100 Women in Insurance

012: Deconstructing Stigmas Around Women’s Health with Emily Napier

Why is women’s health so heavily stigmatised within the insurance industry, both from an employee and client perspective? How can increased collaboration between specialist corporates and insurance companies create positive touch points for clients, granting them bespoke solutions and aiding our industry’s reputation?
In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Emily Napier, New Business Development Leader for Europe at Philips, focusing on women’s health and maternity care. Emily discusses how, through her role, she collaborates with insurance companies to develop bespoke products offering solutions to the challenges raised by women’s health conditions and pregnancy. Furthermore, in conversation with Sandra Lewin, she discusses how increased awareness of women’s health within insurance companies could not only help with maintaining client loyalty, but also talent retention.
 
Quote of the Episode
“[When starting a family], all of a sudden, you're thinking about so many different insurance options for the first time… Women make 80% of all the household decisions for themselves and spending for the family, but particularly on insurance. So, to be able to reach these people and to target them,; that's how we can help insurers, because we have access, to 80% of all pregnancies [across Europe through the Pregnancy+ app]. It's about helping the pregnant individual, finding the best deals, the best benefits, and the best solutions for them, so that they can get everything in one place. And they can make cost savings, but ultimately, it [also] helps the insurer because it's providing positive touch points.”
Philips Avent is collaborating with insurance companies across Europe to integrate their digital women’s health and maternity solutions into insurance products. For example, they have recently launched a partnership with Swiss insurer Zurich. This gives Pregnancy+ users access to Zurich’s digital platform LiveWell, and vice versa. This highlights the huge potential for insurer collaboration with corporate partners, to integrate solutions for women’s health and other areas underserved by the market into our industry’s offerings. Not only can this increase brand satisfaction and engagement; it can also increase loyalty and client retention. We have a huge opportunity to support clients through monumental changes such as pregnancy and women’s health conditions, which can yield huge benefits for their personal journeys and our businesses.
 
Key Takeaways
Insurance is typically perceived as a grudge purchase. Yet, it is something people consistently need, and which becomes a significant consideration particularly when one is considering starting a family. At the same moment, one might be contemplating life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, and supplementary health insurance cover simultaneously. What can we do as an industry to support those making these decisions? What amenities or support can we incorporate into our insurance offerings, in collaboration with specialist corporates, to support people along those journeys? Through incorporating women’s health consideration into insurance offerings, which Emily is negotiating with insurance companies across Europe, they are providing services which can make a substantial difference to people’s lives, whilst also affording them a solution they needed to purchase anyway.
Yet, women’s health in particular remains a fairly taboo topic across the industry. What can we do to start the conversation about developing women’s health provisions in insurance policies? Emily and Sandra suggest championing women’s rights and equal opportunities across the workplace as a great place to start. Furthermore, the circulation of training around the various health conditions that affect women of all ages can encourage these conversations to take place.
Increasing these conversations from a client perspective may also assist with the female talent retention issue within the industry. Approximately 45% of women leave insurance and do not return when starting a family. Educating employers about the suite of things that someone could be experiencing during the maternity process, to help them provide the best support and care, could help to retain talent, thereby lowering recruitment costs. Consequently, if employers endeavour to educate and empower women to understand their options if they do want to start a family, helping them to have the healthiest possible pregnancy outcome for themselves and their baby, can reap benefits both for the business and the individual.
To incentivise this internal and external consideration of women’s health within insurance companies, we need to share these stories. These issues will remain stigmatised for as long as we remain silent about them. There is already significant media focus on these issues, so if we follow these headwinds, we can make great progress in propelling the conversation and thereby securing improved benefits for women at every stage of their insurance careers, and for women purchasing insurance products.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“Women's healthcare products are seen as niche, certainly in the insurance industry. Yet, when we look at the population, it’s 50% women. So how are we a niche? Women tend to buy most of the insurance products for their house; yet again, the products are not really catered for their needs.”
“If you have more corporations partnering with insurance companies, or public health organisations, together, we have the innovation to create solutions, I don’t think one person, or one party can do it on its own.”
“Women have different hormones, different organs, different bodies to men. So, we do need specific treatment and plans, and different options available. I think, because it's complex, a lot of people put up their barriers straight away, rather than trying to break them down.”
“The problem is, even if you do work on your diversity pipeline, and you bring talent in, if your company is not set up to support that talent, because it doesn't take into consideration women’s lifecycle and how it impacts them throughout the various stages, then these women won’t stay, because they have to adapt.”
 
