How firms are training tomorrow’s talent

Intermediate and senior underwriting positions are opening up across the industry. That has firms looking for ways to cultivate junior underwriters into successive roles. The issue, though, is that learning curves can be steep for new hires.

Up-and-coming underwriters are working to master the tricks of the trade while facing factors that can make their jobs difficult — such as the hard market, inflation, rising reinsurance costs and a shortage of senior mentors. All of this means an increased systemic risk for commercial businesses. Never mind that commercial policies are written in a language that takes years to understand fluently.

Collaborative learning is among the best ways to train young talent, said Nicholas Hudescu, a financial lines underwriter at TruStar. “The biggest learning curve is the policy wordings and the technical aspects, but it’s pretty easy to get over it if you just use your team to collaborate.”

For new underwriters, knowing where to get the correct information is a must, as is fostering a supportive environment.

“Having a good leader could be the difference between [having] an engaged employee and not having an engaged employee,” said Wes Gray, associate vice president of commercial solutions for Sovereign General Insurance’s eastern region.

For candidates who do not have an underwriting background, hands-on learning and training opportunities can speed their development.

“One thing that I really liked at TruStar was the fact that I had these technical cases I would work on,” said Hudescu. “It would give me a chance to do a mock underwrite and understand the process, and then get feedback and ask questions along the way. So, it’s almost like learning by doing.”

Paperwork practice

Tedious administrative work can be another hang-up for young underwriters.

“There’s a lot of admin work…at insurance companies,” Hudescu said, “[But] if you have the technology to do a lot of admin work and you can only focus on the underwriting side of it…then [you] can become a specialist.”

Young underwriters can use technology to focus their careers and pay more attention to the underwriting process, rather than the tedious paperwork.

Also, technology can help bridge the knowledge gap and speed up the admin process, especially when senior professionals leave the industry.

“[Implementing] a technology-backed strategy to capture and harness the knowledge that has been developed through years of underwriting experience is not only attractive to new hires, it is fundamental to an organization sustaining its position as a relevant risk-management partner,” said Adam Cherubini, chief revenue officer at insurtech firm Send.

“It’s not a nice-to-have, it’s table stakes,” he added. “By harnessing the power of technology, we can meet their expectations and ensure a robust talent pool for the industry that has access to years of legacy knowledge and experience.”

Plus, young underwriters value the opportunity to meet key stakeholders, brokers and clients to help them develop their social and sales skills. Placing them in virtual calls or sending them to conferences can be a useful way to cultivate needed skills.

This story is excerpted from one that appeared in the October print edition of Canadian Underwriter. Feature image by iStock.com/wildpixel