: insurance is the transfer option, but reduction or retention may be more appropriate depending on the risk profile — don't default to "buy insurance" as the answer.
Common exam traps
- Defaulting to "insurance" as the answer. IC-86 specifically tests whether you understand insurance is one option among four — questions often reward recognising when avoidance, reduction or retention is more suitable.
- Confusing hazard and peril. A peril is the cause of loss (fire, theft); a hazard is a condition that increases the likelihood or severity of that peril (e.g. flammable storage near an exit).
- Treating identification and assessment as one step — they're tested separately and have different techniques attached.
A study plan for IC-86
- Week 1: The risk management process end to end, and the four treatment options — memorise these as a framework you can apply to any scenario.
- Week 2: Risk identification and assessment techniques, plus hazard/peril distinctions.
- Week 3: Enterprise Risk Management basics and the insurance/risk-management relationship, then mixed MCQs.
- Final days: Full-length mocks emphasising scenario questions — "what treatment option fits this situation" is the paper's signature question type.
Because IC-86 is a framework subject, the fastest way to master it is applying the same four-step process to lots of different scenarios via MCQs, rather than memorising isolated facts. On Certena you can practise IC-86 questions with explanations and follow a study plan paced to your exam date.
Quick FAQ
Is IC-86 useful outside the III system? Yes — enterprise risk management is a widely recognised discipline beyond insurance, which makes this optional valuable for broader career mobility.
IC-85 or IC-86 first? Either order works; some candidates prefer IC-86 first since it gives the broader framework that reinsurance (a specific tool within it) then fits into.
The IC-86 syllabus and credit value are set by the Insurance Institute of India and may change by edition. Confirm the current syllabus on the official III website. Certena is an independent study app and is not affiliated with III or IRDAI.