Resources
Philips – Philips Avent and LiveWell by Zurich announce partnership: https://www.philips.co.uk/a-w/about/news/archive/standard/news/press/2023/20231108-philips-avent-and-livewell-by-zurich-announce-partnership
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
 
About the Guest
Emily Napier is the New Business Development Leader for Europe at Philips, focusing on Philips Avent and Women’s Health.
Emily’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-napier-8420aa77/
 
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
 
 
 
 
 

011: Create Your Own Career Purpose with Sonia Habib

What are ‘silent opportunities’ and how do they present themselves to us, perhaps without us even noticing? Why might it preferable to motivate ourselves with a broader career journey in mind than specific, concrete goals? What mindset should you deploy when attempting to expand your network?
In this episode, we are very pleased to be speaking with Sonia Habib, Head of Product Development at the Jensten Group. In conversation with Sandra Lewin, Sonia articulates her philosophy for career self-motivation, rooted in a commitment to broadening your industry understanding and discovering how your unique skills can facilitate personal and company success. She explains the concept of ‘silent opportunities’ that may catch us unawares until we begin to recognise the blind spots curtailing our personal development.
 
Quote of the Episode
“Silent opportunities are silent for a reason. You have to want it. You have to want to want more. There's this facade that insurance is all about the people, and that you can only be an insurance if you're a really social person, but actually don't need to be social. Asking yourself, ‘What do you want?’ and speaking to the right people to help you, having a really good support mechanism around you, [is the real key]. I think sometimes you need that character assassination; at some point in your career, you need someone to say, ‘These are what I think your blind spots are’.”
During the episode, Sonia explains what she terms ‘silent opportunities’ – moments when we may be able to further our career and/or personal development but that we either fail to recognise or decide to ignore. She argues that missing silent opportunities can often be attributed to a misguided dedication to specific material goals (such as earning X amount of money by the time one turns 30), which may lead you to deny or ignore alternative opportunities that could accelerate your industry progress in another way. Both Sonia and Sandra concur that we should always be open-minded to the multifarious opportunities that may present themselves to us, and to only make plans in the knowledge that they are very likely to shift later down the line. As such, she argues that we should curate a network of trusted people and ask them to point out your ‘blind spots’ – areas in which you may be stunting your personal development or undermining your potential career progress. Identifying how you can work on yourself is a great way to open yourself up to ‘silent opportunities’ as and when they come about. The path that is meant for you, Sonia suggests, will only pass you by if you let it.
 
Key Takeaways
The start of Sonia’s insurance career was a time of self-discovery. She describes herself as having been a blank canvas, guided by motivation to progress within the industry, but not by specific goals. For Sonia, committing to particular plans is likely to lead to frustration and disappointment. Conversely, she suggests that you should be open to anything, particularly at the start of your career. Dedicating yourself to a journey of progress in the knowledge that your material goals are likely to shift as you meet new people and encounter new opportunities or ideas is crucial. In this way, you will open yourself up to different avenues of success whilst committing to a broader journey underpinned by motivation and self-belief.
Sonia argues that being inquisitive is absolutely crucial at the start of your insurance career. There’s always more to know in our industry, and there’s an entire other language of acronyms and shorthand phrases to be learned. Frequently asking questions not only highlights your initiative to executive members of your company; it also expands your knowledge which can only ever help your career progression, given the constant state of flux in which our industry currently operates. Furthermore, Sonia is ‘a massive believer in over-communicating’. In her role as Head of Project Development, she argues that reiteration of the same message is key to prevent important messages from being lost in the flurry of information transmitted within an insurance business each day.
Insurance thrives or fails on productive communication, or a lack thereof. As a profoundly people-based industry, networking is at the core of any opportunity, be it a new job or an alternative role within your company. As such, the more people you know, and the further your network branches out, the more frequently new opportunities will present themselves to you. However, Sonia notes that you should form connections with people who recognise your particular skills and experience as being assets. Not everyone who meet at networking events will necessarily be the ‘right’ contact. Additionally, ensure that when you are meeting new people, that your discussion is balanced. People want to be heard, and giving them an opportunity to speak about themselves is very important.
Ultimately, new industry opportunities will emerge when you’re not in the room. To make your name be the one that crops up in board-level conversations, connect with people both within and beyond your business and actively demonstrate how you add value to it. In doing so, silent opportunities will start to come your way.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
‘Plan for the fact that your plans will not work out.’
 
