100 Women in Insurance

006: A Job for Life? with Louise Clemments

What are the different roles available within the insurance industry, and how might one transition from one type of role to another? What is the career advantage of participating in additional activities in the workplace? What educational steps do we need to take to alter misconceptions about our industry at an early stage?
In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Louise Clemments, Senior HR Business Partner at HDI Global Specialty. In conversation with Sandra Lewin, Louise discusses the nature of her role and how HR underpins the fundamental infrastructure of insurance businesses. She suggests that insurance is a uniquely advantageous industry to work in due to the versatility of the skills that you acquire, which are transferrable across a wide array of roles. Furthermore, she suggests that active participation in the additional activities available at your workplace, particularly in the early stages of your career, is instrumental to a healthy career progression.
 
Quote of the Episode
“I'm very passionate about finding the right person for the job. And in the insurance market, we know there is a talent drain with not enough young diverse talent coming in, thinking about careers in this field. But rather than just sitting around complaining about this, I feel we all have a responsibility to make changes and spread the word about what an interesting and fulfilling career insurance can be.”
For Louise, the onus is on everyone within the insurance industry to help to promote it to the general public. This is particularly essential on an educational basis. Insurance and the broader financial services remain male-dominated industries, with many girls dissuaded from considering such a career due to the prospect of being the only woman in the office. To alter this mindset, we need to have an educative presence in schools and universities, discussing the various benefits of working in our ever-evolving industry. Consequently, this year HDI launched an Early Careers Programme offering formal internships and apprenticeships. They have also partnered with an outreach provider to ensure that candidates come from socially diverse economic backgrounds. For Louise, it is key that we spread the word to people who may not have considered a career in financial services, who will have skills that can undoubtedly be transferred to insurance.
 
Key Takeaways
For Louise, when onboarding new employees and retaining those employees, it is fundamental that we listen to them to understand what they want from their roles and their careers in the long-term. Similarly, we must be transparent about what we can offer as employers to facilitate those goals. Many people consider work culture to be a key factor in which roles they apply for, and a greater emphasis on this when advertising roles, clarifying how the business operates, may help substantially to boost insurance recruitment efforts.
Louise suggests that the Great Resignation observed in recent years is proof that a ‘job for life’ is not inevitable. She suggests that there is great value in trying lots of different roles in order to gain different types of exposure and experience. The insurance industry is particularly well-equipped for this kind of experimentation, with many types of roles requiring different skills on offer.
For example, Louise herself works in HR, but there are various skills held by brokers or underwriters which could fluidly transfer to a role in this department. In HR, you are advising business leaders on strategy, so a general background in insurance would make you very well-placed to facilitate this kind of decision-making.
In addition to her role in HR, Louise holds a book club at work which communes every four to five weeks, focusing on books with a business or leadership leaning. Engaging in such activities at work can have huge career advantages. Being present and volunteering for additional activities at work showcases your willingness to be involved with and contribute to the business to the senior people who make decisions about your career when you’re not in the room. This type of visibility can be instrumental to your future career progression.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“I think it's quite an old-fashioned mentality to have a ‘job for life’. I think some of our European counterparts may still believe that to be true. But I think that one of the nice things, certainly in my career, is I've worked for small to medium sized firms, and the exposure you get, because you're having to do everything, you have fingers in many pies, is great.”
 
“There's a slight myth that the younger generation don't want to do things outside of their pay exclusively. We've actually found these are the individuals who do want to be good corporate citizens and make a difference.”
‘I would love to see more people going from insurance roles such as claims, underwriting, broking to transfer into HR because I think it will give you excellent grounding.’
 
“If you want to showcase yourself to other senior people who quite honestly make decisions about your career when you're not in the room, you have to you have to be present in those other aspects of the organisation that are not necessarily part of your day to day.”
 
