Assistant Professor and

Whitbeck-Beyer Chair of Insurance and Financial Services

Lars Powell is an Assistant Professor and holds the Whitbeck-Beyer Chair of Insurance and Financial Services at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  He earned BBAs in Insurance and Finance from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Georgia.  Before pursuing an academic career, he worked as an insurance agent and a medical malpractice claims adjuster.  Lars is an active consultant to private and public entities including the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy and the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

Dr. Powell’s teaching activities include several undergraduate insurance and risk management courses, as well as graduate level teaching assignments in risk management (MBA), actuarial science (Ph.D.) and health services research (Ph.D.).  He currently administers undergraduate programs in Insurance and Financial Planning.

Lars’ primary research interests include insurer capitalization and the effects of regulation on insurance markets.  His research appears, or is forthcoming in the Journal of  Financial Services Research, Journal of Insurance Regulation, the Journal of Law and Economics, and the Risk Management and Insurance Review.  He is a member of several professional organizations including the American Risk and Insurance Association and the Risk Theory Society.