“I think the best plan is to not have a plan. Goals are great, because they keep you motivated, and they allow that discipline to kind of be instilled in you. But I think ultimately, you meet so many people in life that you don't know you're going to meet. And they can change those goals.”
“We all have a purpose, and you create your purpose; you discover your purpose. I think the infant time of my career was more about discovering who I was, and less about my career. What I discovered over the first few years of doing what I was doing was actually I was capable of more than I thought I was.”
 
“With insurance being such a people-based industry, networking is like the core of any kind of opportunity… if you know a lot of people, there's gonna be that ripple effect. They're going to know of someone that knows someone that can help you. So, the bigger you branch your network and base, that you're you've naturally threefold of that, because those people that you know, know a lot of people.”
 
 
Resources
Work Like a Woman: A Manifesto for Change by Mary Porter
 
About the Guest
Sonia Habib is Head of Product Development in the Jensten Group. With ten years of industry experience under her belt, she was the winner of the MGAA Rising Star 2023, the IBUK Rising Star 2021, and a shortlisted nominee for the Women in Insurance Awards 2022.
Sonia’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-habib-dip-cii-5143869a/
 
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
 
 

010: Finding the Resilience to Climb the Insurance Ladder with Yelhis Hernández

How do you navigate impostor syndrome when aiming for managerial roles? What methods should we implement whilst climbing the insurance ladder to secure competitive promotions? What role can an established personal brand play towards this end?
In this episode, we are thrilled to be speaking with Yelhis Hernández, Mexico Country Manager and Central America Market Development Manager for Lloyd’s. Openly sharing her inspirational journey, spanning a variety of fascinating insurance roles across seven countries, Yelhis is clear about the importance of resilience, and the curation of a supportive network, when pursuing your goals. She demystifies the presence of impostor syndrome in c suite managerial positions, and highlights the importance of proactivity and clear vocalisation of your ambitions to those empowered to fulfil them.
 
Quote of the Episode
“I've faced [imposter syndrome] many, many times during my career. If somebody says, ‘Oh, no, I don't know what that is’, they are lying to themselves. We all have a fear of sitting in a room with a lot of people that are senior, and that probably have more experience than you.”
In the episode, Yelhis emphasises that while you may not necessarily have years of experience behind you, potentially fuelling fears of inadequacy or uncertainty in your role, you will possess unique skills that may otherwise be missing in the room. You have something different to offer, which is why you have been given this position. Using that knowledge will give you the strength to sit at the table proudly, and enable you to begin to unravel impostor syndrome. Ultimately, she argues that this phenomenon will recur throughout your career, whenever you are given a new opportunity or responsibility. At every stage of your career, you are taking something new on, reigniting those feelings of uncertainty. Yelhis suggests that you must learn to live and work with it, whilst always keeping in mind that you have been granted that opportunity for a reason.
 
