The Voices of Risk Management

Tyler Vaughan and Jasmine Klein join this episode to talk about what it’s like being young professionals in the risk and insurance industry. Tyler is a Business Analyst at Safelite Autoglass and Jasmine is an Assistant Vice President for the FINPRO department at Marsh. They share why they’re passionate about expanding the Global RIMS RRP Advisory Group and why it’s important to have a strong community of peers and like-minded professionals and they share their future dreams of where they’d like to grow into their roles. Key Takeaways: A little bit about Tyler and Jasmine. Why are Tyler and Jasmine so passionate about growing the RIMS RRP (Rising Risk Professional) network? After Tyler and Jasmine graduated college, they felt like there was a lack of community for their demographic to really network and grow within the risk and insurance industry. How did Tyler and Jasmine find themselves in insurance? What do Tyler and Jasmine look forward to the most when it comes to growing and expanding into their career? What's it like being an F45 Instructor? Jasmine shares her experience as an athletic trainer. How does RRP define its peer group and demographics? In insurance, you can get lost in the shuffle, so it’s important that you make an effort to connect with new people in your industry regularly. It’s on you to put yourself out there and build your network. There’s so much opportunity in this industry. You’re never going to be “stuck” in a boring place. How did Jasmine earn her insurance CPCU and ARM designations so quickly? What have been the biggest takeaways for both Tyler and Jasmine thus far in their careers?   Mentioned in This Episode: Safelite.com Marsh.com Tyler on LinkedIn Jasmine on LinkedIn  

Marianne Roth is the Chief Risk Officer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and she is also the President of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM). In this episode, she explains how the government thinks and assesses risk on a national scale and how young professionals can get their foot in the door to make a difference within the government. Key Takeaways: A little bit about Marianna and her work at CFPB. How did Marianne discover risk management? As someone who once worked for TSA, Marianne has some wild stories! Someone once tried to sneak an alligator onto a plane. How does the government think about risk? Marianne shares how the TSA thought about risk and modified their security operations to better serve the people. What does it take to be a good risk manager at TSA? How does Marianna think about community and expanding her professional network? Marianna explains how you navigate different political parties and leadership objectives in her industry every 4 years. Marianna explains some of the strategies she’s incorporating to attract new talent. What’s next for Marianna? What advice would Marianna give her younger self? How is the federal government thinking about diversity and inclusion when it comes to the risk management space?   Mentioned in This Episode: Consumerfinance.gov Marianne on LinkedIn  

Carlos Dezayas is the Head of Risk Management at Kraft Heinz Company, a global food and beverage company. Carlos shares his unique experience in insurance and offers insight into what it means to manage risk on a global scale. He also shares the best ways young professionals can position themselves within the industry and shares his experience managing the intricate balance between insurance premiums and insurance risk. Key Takeaways: A little bit about Carlos and his work at Kraft Heinz. Why did Carlos decide to pick an out-of-state school to pursue risk management? There is so much opportunity in risk management and you don’t have to wait for management to get into a leadership role. It’s important to discern the main objective when it comes to risk management, is it to reduce insurance premiums or is it to reduce risk with a given budget? How does Carlos manage global risk? What makes a good partnership with an insurance broker? As someone who is the head of risk, what are some of the next steps in Carlos’s career? Communication is key in helping leadership understand what you want and your next steps. It’s important to be clear on your unique value proposition and what you bring to an organization. Where is the future of risk management headed? Carlos weighs in on his thoughts. The traditional insurance marketplace is slowly becoming outdated in its practices because it’s no longer meeting the average insurance buyer’s needs.   Mentioned in This Episode: Kraftheinzcompany.com Carlos on LinkedIn    

