Job Description
Property & Casualty Insurance Brokerage Intern
When you hear the job title “Insurance Broker” what comes to mind? Someone making cold calls every day? A Geico frog? To my surprise, interning at Gallagher Insurance Co. last summer has proven all my presumptions to be wrong. After nine weeks, I have concluded that being an insurance broker is one of the most sociable jobs to exist.
An Insurance Broker represents clients in search for coverage and can sell policies from several different insurance companies for a commission. In other words, we act as the middleman between a client and an insurer. We are not the people you see on Football Sunday commercials, but rather the ones that work to build strong and trustworthy relationships with clients behind the scenes. A successful broker is able to assess their client’s risks by getting to know their business, listening to their needs, and creating solutions for potential risks faced. Clients can span from a young professional working for an insurance carrier to a Chief Risk Officer representing a corporation as big as Amazon. You never know who you will end up getting a fancy dinner with on a Tuesday evening. But what exactly do we do on a day to day basis?
Three roles help sum up the duties of an insurance broker:
- Research
- Negotiation
- Risk Assessment
I’ll describe using three examples of what I do in a day.
Researching
- Current prices in the market
- Different carriers and what they specialize in
- New insurance policies
To be a knowledgeable broker, constant research on the available policy options for each client is imperative. For example, if one of my clients is a corporation such as Netflix, the broker must know what their insurance plan covers in the event of vandalism, theft, or natural disaster. Working with clients within a high net asset class becomes even more intricate as brokers must manage and communicate to carriers the array of possessions needing insurance. As new insurance policies arise, brokers must propose what plan will fit their needs best. Brokers must maintain strong relationships with carriers if a client proposes interest in working with the brokerage.
Negotiating
- Policy agreements
- Better premiums or specific discounts
- Specific policy language
Negotiating is a critical skill to becoming a successful broker. Brokers work every day with carriers to get the best policy at the best price for their clients. They will present data that shows where the client’s belongings are most in need of coverage and where best to receive it. Not only does the broker negotiate with one carrier at a time, but several, to ensure they are providing the best deal for their client. Also, brokers work alongside carriers to adjust specific policy language to benefit their clients in the event of a loss.
Risk Assessment
- Build risk matrices
- Decide and implement control measures
- Update risk factors
Insurance brokers must understand insurance company's risk appetites along with helping clients assess their risk factors and providing solutions to manage them. Brokers can do this by curating risk matrices to determine the level of risk their clients and carriers will absorb. Based on a scale of the likelihood and impact of each risk, brokers can educate their clients on the current premiums they will pay. Brokers may also suggest alternative risk mitigation mechanisms such as placement with risk retention or even a third-party risk purchasing group, which means, finding another carrier with a bigger risk appetite.
Naomi,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way this was written! It was very easy to follow and I felt like I had learned a lot about what you did at your internship last summer. I liked how you used many examples and analogies for researching, negotiation, and risk assessment. You also did a good job of going in depth on some of these examples and really explained why they mattered and connected to the overall goal of your job
Before reading your post, I didn’t know much about what property & casualty insurance brokerage intern or agent does, but you explained it great. The example you gave helped me understand how important these aspects of the internship were. Also, I enjoyed reading your intro paragraph too.
ReplyDeleteI liked the way this post was broken down. Your intro paragraphs were useful as they perfectly captured the assumptions and confusion that could be involved with your job. I then was able to get a clear picture of what an insurance broker does and the various interesting parts of the job.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool. I did a small 2 day stint as a risk management associate and also realized how sociable insurance is. I really liked how simply you put everything with clear examples. I now totally know what is required of an insurance broker. Seems like some hard stuff.
ReplyDeleteI never really learned what insurance brokerage is about until now, and I think you did an excellent job taking me through your general duties! It was easy to follow and I feel like I have a better understanding of what your line of work entails.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job explaining the role of an insurance broker. To be honest I knew little to nothing about what the day to day looks like for someone in this industry. I found the Research segment specifically interesting!
ReplyDeleteCool job! Yes I wasn't expecting this role when I read the title, but I thought you explained it well. Its interesting all the small details you have to think about when finding the right plans for the right companies.
ReplyDeleteNaomi, I found your post particularly interesting because I am also interested in pursuing a career in Risk Management. It is interesting to get to hear your experience at Gallagher. Are you currently interning or have a job lined up after graduation?
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