Rising stars


As well as this, it is a very sociable business and although not as


glamorous as many perceive merchant banking to be, it offers a very good lifestyle. Furthermore, many roles require a significant amount of travel (particularly in underwriting), and it has certainly taken me to places that I would not have imagined myself going to otherwise. The biggest challenge is attracting young people to the industry in


the first place since, to be realistic, re/insurance is competing with investment banking and accountancy, which have always taken the recruitment of young talent very seriously. That said, I know that many syndicates and companies now offer annual graduate and apprentice schemes. To attract the best possible candidates, companies must show young people what they can achieve, and what a day in the life looks like.


Name: Lee Bradford


Company: Chaucer Job:


Deputy class underwriter, casualty treaty


Timeline: 2015: Class underwriter, international casualty treaty


2013: Deputy class underwriter, international casualty treaty


2009: Assistant underwriter, international casualty treaty


2007: Specialist lines underwriter


September 2006: Graduate training scheme, Chaucer


Why did you choose the re/insurance industry? I knew little about it prior to starting the application process for the graduate scheme at Chaucer. I studied a couple of insurance- related subjects at university through my Business and Economics degree but, at the time, I only considered these as part of the course. Toward the end of my degree, I started looking at different


careers, although all I knew was that I wanted to work in a finance- related role. The more I looked at different careers, the more I found myself drawn to reinsurance. The Chaucer graduate scheme was ideal at


the time, since


it would allow me to explore a number of different roles in the company before I decided on a permanent role—I do not think many people know exactly what they want to do before they actually start doing it!


Do you think the industry is attractive to young professionals? Yes, but tends to be seen as most attractive by people only once they already have ‘fallen into it’—once you are in, if you put the effort in, the rewards can be very good.


14 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | May 2015


If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? Like most people studying economics at university, I originally thought I was destined for banking or accountancy but once I started looking at graduate placements in these areas, it was clear that these were not for me. I do think that an alternative profession for me could have been some sort of sporting analyst/statistician which would have allowed me to combine my technical skills with my passion for sport, but I hold no regrets.


Do you think the re/insurance industry offers good opportunities and career development to young professionals? It does, but like any career, it requires a lot of effort. It is not an industry where you can progress by just being bright; it requires much more—strong interpersonal skills, negotiation skills and technical skills to name a few. It is also important to keep abreast of global developments


and legal reforms, and always to understand that so much of what happens around the world affects the insurance industry. In underwriting, so much learning happens in the office, and experience is paramount, although with the right effort, everything is in your own hands and you can develop a career as you choose. There are plenty of overseas opportunities, and with syndicates and companies always aiming to diversify into new territories with new local offices, moving overseas is not out of the question.


What are your aspirations for the future? One of the main attractions for me in this business is that you sink or swim by your results—some underwriters will lose money and some will make money—and I need to be one of the latter. My immediate aspirations are therefore relatively straightforward: to continue my development as a class underwriter and to enhance the necessary skills and understandings required managing a consistently profitable portfolio of business over time. It is difficult to look beyond this at this stage of my career, only time will tell.


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