BUILDING BLOCKS TEACHER GUIDE
Playing an insurance matching game
Students play a game to demonstrate their understanding of how
insurance reduces nancial risk.
Learning goals
Big idea
We all face risks in life, and insurance is one
way to help reduce nancial costs when these
challenging life events happen.
Essential questions
§ How does insurance protect people from risk?
§ What types of insurance might I need to buy
i
n my lifetime?
Objectives
§ Identify the purpose of different types of
insurance
§ Understand the risks of not having insurance
What students will do
§ Review information about types of insurance.
§ Match types of insurance with the risks
t
hey address.
KEY INFORMATION
Building block:
Financial habits and norms
Financial knowledge and
decision-making skills
Grade level: Middle school (6–8)
Age range: 11–14
Topic: Protect (Managing risk, Using
insurance)
School subject: Physical education
or health
Teaching strategy: Gamication
Bloom’s Taxonomy level: Understand,
Analyze, Evaluate
Activity duration: 45–60 minutes
National Standards for Personal
Financial Education, 2021
Managing risk: 4-1, 4-2, 4-4, 8-1, 8-2, 8-3,
8-4, 8-5, 12-1, 12-2
These standards are cumulative, and topics are not
repeated in each grade level. This activity may include
information students need to understand before
exploring this topic in more detail.
NOTE
Please remember to consider your students’
accommodations and special needs to ensure
that all students are able to participate in a
meaningful way.
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Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau
To nd this and other activities, go to:
consumernance.gov/teach-activities
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Playing an insurance matching game
Preparing for this activity
□ While it’s not necessary, completing the “Creating a poster about insurance”
activity rst may make this one more meaningful.
□ P
rint copies of all student materials for each student, or prepare for students to
access them electronically.
□ Y
ou’ll divide your class into two teams, one using “risk” cards and the other
using “type of insurance” cards. On heavy paper or card stock, print and cut out
enough copies of the risk and insurance cards at the end of this guide for each
student to have one card.
°
Y
ou might consider using a different color for each team.
What you’ll need
THIS TEACHER GUIDE
§ Playing an insurance matching game (guide)
cfpb_building_block_activities_playing-insurance-matching-game_guide.pdf
STUDENT MATERIALS
§ Types of insurance (handout)
cfpb_building_block_activities_types_of_insurance_handout.pdf
§ R
isk and type of insurance cards (in this guide)
Exploring key nancial concepts
A risk is something that exposes us to danger, harm, or loss.
We face risks every day. Often, these risks can have a nancial
impact on our lives. Getting sick, breaking a leg, having a car
accident, or experiencing a house re are examples of risks.
Paying the full costs for doctor’s visits, surgeries, and automobile
repairs ourselves could cost a lot of money. Often, people can’t
afford to pay the full cost of these unexpected events.
To protect themselves from risks, people often choose or are
required to purchase insurance policies. Insurance policies
reduce a person’s risk of nancial loss in areas such as health
(medical insurance), eyesight (vision insurance), car ownership
TIP
Because types of insurance,
terms, and laws about insurance
change, students should
be encouraged to always
look for the most up-to-date
information.
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Playing an insurance matching game
(auto insurance), property (homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, ood insurance),
and death (life insurance). People pay a fee for these policies that’s called a
premium. With insurance, people usually have to pay much less for health care,
an accident, or a disaster than they would if they didn’t have insurance. A person
who buys an insurance policy is called a policyholder. A policyholder might pay
the premium all at once or through a payment plan that divides the total cost into
multiple payments throughout the year.
Teaching this activity
Whole-class introduction
§ Introduce students to the idea that insurance helps manage a person’s risk.
§ E
xplain to students that they’ll play a card game where they’ll match a type of
insurance to a specic risk.
§ B
e sure students understand key vocabulary:
°
I
nsurance: The practice or arrangement in which a
company or government agency provides a guarantee of
compensation for specied loss, damage, illness, or death
in return for payment of a premium.
°
In
sured: The person, group, or organization whose life or
property is covered by an insurance policy.
°
In
surer: A person or company offering insurance policies in
return for premiums; person or organization that insures.
°
Po
licy: In the insurance context, it is a written contract between the
insured and the insurer.
°
P
olicyholder: The individual or rm that acquires and wants protection
from the risk and generally in whose name an insurance policy is written.
The holder is not necessarily the insured.
°
P
remium: The amount of money that has to be paid for an insurance policy.
°
Ri
sk: Exposure to danger, harm, or loss.
§ Di
stribute or project the “Types of insurance” handout.
°
I
f students don’t have previous knowledge about types of insurance, give
them time to read the handout or review it as a class.
°
I
f students have previous knowledge, this handout can serve as a review.
TIP
Visit CFPB’s nancial
education glossary at
consumernance.gov/
nancial-education-glossary/.
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Playing an insurance matching game
Group work
§ Divide the class in half.
§ G
ive risk game cards to one group and type of insurance cards to the other group.
§ A
sk students to walk around the room and talk to their classmates to match each
risk card to the corresponding insurance card.
§ A
s a student makes their match, they should sit down.
Wrap-up
§ Bring the class back together.
§ A
sk students to share their matches with the class. You can use the answer guide
to go over the answers.