Resources
Empower Development – TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@empower.development
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg
Atomic Habits by James Clear
 
About the Guest
Louise Clemments is the Senior HR Business Partner at HDI Global Specialty. She has 15 years of generalist HR experience, working predominantly with small to medium sized firms in the financial services sector.
Louise’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lclements1/
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin

005: Establishing Your Personal Network with Dame Inga Beale

What can we do to further champion greater inclusion and diversity in insurance recruitment? Will we eventually see an even gender split at the board table across our industry, and how can we accelerate progress towards this end?
In this episode, we are thrilled to be speaking with Dame Inga Beale about her illustrious, globetrotting insurance career! In conversation with  Sandra Lewin, Inga elucidates the importance of retaining and promoting women in the insurance world, and the role both individuals and companies can play in facilitating this. She recommends the PIE model for women seeking senior roles, and offers advice for those seeking to establish stronger networks.
 
Quote of the Episode
“Many women are choosing to [leave the corporate world], and I absolutely get it, because they are fed up with the things that go on sometimes in the workplace of big corporations… I decided I needed to really start being serious about trying to keep women in the world of insurance, promote women in the world of insurance. [We need to] be proactive, have targets, have quotas. Companies can set their own targets and measure against them just like any other business targets.”
During the episode, Inga provides an anecdote about a close friend who was a senior executive for a Swiss bank, who chose to leave that role due to the inequality she identified against women in the workplace, and the microaggressions they were subjected to. Whilst Inga recognises why many women choose to become entrepreneurs and leave the corporate world behind, she argues that if others follow suit, who will remain to break down the barriers for other women to enter these businesses and ascend the ranks? Inga suggests that women need to stay in the corporate world and fight the good fight, actively pushing for increased inclusivity, ensuring that women are recruited and promoted, with targets and quotas to ensure this if necessary.
 
Key Takeaways
Many women don’t wish to be seen as token hires, offered opportunities or promotions simply for the sake of inclusivity targets. Inga argues that this hesitance should be set aside. She herself was selected for a more senior position whilst working at General Electric on this basis. As a result of that opportunity, she built a hugely successful career. For Inga, instituting programmes that encourage women, taking people management and gender equality seriously, are essential for effectuating long-lasting change. If targets or quotas are not upheld to ensure that companies recruit and promote women, the gender disparity within insurance may endure.
For women seeking senior insurance roles, Inga recommends the PIE model (Performance, Image, Exposure). For your efforts to be recognised within your company, it’s not enough to do your job well (Performance). You must also interrogate how you come across to others (Image). The only way to know this is to ask others: request feedback about how you are perceived in the workplace, and on this basis begin to develop the image you wish to project. The more accurate and personal the feedback you receive, the better. How you are perceived within your company and to external onlookers is crucial if you want to get ahead.
As you begin to climb the ladder of seniority within a company, your network will become increasingly important (Exposure). Hiring managers typically consider the candidates they recognise before anyone else. To get your name on the list of known candidates, you have to do strategic marketing, making yourself known to important figures within your company and in the broader market. Exposure is perhaps the most important factor in the PIE model if you are determined to reach a senior position. Whilst networking can be very uncomfortable, you never know what doors it might open for you. Furthermore, you can network regardless of the level you are at within an organisation. Requesting to work on cross-departmental projects, or going to events and seeking out the people you don’t know, can all prove highly fruitful in raising your profile across the industry.
Many people find networking hugely daunting. Inga suggests that having a few specific questions lined up before approaching someone can be really helpful for having meaningful conversations. Additionally, it’s key to project confidence in these environments. It’s key to give yourself enough airtime in networking conversations, whilst also being inquisitive; actively asking others questions and listening their opinions. To ensure that you persevere, consider setting yourself a goal – introducing yourself to ten new people, for example.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“There were centuries where men were the only choice. [It was a] 100% [recruitment] quota for men. We need to kickstart the change to get equality going. And that's what we need to keep doing because we're still not making fast enough progress.”
 