Key Takeaways
Yelhis has worked in a variety of different countries and markets across her illustrious career. While some of these roles were offered to her in a more traditional sense; others she created herself. Her initial move from Venezuela to Switzerland, for example, was prompted by a business case she delivered, demonstrating that if she continued to work in her home country, her ability to perform her role would be jeopardised due to prevailing political circumstances. This facilitated her first international move. Similarly, later on, she rationalised the need for her to move to Mexico, presenting a business case to the local CEO, evaluating the pros and cons of centralising and thereby improving operational processes in the market. This led to her being offered the job, which she had herself demonstrated the need for and value of. This decisiveness is indicative not only of Yelhis’ relentless drive and ingenuity, but also of the possibilities and opportunities that are unlocked by being well-researched and steadfast in your ambitions. If you can demonstrate how and why you could do more to help a company in its endeavours, you could very well open some new doors in your own career.
One of the key skills Yelhis deploys in her day-to-day activities is preparation. She argues that being well-prepared for every meeting and presentation will always give you the advantage, ensuring that you are never caught off-guard with a question or concern. Furthermore, intensive rehearsal and research will enable you to speak clearly and confidently in pressurised situations. Similarly, when dealing with clients, Yelhis suggests that you must thoroughly understand what they do, and what they need. You must be prepared to respond to any question they might have, and to provide a detailed answer with an understanding of their specific needs. The ability to ask them questions in return, before telling the client what they might need, is what could make the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.
For Yelhis, networking is absolutely crucial, particularly early in your career, for rising up the ranks of insurance. Contrary to the military, in which you can transition from one role to another purely on the basis of a certain amount of years’ experience, in insurance, you have to build your profile yourself. Everyone must know your potential and ability to excel. She attributes her current role to a large degree to her knowing a lot of people in the region, who could provide positive feedback relating to her character and commitment. Thus, building your network base as early as possible is crucial for when you are seeking to climb the ladder later down the line.
She argues that curating your own ‘personal brand’ is key towards this end. While this may seem a vague and bewildering notion, she argues that a strong personal brand is developed through a consistent demonstration of your willingness to work hard for your goals, and a clear expression of those goals to those within your company who can fulfil them. You must never assume that you will reach a goal – you must actively work for it, and demonstrate to those in managerial positions that you deserve a certain role, for example.
Yet, Yelhis is also keen to highlight the importance of a strong work-life balance. Dedicating yourself entirely to your company will not guarantee promotion. To perform your best during your workday, you must also take part in activities or hobbies that enrich and fulfil you.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“In the case of Brazil and Mexico, I also made a business case, those roles had not been created yet. So, I put together the facts and demonstrated the need for those roles. And this helped move me to from London to Brazil, and eventually to Mexico.”
“I will never go into situation, whatever it is, without being prepared. I have a team that supports me in London with content and material if I have to deliver something. Once we have that content together, I start a routine of preparation, that includes recording myself with or without video. During that rehearsal, I’ll stand in front of my dog and my cat, reading the material, studying the material as much as possible. So, I never go into a situation not knowing what I have to say. You must be prepared. And that will give you a position of advantage in any situation.”
‘Building your network very early in your career will make a difference.’
“I think every success comes with a great deal of work that you have to do yourself, no one is going to do it for you. But if you demonstrate that you are here to learn, and work towards a goal, and you will find the support.”
‘It is time for companies to recognise those individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds that often face a lack of opportunities and exposure to professional sectors like insurance.’
“As a senior woman in this industry, what I want to do is pay it forward. And I hope that my journey shows that determination, belief in your abilities, and the support and guidance and encouragement from others can help people overcome any hurdles.”
 
Resources
InsureTV – Samantha Ridgewell Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRP9R6B6AeA&ab_channel=EmpowerDevelopment
 
About the Guest
Yelhis Hernández is the Mexico Country Manager and Central America Market Development Manager for Lloyd’s. She leads a prolific insurance career, with experience across a multitude of roles in seven different countries.
Yelhis’ LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yelhish/
 
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
 

009: Job Share Opportunities with Emma Smith

How do you navigate negotiations with your employer to change your role, the nature or base of your employment? How can we shift the optics around job share opportunities and other flexible work solutions within the insurance industry?
In this episode, we are very pleased to be speaking with Emma Smith, a Senior Property Underwriter at Atrium Underwriters! In conversation with InsurSocial’s Sandra Lewin, Emma explains why insurance was always her chosen career, her experience working in Singapore for 7 years, and the origins, flexibility and functionality of her current job share role. She highlights the importance of approaching negotiations with management armed with solutions rather than problems, with a lens on how any shift to your current position could ultimately prove beneficial to the business.
 
Quote of the Episode
“You continue to develop [and] expand your knowledge. I think you need to be reading the newspapers, seeing what's going on at a global level in different countries, because it all comes back to you; it can have an effect on the risks that you'll seen on your desk the next day. That’s what I love about it: you get to do a little bit of everything within an underwriting role.”
Emma crystallises that at any given point in your insurance career, you can never know anything about the industry. There is always more to learn, particularly given the extent to which our market is interwoven with external events. A key means by which we can highlight the exciting nature of an insurance career to those external to the industry is the vital socioeconomic function that insurance plays on a national and global scale.
 
