Rising Stars
Why Millennials choose re/insurance
Poker player, musician, journalist, hedge fund manager, footballer, fisherman, corporate lawyer. These are the careers our young professionals would have chosen had they not been attracted to re/insurance. What is it about the sector that appeals to them?
For our annual feature on the young professionals who have already earned their managers’ nods of approval, this year we’ve included seven individuals. It’s a smaller number than usual but one that no less reveals the diverse mix of minds that show promise to be among sector’s future leaders.
When you think of a Rising Star in the workplace—perhaps you were one once, too—what do you imagine? Ambition, ability and industriousness? Empathy, ethics and teamwork?
I ask because all our Rising Stars were nominated by their managers, and all they had was a short brief from us: one professional under 35 years of age who is already making her or his mark and impressing their colleagues. Were their managers looking for ambition, ability and industriousness, or empathy, ethics and teamwork? Or all of those qualities?
More importantly, do the nominees value those qualities, or something more? We asked them to answer our six questions in their own words.
- How did you come to choose a career in re/insurance?
- What makes the re/insurance industry attractive to young professionals?
- What are the opportunities and challenges you’ve faced?
- What differences does your generation bring to the industry?
- What are your career goals?
- If you had chosen a different career, what would it have been?
“Being connected and tech-savvy is only one side of the story.”
Happy childhood memories of vacations on Bermuda combined with a love of problem-solving led to one choosing this industry. Another wanted to be “at the intersection of math, finance, and computer programming” and, unsurprisingly, one spotted “technological deficiencies” in the sector and wanted to devise insurance solutions in the digital world they had grown up in.
One highlighted the opportunity to understand certain concepts and “fully appreciate how novel deals are”, while another recognised the early access to executive team members alongside gaining experience on a global level. Another appreciated the broad range of roles—from modelling, credit rating, and claims management to underwriting, broking and operations, and one wanted to work in a fast-paced environment, specifically in a role that placed an emphasis on critical thinking.
Young professionals are attracted to the industry’s new and growing risk exposures, and “immature technology stack”. One said: “If venture capital flow into insurtech is a proxy, my guess is the industry is finally sexy!”
The sector has an “energetic” culture and offers a variety of work that is ideal for a generation seeking “constant stimulation”, they said.
Other highlights are the “sense of doing good for Bermuda”, and environmental, social and corporate governance strategies that “empower” young professionals to tackle new and emerging issues.
A better work-life balance compared to other finance-oriented sectors is appealing, as is the broad spectrum of interests and personality types drawn to re/insurance.
One said the Millennials are more active than their predecessors in “altruistic initiatives”, including protecting the environment. This is a characteristic that can “enhance customer-centric insurance products and bring policy to the industry that enacts change”, they said.
Their generation is also adaptable, not only because of its experience with technological advancements but as part of a workforce that learned to be more flexible as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another highlighted how technologies, such as cloud storage, data mining and analytics, will help “revolutionise the speed and power with which risk is identified and analysed”.
Being connected and tech-savvy is only one side of the story: the Millennials are also “hungry for success”, although they need to remember that a career “is a marathon and not a sprint”.
Millennials pose the risk to their employers of suffering “career boredom” and will look for greater diversity in the workplace to be able to enjoy a dynamic environment, they suggested.
What they possess in computer literacy compared with previous generations, they lack in “situational judgement” developed from regular face-to-face contacts, but they are willing to offer a new perspective.
Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered to be a Millennial—also known as Generation Y—which means they are now between 26 and 41. Our youngest Rising Star belongs to Generation Z—born from 1997 onwards.
Key events Generation Y grew up with include 9/11 and the 2008 financial crash but, on the positive side, their “youth vote” helped elect America’s first black president. Generation Z are “always on”–the iPhone was born in 1997—and unquestionably are more literate on diversity. The fear they have grown up with is climate change.
The common thread joining these two generations with Generation X (born in 1965 to 1980) and the Baby-boomers (born 1946 to 1964), is that re/insurance continues to be relevant.
Read about our 2022 Rising Stars on the following pages.
Image Credit; Shutterstock.com / Anton Jankovoy
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