“You can't just sit there and do a fantastic job. You have to do a good job, but that is not it, you [also] have to think about your image, you have to think about how you're coming across to others. And the only way you actually know your image is to ask other people.”
 
“You have to do the networking. Sometimes it's the most uncomfortable. And depending what level you are in organisation, you might not be networking with CEOs, but you can even ask your manager to open some doors for you. You can volunteer to do cross-department work projects… Make sure you go to events and seek out the people that you don't know. This is hard work, particularly for introverts. It's not necessarily very comfortable. But I can assure you it pays off.”
 
Resources
Insurance Supper Club: https://www.isc-group.co/en-gb/home
 
About the Guest
Dame Inga Beale is a prolific insurance executive with over 40 years of experience in global financial services. The first female CEO of Lloyd’s for a tenure of five years, she is also an influential speaker and advocate for increased inclusion in the workplace.
Inga’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingabeale
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin
 

004: All Skills are Transferrable with Emma Chapman

What is the BIBA Conference and why is it such a crucial event on the insurance industry calendar?
To what extent are skills from external industries transferrable into insurance careers?
How can the mobility of such external skills into insurance roles be better communicated in the current recruitment landscape?
In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Emma Chapman, Head of Conference at BIBA. This year’s BIBA Conference held in Manchester in May attracted 9000 people across two days. The event aims to unite brokers, insurers, and the wider insurance community to do business, establish and build relationships, and much more. In conversation with Sandra Lewin, Emma discusses how her background in theatre has informed her decision-making in curating and arranging the annual conference over the past eight years. As such, she is a testament to the transferability of skills from seemingly unrelated industries into the wide array of roles available in insurance.
 
Quote of the Episode
“You go to conferences for so many reasons. Number one is to do business, we know that. Fundamentally, people say [that, at BIBA,] they get a month's worth of business done in two days. Brilliant. But what else can you get?”
The BIBA Conference is, first and foremost, a springboard for networking, bolstering existing business relationships and fostering new ones. Yet, in a post-COVID landscape in which many people have hybrid work schedules and a more intertwined work-life balance, it is harder to entice people to attend these events. BIBA’s first in-person conference after the pandemic was in 2022, and it was a huge success, which can largely be attributed to people’s glee at being able to attend such events and network face-to-face. In 2023, Emma and her team faced a challenge of how to improve upon this warm reception, now that hybrid working patterns are seemingly here to stay. They decided to bring a flavour of fun and theatricality to the conference, with puppies available to cuddle at a Wellness Zone, and with a speech from Sir Mo Farah.
 
Key Takeaways
Emma studied a Drama and Theatre Studies degree at Exeter, and went into Stage Management in the West End. After several successful years managing a variety of big productions, she sought a change and became involved in event organising, eventually working for BIBA via an agency before being invited to arrange the conference in-house post-pandemic. Theatre and insurance are undoubtedly very different industries, but Emma’s role at BIBA entails a need to put on a spectacle for conference attendees.
She argues that her theatre background has significantly informed her work at BIBA, emphasising that if and when you do decide to switch roles or even industries into insurance, your past experience will always be beneficial in one way or another. You should never consider your previous working roles or plans as a barrier to entry or transition within the industry. Emma’s daily work at BIBA is extremely varied, but it is ultimately founded upon building and maintaining mutually beneficial business relationships, organisation, and an ability to meet deadlines – all skills she developed in her previous career which are transferrable to and crucial in an insurance career. Indeed, Emma suggests that taking skills from external and ostensibly unrelated industries into insurance is extremely beneficial to ensure a consistent inflow of fresh ideas and perspectives.
Emma argues that we must actively combat the common misconception that insurance careers are boring, noting that she’s never had an uninteresting day on the job. She emphasises that insurance is something which everyone must experience and engage with from a client perspective. As such, irrespective of which industry one initially works in, everyone is in a strong position to contribute ideas to insurance, as every year, we all have to purchase or renew car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, and so on.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“Because we now live in a semi hybrid world, it takes even more to get people out of their homes. You have to deliver something that you cannot get at home, more so than when everyone was in offices, because everyone was always leaving their home. Everyone was always travelling; it was very easy to go to things after work.”
 