Key Takeaways
A recurring theme for many guests on the podcast thus far is that in any insurance role, every day is a school day. One of the most exciting aspects of an insurance career, the emphasis of which could alter external perceptions of our industry, is the mutable nature of every role in the industry; no day will ever be the same. For example, Emma notes that, as an underwriter, she has to be a marketer, to analyse and price risks, to contemplate risk exposure, and much more. There is no standing still in this role, and as a people-based industry, every day is new and exciting.
Yet, talent retention within insurance typically takes a huge hit amongst women in their thirties and forties. Both Emma and Sandra suggest that insurance should be exploring and investing in new flexible working opportunities to retain this talent and knowledge, and to ensure business continuity. Emma works in a job share; she and another underwriter share the role evenly and work for three days each week. This setup is rare in the industry, but it has proven extremely beneficial to both women, and to Atrium Underwriters. Both women come into work motivated, energised and committed, and their collective years of experience and understanding bolster their team’s productive output.
Emma was initially concerned about how misconceptions about working in a job share might affect her reputation within her business and the industry. She feared that people would perceive her as ‘just’ working part-time or ‘only’ in a job share, and that as a result of this discourse she would be taken less seriously. Yet, she hasn’t found this to be the case. As both women are highly ambitious, their careers have grown. They always go the extra mile, and due to their shared trust and collaborative communication, they productively challenge and bounce off one another’s ideas.
If you are intrigued by a flexible work solution of this nature and would like to raise the topic with your employer, how should you approach this conversation? For Emma, it is key to come with the solution if you want the change. Do your research beforehand, and come up with a plan for how your proposition could work for the business. Examine examples in other industries, particularly at a senior level, to demonstrate how your proposal could ultimately be beneficial rather than obstructive. You shouldn’t necessarily expect immediate acceptance: alternatively, approach the conversation with the question – ‘here is my situation, how can we make this work?’.
If you want to find out more about job shares or alternative work solutions, reach out to Emma – her contact details are linked below!
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“[In] a job share, we essentially have two people doing one role. We do three days each, and have a crossover day on a Wednesday. I work first part of the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and my job share works Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.”
“Do your research, come up with a plan of how you think it will work; what you need to make it work. Just think through, look at examples. There are some great examples in other industries where job shares have worked. At a very senior level, I think there's two ladies who hold one of the most senior positions in GCHQ as a job share. Do your research, find examples of how you can make it work, and how it has worked in either similar positions, or similar industries.”
“For many at the beginning, [a job share] will be a solution to a problem. But actually, it could just be another offering that a company has to retain the staff.”
“The power of a network is so strong. That’s not just from a business perspective, but from a personal perspective as well… Sometimes we take our network for granted, and actually it is worth assessing, and reaching out to more people. The greater your network, the more knowledge you gain.”
 
Resources
Atrium Underwriters Ltd: https://www.atrium-uw.com/
 
About the Guest
Emma Smith is a senior property underwriter at Atrium syndicate and is Chair of the recently established Women at Atrium network. 
Emma has worked in the Insurance market for over 20 years and been with Atrium for the last 10 years, having studied Insurance at University. 
Emma is a Chartered Insurer and ACII qualified and has spent time working in Singapore as well as in London and more recently is part of a job share flexible working arrangement.  
She was instrumental in setting up the Women at Atrium network and is passionate about inspiring and empowering women through education and knowledge sharing.  To ensure that they are equipped with the right tools to succeed. 
Emma’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-smith-5b666a1/
 
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
 
 
 

008: Using Education to Attract New Insurance Talent with Emma Ackers

How can insurance companies deploy educational material to boost talent acquisition and retention? What skills are needed for educative insurance roles? How can we use TikTok to change persisting misconceptions about our industry?
In this episode, we’re very pleased to be speaking with Emma Ackers, Senior Learning Consultant at Empower Development! In conversation with Sandra Lewin, Emma highlights the opportunities available through TikTok and LinkedIn to promote the opportunities available within insurance to an external audience. Additionally, she impresses the importance of employer-employee trust as we transition into a broadly hybrid working industry.
Quote of the Episode
“If you want to apply for a job, but you don't think you're going to get it, just do it anyway. You need to put yourself out there. I think there's more people coming into the market now by choice than there were before. I've seen a massive shift in that, especially with the young people that I speak to now, they're actively seeking out these roles. I think the change here is… we use social media a lot more, and more effectively.”
 
