“While some might say that switching from broking to underwriting could be deemed a challenge, I have been fortunate enough to have had some excellent mentors along the way to make the transition seamless.”
Name: Victoria Cunningham
Company: Tokio Millennium Re Job:
Assistant vice president, underwriting
Timeline: 2014—Assistant vice president, underwriting, Tokio Millennium Re 2012—Assistant underwriter, Tokio Millennium Re 2010—Underwriting assistant— Tokio Millennium Re 2004—Senior re/insurance analyst, Kirkway International 2003—Claims administrator, BF&M Bermuda
Victoria Cunningham joined Tokio Millennium Re AG (TMR) in April 2010. Her current responsibilities include underwriting the US workers’ compensation catastrophe and terrorism portfolios. Prior to this, she was responsible for underwriting the excess casualty portfolio and worked on professional lines and medical malpractice accounts within the specialty casualty team. Prior to joining TMR, Cunningham worked for Kirkway International, an independent
reinsurance intermediary in
Bermuda. She assisted with providing excess insurance and reinsurance solutions to both traditional insurance companies and alternative risk vehicles.
Why did you choose to work in this industry initially? Growing up, the industry always had a fairly staid and sober image, but as a Bermudian I was encouraged to take a closer look following Hurricane Fabian in 2003 and will admit that my initial opinions were unfounded. The potential for growth, both professionally and personally, can be endless and, if you have the work ethic to back up your ambition, a career in re/insurance will take you as far as you want to go.
What has been the highlight of your career so far? When I started in the industry I joined the Bermuda Under 40s Group who promote education and networking on the island. I was
www.intelligentinsurer.com
asked to join the committee in 2010 and was voted in as chairman in January 2014. Over the past year and a half I have enjoyed working with members of our industry to provide educational events to our members while also providing an informal setting for networking. The highlight for me is in promoting our industry to young people. I am a strong believer in mentoring and have been involved with the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies and their mentoring programme for a number of years. As an industry, we need to attract younger talent and I think the most effective way is to provide them with people they can trust and who want them to succeed.
What has been the biggest challenge you have
encountered? While some might say that switching from broking to underwriting could be deemed a challenge, I have been fortunate enough to have had some excellent mentors along the way to make the transition seamless. I think it can sometimes be seen as a challenge to be a woman in the industry, but I believe that the environment is changing and the hurdles are not as great as they perhaps once were. I also believe that women are great at being open to embrace each other and celebrate the achievements of colleagues and peers within our industry which can make the challenges a lot less daunting.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? Having studied geography at university, I always thought I would go into meteorology and quite fancied a career on TV as a weather presenter! Failing that I would have been a professional skier.
2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 33
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