Shaping future leaders in surplus lines
WSIA’s Career Development Committee has expanded its outreach and deepened its educational resources.
The last two years have been an exciting time for the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association’s Career Development Committee. Having grown to more than 60 members, Career Development is now WSIA’s largest committee, working with over 100 universities nationwide to recruit and connect with the industry’s incoming young professionals.
The Career Development Committee’s mission is to create interest in, awareness of, and enthusiasm for careers in the wholesale, specialty and surplus lines industry by connecting WSIA members with students. Its work focuses on educating students about different career options, which educational tracks to follow, and connecting future insurance professionals with experienced mentors in the industry to help guide them.
To better execute its mission, the Committee recently expanded its outreach efforts and deepened its educational resource offerings through a number of new initiatives.
On-campus with WSIA
The Career Development Committee often collaborates with the WSIA Educational Foundation to help support its outreach initiatives with colleges, specifically those that offer tracks in actuarial science and other insurance-related degree programs.
In 2018, Committee volunteers gave presentations at 40 colleges and organized three symposiums with insurance fraternity Gamma Iota Sigma. Through these events, the Committee reached an estimated 2,759 students — a 6.2% increase from the previous year.
Chris Timmerman, WSIA Career Development Programs Manager, says the Committee focuses on maximizing the impact of these presentations. Members are matched with their college alma mater or another school where they have an organic connection.
“The members who participate in this committee are very passionate about this talent development initiative,” said Tim Chaix, WSIA Career Development Committee Chair and CEO and president of R.E. Chaix & Associates Inc. “They are not only committed to the industry as professionals, but they’re really dedicated to talking with young people about the opportunities it presents and helping illustrate with personal accounts why they would encourage young people to join our ranks.”
Career Development Committee members were on-site at the WSIA Education Foundation’s three two-day college symposiums hosted annually in Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix for risk management and insurance (RMI) students.
Each symposium focuses on a different area of the industry, but the agenda for all three is the same: offering a career fair, a wealth of networking opportunities, student-led panels, and presentations from industry professionals on current and emerging risks. During these programs, WSIA members can sponsor a booth at each career fair and participate in networking events with college students.
This year, WSIA Committee members were able to connect with 174 students from 23 universities who attended WSIA’s Surplus Lines Symposium at Troy University. The Extreme Risk Taker Symposium at Illinois State University hosted 132 students from 22 universities. The Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Symposium at Arizona State University hosted 102 students from nine universities.
Looking ahead, Timmerman says WSIA’s next milestone “would be to connect West Coast students with West Coast companies, and to showcase how WSIA can help California-based RMI students in their actuarial science or insurance careers.”
Turning interns into employees
Through the WSIA Internship Program, the WSIA Career Development Committee annually awards paid summer internships to 18 hand-selected college students interested in an insurance career.
The nine-week internship program places students with WSIA’s member firms where they gain experience in both the underwriting and brokerage sides of the surplus lines marketplace, spending five weeks with a carrier and four weeks with a broker. Students work in a variety of roles and departments, including claims, data processing, operations, brokerage, reinsurance, underwriting and more. All housing and transportation is paid for by WSIA, and hosts pay interns $18 per hour.
White paper contest
Adding to their expansion efforts, this past academic year, the Career Development Committee introduced a new white paper contest for RMI students that will be hosted twice yearly in the fall and spring semesters. Timmerman says the goal of the essay contest is to bring awareness to the surplus lines field and help educate students on important issues and trends in insurance.
This year’s first white paper contest had 20 participating students and three winners who each received $1,000 and the opportunity to attend WSIA’s Underwriting Summit with their faculty sponsor.
“I think the White Paper Contest is a great way for us to connect with students as well as faculty since the topics are relevant to most RMI classrooms,” said Chaix. “It’s a great opportunity for students and their sponsors to learn about a specific industry trend with the chance to be rewarded financially.”
Timmerman added the Committee is working with their university partners to incorporate the white paper contest into class curriculums so students can earn a grade while competing for a cash prize.
Surplus lines leaders
As the Career Development Committee continues to grow, Chaix says its focus remains on the students.
“We’re focused on making sure that when students hear from us, they are learning something new each time, even when they might have attended more than one symposium or event,” he added, “and we’re focused on providing them content in ways that capture their attention moving forward.”
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