Emma suggests that recruitment across insurance may soon be on the rise as companies increasingly learn how to harness the tool of social media to better advertise the various roles and opportunities on offer in an insurance career. We need to push ourselves out of our collective comfort zone as an industry, to explore how TikTok and other social media platforms could assist us in reaching new potential talent. Empower Development offers a free course called Into Insurance for people who want to learn about the industry. In one of the most recent cohorts, 98% of the attendees were drawn to the course from TikTok, accentuating the vast amount of talent that can be accessed through such platforms.
 
Key Takeaways
Emma also highlights that social media can be deployed more effectively to educate those already within the industry. She notes that it’s impossible to know everything in our industry, as it is so reactionary to broader socioeconomic shifts and is constantly changing in accordance with them. If you wish to use TikTok or LinkedIn to encourage new talent to join the industry, you shouldn’t simply leap in at the deep end. It is key to devise a strategy of the type of content you would like to make. Showcasing insurance to a younger audience via social media can be achieved in so many different ways, and you don’t have to chase the prevailing trends. The personal nature of such content is often what people latch onto initially, so telling people how you got into insurance is a great start. You needn’t worry about whether you’re saying the right things. Telling your story is what an external audience are most likely to want to hear about.
Whilst working as an Operations Coordinator (amongst many other roles) at an insurance brokerage, Emma discovered that the company was struggling with compliance in relation to client assets. Many people didn’t understand what the rules were, why it was important, and were making mistakes and omissions. This prompted Emma to devise some compliance-related training and deliver it to her company. She discovered that the best way to educate people about insurance topics is through anecdotes and storytelling, thereby bringing to life what can go wrong when different errors occur. This experience served as a springboard for her branching into insurance education.
This is a role which may not initially come to mind when industry outsiders think of insurance. Yet, as Emma emphasises, there are so many roles that make up an insurance company. A role in this industry isn’t simply limited to being in a call centre with a headset on. Her storytelling and people skills ultimately guided her to an educational insurance role. Equally, your own unique skillset will also apply to a role in insurance. Furthermore, wherever you start in the industry, you can transition into as many different roles as you like until you find one that fits.
Emma argues that in our increasingly hybrid working world, it is essential that companies trust their employees. This can be achieved by affording them the flexibility to start earlier and finish earlier, or start later and finish later. Furthermore, having consistently good communication with your team, reiterating the company’s broader goals and individual workers’ targets can foster a positive and productive distant working environment.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“I stayed in broking for a long time and progressed through lots of different roles. I've done every single role you could ever imagine. I think it's a great way to learn. I've even done credit control. I was like, ‘Yeah, I'll try it. Why not?’ It was a good way to learn all the different functions in the business.”
 
‘There's a specific role for everybody in insurance, and I don't think a lot of people realise that.”
 
‘As an industry, we can do better on talking about the variety of roles [available]?’
 
“I think about people who worked in London five days a week, [who] travelled hours to get to work. It's wild when we think about it now, that that's what used to happen… Being at home and feeling trusted, and having that flexibility, then you feel calmer as a worker. You're going to get more joy, and you're going to be more motivated, and you're going to be happier. And happier people produce better results.”
 
Resources
Why Can’t I Learn Like I Used To? – Emma Ackers – CII Journal: https://thejournal.cii.co.uk/2023/06/20/why-cant-i-learn-i-used
TikTok – EmpowerEmma: https://www.tiktok.com/@empoweremma
TikTok – Empower Development: https://www.tiktok.com/@empower.development
Empower Talks Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/empower-talks
 
About the Guest
Emma Ackers is a Senior Learning Consultant at Empower Development, which provides training for insurance professionals across the London and Company Markets.
Emma’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaackers/
 
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
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

007: Changing the Language Around Sales with Ema Roloff

How do you navigate the transition from a corporate role to owning your own business? How can we encourage more women to enter revenue-generating positions in the insurance industry? How could we alter the parlance pertaining to insurance sales to be more inclusive of alternative methods for closing sales?
In this episode, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Ema Roloff, co-founder and principal consultant of the newly established Roloff Consulting! In conversation with Sandra Lewin, she discusses how she transitioned from teaching into the world of technology, and subsequently insurance, sales. She emphasises the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset when negotiating sales, and the ability to cultivate good business relationships.
 
