Dana Kerr

Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance

207-780-4059

Portland Campus, Luther Bonney Hall, Room 514

Spring 2024 Office Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 - 1:30 PM, 7:00 - 8:00 PM & By Appointment.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison 2002
  • M.B.A., Temple University 1995
  • B.S., The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania 1990

Research Interests

  • Claims and litigation
  • Risk financing
  • Insurance contracts
  • Corporate risk management

“The Risk Management and Insurance industry in Maine and Northern New England is very robust, providing students with many different points of entry and very well-defined career paths for growth. Risk Management and Insurance careers are both financially rewarding and personally gratifying. Greater than 90 percent of our graduates have found jobs in the industry within several months of graduation.” 

— Dana Kerr, Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance

Professor Kerr began teaching at USM in Fall 2008 as the first professor in the newly created Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) track in the School of Business. “This innovative program, developed in collaboration with Maine’s insurance industry, gives students exposure to a field that is increasingly important, as our population ages and new risks evolve.” Prof. Kerr currently teaches all three of the RMI courses offered by USM. He has previously taught corporate finance, insurance, and personal financial planning courses at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX and at Ball State University in Muncie, IN.

Before academia, Prof. Kerr spent nearly 10 years in the risk management and insurance industry as a claims specialist and corporate risk analyst. His professional experience has naturally encouraged his interest in researching aspects of the insurance claims and litigation process, insurance contracts, risk financing issues, and corporate risk management topics in general. He has published articles in The Journal of Risk & InsuranceThe Journal of Legal StudiesRisk Management and Insurance ReviewCompensation & Benefits ReviewRisk Management, and The Journal of Financial Service Professionals and the Journal of Insurance Issues. He co-authored a paper that won the Donald Hardigree Memorial Award for outstanding article of 2011 for the Journal of Insurance Issues and is sole author of a paper that won the award again in 2012.

Prof. Kerr works closely with his students, advising them during their internship experiences and helping them to navigate the many possible insurance career options. He has a very good relationship with the risk management and insurance industry throughout New England and especially in Maine.

Selected Publications

Kerr, D. A. (2021). "A replication study of moral hazard in bodily injury liability auto insurance claims filing decisions." Risk Management and Insurance Review, 1–19.[pdf]

Kerr, Dana A. (2012) “Exploring the Role of Pseudodeductibles in Auto Insurance Claims Reporting” Journal of Insurance Issues 35(1): 44-72.  [pdf]

Kerr, Dana A., and Bert J. Smoluk (2011); "Macroeconomic Influences on Social Security Disability Insurance Application Rates," 34(2): 112-150. [pdf]

207-780-4059

Portland Campus, Luther Bonney Hall, Room 514

Spring 2024 Office Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30 - 1:30 PM, 7:00 - 8:00 PM & By Appointment.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison 2002
  • M.B.A., Temple University 1995
  • B.S., The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania 1990

Research Interests

  • Claims and litigation
  • Risk financing
  • Insurance contracts
  • Corporate risk management