§ H
ave students complete an exit ticket (a short, ungraded quiz) that answers
these questions:
°
How does insurance help protect people from risk?
°
W
hat types of insurance might I need to buy in my lifetime?
Suggested next steps
Consider searching for other CFPB activities that address the topic of protection,
including managing risk and using insurance. Suggested activities include
“Protecting your home” and “Learning about the Good Student Discount.”
Measuring student learning
Students’ responses during discussion and on their exit tickets can give you a
sense of their understanding. The answer guide provides possible answers for the
matching game. Keep in mind that students’ answers may vary. The important
thing is for students to have reasonable justication for their answers.
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Playing an insurance matching game
Answer guide
You’re a farmer who is
worried about a possible
drought this coming summer.
What type of insurance could
help protect you?
Agricultural/Crop
You’re a car owner. You’re
worried because there’s
been an increase in
car break-ins in your
neighborhood. What type
of insurance could help you
repair or replace your car?
Auto
You want to be sure that
you won’t lose a lot of money
if your store is broken into
and a lot of your goods are
stolen. What type of insurance
can help protect you from
this kind of loss?
Business
You’re about to buy a new
cell phone and you’re worried
about it being stolen. What
type of insurance can help
you pay to replace it?
Cell phone
What if you came down
with a terrible toothache?
You’d need to go to the dentist
to x the problem, and that
could cost a lot. What type
of insurance would help
reduce your expenses?
Dental
You were in a skiing accident
and can’t work for a few months.
What type of insurance would
make sure you still receive
an income?
Disability
You live in California.
Sometimes the ground
violently shakes. What type
of insurance would help you
repair your house or replace
your valuables if they were
damaged in this situation?
Earthquake
You’re thinking of buying
a house next to a river that
frequently overows its
banks. What type of insurance
would help you x your house
in this situation?
Flood
Even though you’re a pretty
healthy person, you still visit the
doctor about three times a year.
What type of insurance can help
reduce your expenses?
Health
You live in a very dry area
that has a high risk of forest res.
What type of insurance could
help you repair your house and
replace your valuables if they
were damaged in this situation?
Homeowner’s
You own a pizza shop in a cold
climate. You’re worried about
customers falling on an icy
sidewalk in front of your shop in
the winter and suing you. What
type of insurance would help
protect you and your business?
Liability
You’re married and worried
about how your spouse
could afford to live if something
were to happen to you. What
type of insurance would
help protect your spouse if
you were to pass away?
Life
You just moved into your rst
apartment. You’ve spent a lot of
money on furniture and things
for your house. What type of
insurance will help you repair
or replace your things if you’re
living in a place you don’t own?
Renter’s
You’re having trouble seeing
the board at school and you
r
ealize that you need glasses.
What type of insurance can
help reduce your expenses?
Vision
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Playing an insurance matching game
Insurance game cards: Risk
Print the risk card pages single-sided and cut them apart to make a set of cards.
You’re a farmer who is worried about a
possible drought this coming summer. What
type of insurance could help protect you?
You’re a car owner. You’re worried because
there’s been an increase in car break-ins
in your neighborhood. What type of insurance
could help you repair or replace your car?
You’re about to buy a new cell phone
and you’re worried about it being stolen.
What type of insurance can help you
pay to replace it?
What if you came down with a terrible
toothache? You’d need to go to the dentist
to x the problem, and that could cost a lot.
What type of insurance would help reduce
your expenses?
You live in California. Sometimes the
ground violently shakes. What type of
insurance would help you repair your house
or replace your valuables if they were
damaged in this situation?
You’re thinking of buying a house next
to a river that frequently overows its banks.
What type of insurance would help you x
your house in this situation?
You live in a very dry area that has a high
risk of forest res. What type of insurance
could help you repair your house and
replace your valuables if they were damaged
in this situation?
You own a pizza shop in a cold climate.
You’re worried about customers falling on
an icy sidewalk in front of your shop in the
winter and suing you. What type of insurance
would help protect you and your business?
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BUILDING BLOCKS TEACHER GUIDE
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Playing an insurance matching game
You just moved into your rst apartment.
You’ve spent a lot of money on furniture and
things for your house. What type of
insurance will help you repair or replace your
things if you’re living in a place you don’t own?
You’re having trouble seeing the board
at school and you realize that you need
glasses. What type of insurance can help
reduce your expenses?
You want to be sure that you won’t lose a
lot of money if your store is broken into
and a lot of your goods are stolen.
What type of insurance can help protect
you from this kind of loss?
You were in a skiing accident and can’t
work for a few months. What type of
insurance would make sure you still
receive an income?
Even though you’re a pretty healthy person,
you still visit the doctor about three times
a year. What type of insurance can help
reduce your expenses?
You’re married and worried about how
your spouse could afford to live if something
were to happen to you. What type of
insurance would help protect your spouse
if you were to pass away?
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BUILDING BLOCKS TEACHER GUIDE
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Playing an insurance matching game
Agricultural/
Crop
Auto
Business Cell phone
Dental Disability
Earthquake Flood
Insurance game cards: Type of insurance
Print the insurance card pages single-sided and cut out the terms to make a set of cards.
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BUILDING BLOCKS TEACHER GUIDE
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Playing an insurance matching game
Health Homeowner’s
Liability Life
Renter’s Vision