“What I love about my job is it's so varied. I mean, we organise literally everything to do with the exhibition… So, my day could be, depending on where we are on the lifecycle of the event, it could be signing off on social media, ordering 1000s of chairs, approving budget, briefing contractors, sorting out the advertising, paying for things, booking things. It’s a real smorgasbord of things. And that's why I love what I do so much.”
 
“If you spent some time understanding the insurance industry, you could be an excellent addition, [if you] come with outside ideas. That's what I'm always passionate about: there are these transferable skills in so many different career choices.”
 
“For example, as an event organiser, someone who does event organising for a pharmaceutical company, something totally different to insurance, but because you are still organising a live event, an engaging thing for delegates, you still need to listen to the feedback, and work out whether what you're giving is what people actually want to receive. They would come with amazing ideas, and vice versa. There almost needs to be this give and take between industries, so that you constantly have fresh ideas coming.”
 
Resources
BIBA – The BIBA Conference wins Best Association Event Award: https://www.biba.org.uk/press-releases/the-biba-conference-wins-best-association-event-award/
 
About the Guest
Emma Chapman is the Head of Conference at BIBA (British Insurance Brokers’ Association), leading a team who organises its annual conference.
Emma’s LinkedIn Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/emma-chapman-29a97610b 
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin

003: The Value of Establishing Your Personal Brand with Caroline Bedford

What is intrapreneurship, and how can it help you or your employees to promote innovation within your organisation?
What is the value of generalist skills and knowledge when considering executive positions?
Why is it so important to establish a personal brand and network prior to leaving the corporate environment to pursue your own industry ambitions?
In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Caroline Bedford, Chief Executive at EDII! With a background in the technology sector, Caroline undertook a career in insurance, working in various exciting roles before departing the corporate world to build her own business. In conversation with Sandra Lewin, she highlights the key values underpinning good leadership, emphasising the importance of promoting innovation at every level of a business in order to sustain growth and talent retention.
 
Quote of the Episode
“With the intrapreneurial roles, you know, it's in company's interest to be able to cultivate those kinds of passions and capabilities in their staff, and to really nurture that. I don't see any specific job applications from organisations seeking to employ an ‘intrapreneur’. However, I do now see that in terms of people's development programmes, creativity, authenticity, curiosity. Those types of mindset and behaviours are now being welcomed, and expected in many cases. Those are all attributes that people who work for organisations can also share with entrepreneurs who, who work for themselves and take the risks that are associated with that.”
Intrapreneurship refers to the application of entrepreneurial skills to promote growth within one’s organisation. Caroline asserts that developing these skills is a key way of building up your reputation within your organisation, thereby establishing valuable connections which you will retain if and when you move elsewhere. Furthermore, she argues that fostering these skills within one’s employees can facilitate talent retention. A key demographic of talented employees who leave the insurance sector every year is women in their 30s-40s. Caroline argues that this is fuelled by companies failing to allow these employees to creatively innovate in order to solve real problems. It is crucial to invest in your staff at all levels and ages, and give them an outlet with which to apply their unique skills, thereby achieving personal growth and developing the business simultaneously.
 
