Members only
What is your role and where do you work?
I joined Maven Public Sector (MPS) as an Underwriting Apprentice in September 2024. This is a position where at the start of my career I can broaden my knowledge and expertise within an everchanging industry and develop a skillset across underwriting and account managing. This is a great opportunity to understand general insurance practices alongside the on-the-job learning portion of my apprenticeship. It is great forbuilding my confidence in providing a service for multiple areas of public sector insurance that MPS offers, some of which I am hoping to focus on and specialise in as my career with MPS develops.
What is your expertise, specialism or main area of interest?
Due to being an Apprentice, I recently completed my A Levels, studying Business, Psychology and IT, which are three areas of knowledge that can be applied to my everyday role within MPS and the insurance industry as a whole. Currently, I’m still in the process of learning new aspects of my role and developing my skillset with the prospect of becoming an underwriter.
Whilst being on the apprenticeship scheme I’m learning new ways of thinking, business processes and disciplines, and the regulatory requirements that apply to the industry.
I am starting to branch out into specialising in the accounting side of the business alongside Zak Bolton who is now one year post completion of the same apprenticeship as me. The focus is on credit and debit anomalies and the review of accounting bordereaux. Maths is a strong area of mine, so this side of the role is suited to me well.
Is there a particular aspect of your work you are interested in or passionate about?
I’m interested in the risk assessment side of insurance and the specific factors that can impact the pricing of a risk, especially within the public sector: the risk profiles can be extremely complex. The amount of information required for a policy to incept is intriguing, as it stimulates a whole process of analysis and it enables a risk transfer which can benefit all stakeholders. I look forward to utilising some underwriting tools that I have learnt, and shadowing some of the team to dive deeper into the steps they take to secure new business and retain business from our current clients.
What are you working on currently?
Currently I’m working on the renewals side of the business. I am beginning to be a point of communication with our brokers and the underwriters and am assisting the Bid Team with renewal invitations, due diligence checks and policy documentation. I am also focusing on time management to meet our desired service standards for our clients.
Teamwork has been crucial to meet deadlines and to understand the role for me to complete tasks independently. My first renewal season has just successfully passed, with the potential of many more to come!
What topics and trends are emerging?
AI is an emerging topic within all industries, with the potential of AI to complete tasks to reduce human error.
In terms of AI within the insurance industry, it can alter underwriting processes by automating risk assessments, enhancing decision-making accuracy and improving efficiency. AI enables the analysis of vast datasets, leading to more precise risk evaluations and streamlined operations. However, with AI emerging as a more globally accepted technology there are further exposures and risks to consider. There is much to be learn and understood about AI capabilities.
Our changing climate is another topic which is emerging, as increasing climate related events such as flooding and wildfires are reshaping the risk landscape. The underwriters within the public sector must adapt to climate changes by developing policies that address the increased frequency and severity of weather-related events.
