Does anyone choose a career in insurance?

I’m told that, apparently, no-one really chooses a career in insurance.  It’s an industry that most people just seem to fall into at different stages of their life.  My own experience would suggest that this is indeed the case.

With 20 years’ experience in marketing and managing small businesses, mainly in the IT and software arena, I’ve just found myself celebrating my first year in insurance, at business insurer QBE. 

Quite a leap, I’ll tell you.  And one that I’m absolutely relishing.  Helping to shape QBE’s growing portfolio of SME insurance products and services from an SME point of view.  Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the vital backbone of Britain, accounting for around 99% of all private sector companies and employing over 15 million people.

Try explaining to your mum what an underwriter does

Marketing is marketing, so I’d say that the same basic principles apply whether you’re marketing insurance, software or baked beans.  It’s all about identifying, anticipating and satisfying your customers’ needs.  Developing innovative products and solutions; giving value for money; making products available on the channels where your customer wants to buy; and promoting your brand values and the product benefits.

I have, however, had to quickly get to grips with how the insurance industry operates.  Insurance has been cited as one of the most misunderstood career paths, with much confusion over what an Underwriter or an Actuary actually does for a living.  It seems these jobs are right up there with ‘Data Scientist’, ‘Social Media Manager’ and ‘User Interface Designer’ as the kind of jobs that it’s most difficult to explain to your parents what you do all day long.

And the insurance industry likes its jargon, doesn’t it?  Coming from an IT background I’m used to jargon – WAN, LAN, VPN, VOIP, etc. - but I’ve had to learn a whole new vocabulary in insurance.  Does insurance have more jargon that IT?  Hard to say.

Treating customers fairly

When I was running an SME business I only really considered my business insurance at renewal time or when the office got broken into and I had to make a claim for a stolen laptop.  Other than that I was more concerned with cash flow, sales, customer satisfaction, employees, and the million and one things that small businesses have to worry about every day.  I always trusted my insurance broker to always steer me in the right direction when it came to ensuring the business had adequate cover and that we were well looked after, and I’m happy to say that I never had cause for complaint. 

It’s reassuring that the latest Airmic survey confirms that overall trust in the insurance industry among policyholders remains generally high.  People do business with people that they know, like and trust.  So it’s no surprise that the survey found that the level of trust policyholders have in a potential insurer or broker motivates their buying decisions, with 96% of policyholders saying that trust in an insurer plays a key role in selection.

And it’s this side of the industry that really appeals to the marketer in me.  The fact that we, as a whole industry, insurers and brokers, are so totally committed to building trust and treating every customer fairly is very much to our credit. 

In my first year in insurance I’ve seen first-hand how much the whole business revolves around the customer.  Every decision we make at QBE is based on whether it’s in the best interests of the customer – be that our broker intermediaries or our business policyholders.

Letters in the Daily Mail

I think it’s fair to say that the insurance industry has had a bad press.  We’re used to seeing letters in the Daily Mail from someone complaining about their insurance.  It’s so easy to focus on the negatives that all the great work we do can go unnoticed.

Insurance isn’t just about policies and claims.  It’s about people.  In the SME arena we are often dealing with peoples’ very livelihoods, where one big incident could have a major impact on their ability to carry on trading or put food on the table. 

This past year I’ve been so impressed with the ways in which QBE, and the rest of the industry, are working hard to help and advise businesses on ways to minimise risk, around topics such as driver safety, cyber crime, health and wellbeing and professional indemnity. It’s about helping to protect businesses so that they never have to face their worst nightmare.

A whirlwind of a year

So, 12 months into insurance at QBE I’m looking back on what has been a whirlwind of a year. 

Getting closer to brokers through numerous broker surveys.  Asking brokers what they want to see from QBE, listening to what they’re telling us and then responding back to them with new and refreshed products and improved services.

Helping to organise broker events and giving brokers the face-to-face opportunity to tell us how QBE can help them to grow their businesses.

Helping to rollout eight SME e-trade products across multiple distribution platforms has been a big challenge, but we’ve made it and are now working on new products.

Learning all about minibus insurance and helping to promote the fact that QBE insures thousands of minibuses on Britain’s roads every year.

Having a great time with QBE colleagues out in the community working with local charities to give something back.

If I was writing a letter to the Daily Mail now I’d be saying how proud I am to work in insurance.