Key Takeaways
Caroline highlights the value of generalist knowledge at all levels of the insurance industry. Upon leaving school, she joined the technology sector, and ultimately chose insurance to practice that specialism. Consequently, she brought a wealth of external knowledge and skills to the industry that has fuelled her individual growth and that of the firms she has worked for. Additionally, she notes that having external skills and expertise provides an excellent foundation for entering executive positions. Today’s CEO requires an understanding of the broader business environment in which they are operating, with generalist capabilities ranging from business development, operations, strategy, deliverables, product development, and more.
For Caroline, as a business owner it is crucial to prioritise one’s staff above all else. A key tenet of leadership is the capacity to motivate and inspire people even when the chips are down; to work through challenges and frustrations whilst recognising that you are ultimately responsible for the livelihoods of your team.
Caroline recalls ‘Don’t wait till you need a network to build one’ as the best piece of advice she has ever received. You need connections, especially when transitioning from one role to another, or from a corporate environment to your own business, who can support you and verify your credibility. Before departing the comfort zone of the corporate world, it is crucial to establish your personal brand. Many of your industry connections will likely be a product of the brand with which you are affiliated. Once this recognisable credibility is gone, many of these connections could be severed. As such, you must invest in your individual brand in addition to that afforded by your corporate employment. It is ultimately the value others see in your personal name that will secure you future opportunities or investment.
LinkedIn can be a fantastic tool for building a community and demonstrating the unique value you can bring to a business, or the industry at large. However, it must be approached as a two-way street. You shouldn’t simply put information about your personal triumphs out there; you must also engage in what your connections are doing, and participate appropriately in conversations and debates. In using this platform in a consistent, engaged, and authentic manner, people will soon recognise your individual value, which will be instrumental in developing your personal brand.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
That's a great thing about insurance – there are lots and lots of opportunities. You don't just find yourself in an organisation and stuck in the role that you joined in. If you exhibit talent, passion, and skill, and capability, then there will be opportunities there for you. Throughout my career, I have worked for technology companies, I have worked for insurers. And I was part of the acquisition team when DXC was acquiring Xchanging a few years ago.”
 
“One of my specialist passions is the rise of the generalist. This is something that's really helped propel me through my career. Once I recognised the value that comes with having those generalist capabilities, it kind of freed me from some of the sort of anchors that held me back in the past where I felt that to be able to succeed, you needed to have deep specialisms in one specific area. Since I did research and have started to really take, ironically, a deep dive into the role of the generalist, that kind of led me to understand firstly, the type of capabilities that everybody in industry needs now is no longer just that vertical career path, but also the horizontal. It also stood me in good stead for the role of a CEO.”
 
“People will often engage you because of that big name, [but] if you wish to then go out on your own, you have lost that Golden Shield that is going to make people gravitate towards you. So even when you work for that big name, it's important that people see you as Caroline or Sandra, or whoever you may be.”
 
Resources
Caroline Bedford – Fifty Over Fifty: https://fiftyoverfifty.org.uk/list/caroline-bedford-edii/
The Rise of the Generalist: Caroline Bedford speaks at The Women In Tech Conference 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftAmGzKmj3s&ab_channel=EDIIGroup
 
About the Guest
Caroline Bedford is the Chief Executive of EDII, home of Digital Minds, helping insurance and business professionals understand how innovation, design and entrepreneurship can help to futureproof their work.
Caroline’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-bedford-a0225212/
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin

002: The Power of Networking with Bamishe Alao

Why is it so important to build a personal network within your company and across the industry early in your insurance career? What steps should you take to overcome a fear towards networking events? How can graduate schemes facilitate steady career progression?
In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Bamishe Alao, who is currently enrolled on the WTW CRB Graduate Programme, in the Director and Officers Liability team. In conversation with  Sandra Lewin, Bamishe explains the innerworkings of her graduate scheme and her reasoning behind pursuing an insurance career. Furthermore, she highlights the profound importance of establishing a broad network early in your career, thereby cementing professional connections that will follow you across your progression in the industry.
 
Quote of the Episode
“I think everyone should be networking at any point in their career. Whether you're trying to change industry, move into insurance, move your way up insurance, you have to just know how to… not market yourself, but put yourself out there. Because if no one knows who you are, how are you going to find opportunities for volunteering, or leadership roles, or anything besides your day-to-day role.”
Throughout the episode, Bamishe elucidates the importance of networking to cement your reputation in the industry. She also notes that networking will remain a vital skill across your insurance career, particularly if and when you decide to change roles or companies. The connections that you establish within your own company or at external networking events may prove to be vital if you later decide to pursue a new role. Immersing yourself in these networks will automatically open a lot of doors for you that you may otherwise not have even known existed.
 
