Instructional design · Microlearning

Insurance in Plain English

Insurance concepts can be technically correct and still be hard to explain. New agents need practice turning coverage language into clear, customer-ready explanations.

At a glance

Portfolio project 2026

Instructional designer & developer

Two interactive Storyline modules · approximately 5–7 minutes each

Storyline 360 Scenario-based learning Interaction design Assessment design

The purpose

Insurance has a translation problem. Terms such as replacement cost, actual cash value, and deductible are familiar to professionals but can remain abstract to the customer who has to make a coverage decision. An agent can know the definition and still struggle to explain what it means when a loss occurs.

I created Insurance in Plain English as a self-directed Storyline series for that moment. Each module takes one concept, grounds it in a practical scenario, gives the learner something to do with the information, and keeps the experience short enough to use as targeted reinforcement.

Try the modules

Both modules are fictionalized portfolio projects. They demonstrate the learning experience without exposing employer-specific products, carrier rules, customer information, or internal procedures.

Module 01

Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value

A scenario-based introduction to two valuation approaches that are easy to define and much harder to make concrete. Learners compare how each approach changes what a claim may pay and practice choosing the explanation that fits the situation.

Focus: coverage language, financial impact, customer explanation

Launch Replacement Cost
vs.
Actual Cash Value
(opens in a new tab)

Module 02

Understanding Your Deductible

An interactive explanation of how a deductible changes a claim payment. Learners work through practical examples and see the relationship between the amount of a covered loss, the deductible, and the insurer’s portion.

Focus: claim-payment math, interaction, plain-language explanation

Launch Understanding Your Deductible (opens in a new tab)

Design approach

I did not build these as miniature reference manuals. The design starts with the explanation an agent has to give, then uses interaction to make the consequence visible. The language stays conversational, examples do the heavy lifting, and knowledge checks ask learners to apply the distinction rather than repeat a definition.

The two modules also use a consistent series identity. That makes each topic feel complete on its own while leaving room to add future coverage concepts without redesigning the experience from scratch.

What this demonstrates

The Brokered Products capstone shows how I analyze a real performance problem and design a broader learning solution. This series serves a different purpose: it shows the finished learner experience. Together, the work demonstrates both sides of instructional design — deciding what support the performance problem calls for, and building an experience that makes complex information usable.

The goal is not simply to teach insurance terminology. It is to help an agent turn technical language into an explanation a customer can actually use.

When something in your organization is not working as it should, the first useful step is usually making the real problem clear.