100 influential women in re/insurance
Why did you choose to work in this industry initially? In college I majored in psychology with a focus on clinical research. The emphasis on clinical was the analytics or the study of people through research and experimentation. I was not certain what I would do with my degree as I didn’t believe that I wanted to work in an consultative practice; rather what
interested me was the cognitive research on
behaviour. When I began my job search after graduating from college,
my father, who was in reinsurance, recommended I consider the insurance industry, particularly in the liability space, as he thought I would make a good underwriter. Fortunately for me, I really loved underwriting and the time it
Name: Nancy Bewlay
Company: Swiss Re Job:
Managing director, head casualty underwriting US & Canada
Timeline: 2013—Managing director, head of underwriting casualty, US and Canada, Swiss Re 2011—Treaty hub head for the US & Canada, president & CEO— CV Starr & Company (California) 2006—Executive vice president, CV Starr & Company (California) 2005—Branch manager, Admiral Insurance 1994—Second vice president, General Star Management 1992—Casualty broker, Marsh & McLennan 1990—Assistant secretary—excess/ umbrella underwriter, General Star Management
Nancy Bewlay joined Swiss Re in May 2013 as the head of underwriting for casualty, US & Canada. She is responsible for the technical underwriting and actuarial casualty treaty teams in the US and Canada. Responsibilities include pricing development, portfolio management, strategy development and deployment and staffing. Prior to her present role Bewlay was former president & chief
executive office of CV Starr & Company (California). She was responsible
joined CV Starr in 2006 as manager of the New York, Atlanta and Boston Branches. In 2009, she became executive vice president & director of field operations. Her responsibilities then grew to include management of all underwriting and product development. Bewlay has more than 22 years’ experience in the insurance industry with a concentration in primary and excess specialty casualty lines.
16 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 2015 for the overall operations of the company. She
gave for research and learning. Previously, I never saw myself as someone who liked numbers, however, once I was able to tie the underwriting decision process to the building of portfolios and the capital management of these portfolios, I was completely hooked. I saw limitless possibilities in our industry right from the start of my career.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? After working in the industry for 13 years I decided I needed to stop working and become a stay at home mom. I was having difficulty balancing family and the demands of the job and felt I needed to concentrate on family. After two years at home, I decided to return to the industry and try to catch up with those who remained and had time to continue their development. What struck me was how past former colleagues and clients embraced my return to the market. In a very short time I advanced in positions with ever increasing responsibilities leading me to where I am today with Swiss Re. I feel as if today I am living one of the highlights of my career. While I am confident it will not be the last highlight, I am very much enjoying the present and want to recognise the importance of the moment.
What has been the biggest challenge you have encountered? I believe that continuously stretching oneself is important in order to evolve in our changing market. Sometimes this works quite well and sometimes it does not. At one point in my career I found myself in a job that was very sought after by others with a good deal of autonomy and meaningful responsibility. It was a job that I should have celebrated; however, I was not happy personally. It was a huge personal challenge to admit to myself I was not happy and needed to walk away from all that I had invested in getting myself to where I was.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? I would have pursued a career in medicine. I have always been attracted to the medical field and I think I would have liked to become a doctor.
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