Key Takeaways
During Bamishe’s three-week-long graduate induction, she attended three talks demonstrating how to conduct oneself at networking events. She argues that this training was fundamental to building her own personal network and in encouraging her to take up leadership positions in company networks. She highlights that joining a network early in one’s career is key, as this is when you have the most time to get involved in events and to build new connections. By immersing yourself in these networks whilst simultaneously cultivating your own personal network, your name becomes more broadly known across the industry, establishing your presence, after which it’s much easier to take a step back and embrace the opportunities that these connections can unlock.
Cultivating an extensive network in this way can sound daunting. If you have very few, or even no connections within the industry, it’s easy to feel like an outsider when attending networking events, or that your hierarchy within your company disqualifies you from making connections higher up the chain. However, Bamishe suggests that it’s crucial not to conflate your industry title or position with your individual value. She argues that the best way to approach networking events is to try and find common ground with whoever you might be speaking to. ‘How did you get into insurance?’ is always a great icebreaker, and asking general personal questions can be a great way to establish something in common with someone before veering into more business-oriented conversation. Focusing on who they are as a human being, first and foremost, is much more likely to lead to a fruitful personal and business relationship. That being said, you might not always be able to identify something in common with everyone, and that’s okay. You don’t need to overthink every networking attempt you make.
Your seniority (or lack thereof) within a company is never as important as your passion and commitment to your career. Bamishe argues, ‘don’t let anyone tell you that your experience is too little’ with regard to the goals you are pursuing. The connections you forge across your career may later become instrumental, and being headstrong and ambitious at networking events will only ever work in your favour. Bamishe highlights that there are several brokers whose entire jobs are managing relationships, because they know so many important industry figures who they met early in their careers, and who now maintain these connections in support of their company.
Bamishe is also a rising insurance TikTok star. She started making TikToks in order to demonstrate the fun aspects of working in insurance, an industry in which the opportunities for travel and socialising are too often downplayed. While not every part of an insurance career is glamorous, this is undoubtedly an excellent way of highlighting the fantastic opportunities that an insurance career can provide, and it may prove very powerful in drawing new young talent into our industry.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
‘I think insurance [carries] a negative narrative. But actually, work-life balance is one of the biggest benefits here.’
 
‘You'd never know what's out there until you go out and look for it. And a lot of people just don't think to look for it, which is why I think networking is so important.’
“You can't really form connections based on titles. I think it's more a case of, ‘Oh, we have something in common; we both study for these exams.’ If you're on an apprenticeship programme, you might find a grad doing the same exams. That's a great place to start.”
‘If you follow people's trajectories and careers, you can tell who was actively networking.’
‘If you're networking within the company, if you're helping to lead and execute event and seminars, it’s going to help your career by default.’
 
Resources
Bamishe’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bamishe55
 
About the Guest
Bamishe Alao is currently enrolled on the WTW CRB Graduate Programme working in the Director and Officers Liability Team. She was recently shortlisted for the Insurance Age Young Broker of the Year Award.
Bamishe’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bamishe-alao-cert-cii-244642194/
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin

001: Making Insurance Sexy with Mercy Komar

Are you unsure if you are entirely suited to your insurance role, and looking to make a change? Is the industry becoming more inclusive of women, and what can we do to further push these boundaries? What can we do to make insurance more appealing to the general public, and why is it important that we do so?
In this week’s episode, we are thrilled to be speaking with insurance’s self-proclaimed Cyber Diva, Mercy Komar! In conversation with  Sandra Lewin, Mercy emphasises the vast array of roles on offer within insurance, granting it a ‘sexy’ appeal for anyone looking to join the industry or who may wish to make a change whilst remaining in the same business. She argues that women are at a natural advantage for selling insurance, and that a key area for boosting equality across the industry must be in the increased appointment of women in sales roles.
 