Quote of the Episode
“My clients know that they're my partners, and that I'm not looking at them, as they say, to ‘kill and eat’ so that I can make money. They know that I'm in there for a, a long-standing partnership that's beneficial on both ends. So, I do think that there is some work that we need to do in terms of that perception around sales, and getting more women into these types of roles because they might sell differently, but they can be really good at it.”
Ema suggests that the terminology frequently attributed to the sales process, particularly in financial services, can be profoundly violent or combative. This may contribute to the broader perception of sales positions as cutthroat and uncompromising, which may discourage and alienate many women from considering such roles. Ema herself was initially apprehensive about taking up a sales role before devising her own approach to navigating sales from a more mutually beneficial, relationship-building perspective.
 
Key Takeaways
Ema highlights persistence, problem-solving, resilience, and relationship-building as the essential tenets of being a good salesperson. She highlights the latter point in particular as being crucial. Even if you may not be able to negotiate a sale with a client at one point in time, establishing and maintaining a good relationship with them could facilitate a sale later down the line.
The aggressive, hunting-oriented language commonly attributed to sales arguably alienates a lot of women from revenue-generating positions, as this isn’t how they see themselves. Neither gender has a greater propensity for closing deals than the other. However, an article from the Harvard Business Review (linked below) notes that women tend to align with the traits needed to be a strong B2B salesperson, more so than their male counterparts. As such, the arguably masculine-oriented language used with regards to sales needs to change in order to encourage more women to consider such roles.
As Mercy Komar argued in a previous episode (Episode 2), a lack of women in commercially minded roles may also be a significant factor preventing women from taking up senior leadership positions. Sales roles provide an opportunity to lead within your company, and the skills that accompany sales positions grant an inherent acumen for leadership, hence why so many board members and CEOs tend to have backgrounds in insurance.
Ema argues that to be a good salesperson, you need to have an entrepreneurial mindset, geared towards how the services or products you are offering can help to address the specific needs of a given prospective client. The same is true of being a business owner. Ultimately, in transitioning from a corporate role to owning her own business, she suggests that the ability to establish and maintain good business relationships is perhaps the most fundamental skill of all, particularly in such a people-facing industry as insurance.
Learning to build good relationships can also afford a wide array of opportunities for you, particularly given the current talent gap facing the industry. In insurance, the opportunities to change roles, to grow into something new, to develop skills and transfer them elsewhere, are endless. Furthermore, Emma highlights that the industry is full of people who are willing to help and guide you in your career, if only you’re willing to say yes.
 
Best Moments/Key Quotes
“I honestly think of sales, especially in an industry like insurance, where things are so driven by relationships and the sales cycle is so long, that to be successful as a sales rep in this industry, you really have to have an entrepreneurial mindset. You can't rely on other people to hand you leads, you have to be out there cultivating those relationships, and building a reputation as somebody that helps solve your specific problem.”
 
“That relationship piece is so important. And I think it goes back to what the industry is here for: we're here to make a promise and deliver on that promise. And so that mentality of being true to your word, showing up for people, in good times and in bad flows through the entire insurance ecosystem.”
‘The best choices in life are both exciting and terrifying.’
 
“I think within the insurance industry, there is specific lingo and technical knowledge that comes with it. And especially when you go to your first insurance event, and you hear people using the acronyms and throwing around these terms, it can feel really intimidating. But behind all of those terms are just standard business practices. We just have different names for them, and different names for our processes.”
 
Resources
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Harvard Business Review – Why Women are the Future of B2B Sales: https://hbr.org/2020/05/why-women-are-the-future-of-b2b-sales
Leading Change with Ema Roloff Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@emaroloff7690/podcasts
Ema Roloff: https://www.emaroloff.com/
Roloff Consulting – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/roloff/
 
About the Guest
Ema Roloff trained as a high school teacher before transitioning to a career in technology, and later insurance, sales. Based in Wisconsin, USA, she is the co-founder and principal consultant for Roloff Consulting, which helps companies digitally transform the way that they sell.
Ema’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emaroloff/
 
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
 
 
 
 
 
 

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