Quote of the Episode
“You've got all kinds of different jobs in the insurance industry. Once you're in the industry, somebody will help you move into something else, if you're not happy where you are. If you're not happy with what you do, and you think it's [to do with] the business, then you should leave, because you're not ever going to be happy. But if you like the people, and you like generally like the business, just find another position. There's plenty of them!”
Mercy has worked in a wide range of insurance roles across her prodigious career. She highlights that one of the key benefits of our industry is that, having accrued an understanding of its innerworkings, you can seamlessly shift into different roles, thereby gaining new skills and experience. Sandra herself began her insurance career as a broker, before later realising that she works better behind the scenes in operations, and she was able to make that transition. If your dissatisfaction with your role is derived from your environment and the culture of the company you are working for, you should make a broader change. Conversely, if you are no longer finding satisfaction with your role, or believe that your skills could be better used elsewhere, consider having a chat within your business to identify what other roles you might be suited for.
 
Key Takeaways
If the prospect of exploring new roles in insurance sounds daunting, Mercy notes that there are thousands of women on LinkedIn who would be more than happy to help with any queries or concerns you might have in this regard. The platform offers a fantastic opportunity to network and connect with other women in the industry, particularly for those who don’t always have time to go to in-person networking events.
Mercy suggests that, while insurance continues to be male dominated, a key factor to facilitating future change is the need for more women to take up sales positions. She argues that sales can generate equality, as the centre of power within all insurance businesses, and the most visible and direct driving force of profit acquisition. Thus, the more women who get into sales, the greater bargaining power we will attain when demanding that companies become more inclusive of women at strategic levels. Furthermore, she argues that women are naturally predisposed to be trusted in sales roles, as many people will instinctively take on the advice of mature women by identifying their maternal characteristics.
For Mercy, securing the long-term future of the industry necessitates emphasising its allure, its ‘sexy’ qualities. She argues that in advertising our industry to the broader public, we need to highlight the following:
Insurance offers a wide range of roles which you can experiment with.
You can make a good living, and we get excellent benefits.
The industry is constantly evolving.
We are a people-centred industry, dealing with people on a daily basis.
In order to onboard great new insurance talent in the future, we need to promote ourselves better to the public. A great way to start is by emphasising the human element of insurance. Sharing posts on LinkedIn celebrating our successes and giving insight into our personalities can really humanise us as individuals and our industry as a whole.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“I have done every job in an insurance office except accounting. I've sold agencies, bought agencies, I have done sales, I've done all the CSR work, I've done claims. I've done it all. And that's one of the things that's great about insurance, you can move!”
“There are thousands of women on LinkedIn, that you can turn to and say, ‘This is what I do now. What should I try instead?’ And they'll give you help; they'll give you suggestions and tell you what other things you can do.”
“In sales we’re equal. That's one area where we can force ourselves to be equal whether somebody likes it or not. And I think the more of us to get into sales, the better off we're going to be. I think that way we can demand more at the companies in the way of boards of directors having more women, because more women are out there [selling] the product. That's my opinion.”
 
Resources
Awkward Insurance Podcast: https://awkward-insurance.simplecast.com/
Bound and Determined Podcast: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/bound-determined-1008066
 
About the Guest
Mercy Komar leads an illustrious insurance career, with 53 years of experience in the industry in various roles. She currently works as a Risk Consultant for L Calvin Jones & Co. specialising in cyber risk coverage, and is also an experienced insurance educator.
Mercy’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mercyk/
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin

000: Introduction to the podcast

What is the 100 Women in Insurance podcast, and what are the intentions behind it? What can you expect from each episode?
In this introductory episode, we’re discussing the reasons why the podcast was created, the messages it seeks to promote, and the community it hopes to cultivate. Your host,  Sandra Lewin, introduces herself and her history with the insurance industry, before delving into the podcast’s broader objectives of inspiring listeners in their career journeys and encouraging talent acquisition and retention.
 
Quote of the Episode
“I thought, ‘Well, what a great way to showcase women in their amazing roles,’ because there are some incredible women out there achieving wonderful things on a career and personal level. [The podcast will also] showcase the variety of roles available in the market and share various career tips.”
Insurance is an incredibly diverse and versatile industry with regard to the number of different roles available. While most people might typically imagine brokers or underwriters when thinking of insurance, there are so many other branches of our sector which might afford a thrilling transition in your career journey. The 100 Women in Insurance podcast seeks to highlight this range of different roles, and inspire you to take the leap in exploring alternative roles, whether you’re contemplating joining or leaving the industry.
 
Key Takeaways
Sandra Lewin  worked in the insurance industry for many years. Initially joining the industry as a broker, she later joined Lloyd’s and worked in business development, before transitioning to a focus on operations and project management. In 2021, she left the corporate world to start her own business.
This career shift was prompted by Sandra’s struggles with endometriosis, a debilitating health condition which forced her to take six months off work in order to deal with various operations. During that time, she reflected on how she envisioned the future of her career, and ultimately decided to go solo. She hasn’t looked back since, and while she’d never wish her condition on anyone, she is grateful for having undergone it as it inspired her to take this plunge.
Sandra conceptualised the 100 Women in Insurance podcast as she is passionate about promoting the variety of roles available in the insurance market. Through interviews with a range of wonderful guests, the podcast will showcase women in different insurance roles, thereby offering alternative pathways for women into this industry, and new opportunities for those already within the industry to explore.
A key question she will always ask in each episode is whether a guest’s insurance career was by chance or by choice. The podcast aims to promote the industry to women, who area woefully underrepresented in the financial services sector, particularly at the strategic level. As such, Sandra wishes to discuss ways that we can better advertise our industry to outsiders and veterans, to tackle our prevailing issues with talent acquisition and retention, and to inspire the future generation of insurers, brokers, underwriters, and more.
From each episode, you can expect an interview with typically one, and sometimes two, women working in the insurance industry, be it those working in compliance, IT, product development, underwriting, or companies which offer insurance as part of a wider offering. Excitingly, these guests are not all London-based. Upcoming guests hail from California, Ohio, New Zealand, Mexico, Poland, Belgium, and more. The podcast will cover a wide range of topics related to insurance career journeys, such as navigating stakeholders, negotiating salary, or building a personal brand.
Sandra strongly encourages feedback from the podcast audience. She wants to cultivate a supportive community through this podcast, to provide a springboard for networking opportunities which could lead to wonderful new things for listeners. To help with this endeavour, please get in touch and share what topics you would like to hear about, and who you would like to hear from!
Best Moments/Key Quotes
‘I hope that by speaking to these amazing guests, and there are so many of these that are in the pipeline, who have made incredible career changes, incredible negotiations of career setups and role setups, I hope that inspires women to find the roles that work for them.’
 
“This podcast is not just for women, it’s for those who really want to think differently about how we can help the insurance industry with the talent shortage, and with talent retention. We lose a great percentage of women in their late 30s-early 40s due to lack of flexibility in ways of working. So, I hope this podcast also inspires change so that we can retain more talent.”
 
“I also hope to create a network off the back of this podcast, where we can reach out to the amazing guests… There is lots of great support out there, and I speak from my own experience that there is a great community here that is keen to help and support.”
 
Resources
Sandra Lewin: https://sandralewin.com/
Podcast: http://100womenininsurance.com/
 
About the Host
Sandra Lewin started her career in insurance as a broker and has since taken on many different roles. Alongside being a host of this podcast "100 Women in Insurance", she also specializes in helping insurance businesses and professionals establish a social media presence, delivers change programs, and provides one-on-one coaching for women looking to take control of their careers and lives.
Connect with Sandra on LinkedIn and find out more: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sandralewin