Bert Iams is the Senior Vice President of Government Contracting at Signal Mutual. As an underwriter, Bert is constantly fascinated by some of the contracts he’s had to assess risk and insurance coverage for. In this position, you never know what to expect and he shares insights on how he approaches his very diverse job in a systemized way. Find out how Bert insures some of the most dangerous jobs for our overseas contractors in this week’s episode.   Key Takeaways: What is the DBA (Defense Base Act)? What type of risk does Bert analyze and cover? Since overseas government contracting covers a wide array of different fields and niches, how does Bert systemize this process and provide fair coverage? A little bit about Bert and how he discovered the insurance industry. There are about five other companies that are writing DBA. Who is making the decision on what types of coverage to purchase? How does Bert underwrite for government contracts that have top-secret clearance? Bert loves this space because he gets to underwrite really interesting things and job positions every single day. Today’s students have a much better understanding of risk management than Bert did when he first entered the workforce. What does Bert like the most about his position? What makes a good broker in this space? Bert offers some advice for someone who is interested in joining the insurance field. What did Bert wish he’d learned sooner in his career? When you put effort into educating your team about the importance of safety, it really elevates the entire company experience.   Mentioned in This Episode: Signalmutual.com Robert on LinkedIn  

The admin of the Instagram profile, The Hard Market, gets interviewed on this week’s show. The Hard Market is a safe place for Insurance Professionals where there are memes, laughs, and very real moments that every insurance professional can relate to on the social media profile. In this episode, the anonymous admin lays out some hard truths about the job market today, what Millennials really think, and how our society’s coping mechanisms have been normalized and part of the status quo.   Key Takeaways: ●       We have multiple generations working under one insurance roof. ●       The younger generation is demanding way more. They know their loyalty doesn’t get rewarded. ●       The admin has been mentored very well by Boomers. They’re not always part of the problem. ●       Despite being in the industry for the last 15 years, the admin still feels like there’s so much more to go and is a bit frustrated by the state of it all. ●       The bulk of the money is made when you stay at one company for a while. ●       What should you do during pay review time? The admin shares their thoughts. ●       The admin was very surprised at first at how people found the content so relatable. ●       What are the hallmarks of a good risk manager? ●       How did the admin double their Instagram account? The admin talks about the real things. ●       The admin wants to create an anonymous survey that helps insurance professionals really understand what they’re worth in the marketplace. ●       If you don’t push for a raise, you will make $15‒20K less than you should. ●       What is the admin’s all-time favorite meme? ●       Despite the admin being in an entire suit of armor on this interview, your hosts encourage them to do public speaking. ●       The admin has been bullied by companies and other insurance professionals. It’s a tough world out there.   Mentioned in This Episode: The Hard Market on Instagram

Matt Sutika is the Chief Insurance Officer at Obie, an insurtech company that focuses on quick insurance quotes for multifamily rentals. Matt talks about how more professionals are entering the insurance industry with more intentionality than ever before, what it means to brokers when there are more insurance purchasing options available online, and why insurance tends to be a more stable industry than any other industry out there during recessions and bear markets.   Key Takeaways: A little bit about Matt and the type of work he does. Where does the name Obie come from? You have to meet people where they’re at and then leverage technology to service them to bigger heights. Matt shares his thoughts on being around the “gold rush” of VC capital when they were heavily investing in insurtech a few years ago. Matt talks about his biggest hero; his father. For the longest time, insurance used to be a fallback for so many people, but this is not the case today. The great thing about insurance is that it always renews and people have to have it. You can build a lot in a bear market in insurance. Market uncertainty doesn’t seem to affect insurance as badly compared to other industries. Will the need for insurance brokers go extinct as more people purchase online? A lot of brokers were limited by their own state. This is no longer the case. What percentage of Matt’s business involves Airbnb rentals? What are some best practices to insure a rental property? A lot of businesses unfortunately have to make that tough decision between what they can cover vs. what they can afford. Matt doesn’t believe in insurance scare tactics. It’s about sitting down and asking honest questions. Matt isn’t the best when it comes to reading full-fledged books, but he loves the Blinkist app.   Mentioned in This Episode: Obieinsurance.com Matt on LinkedIn  

Tanner Hackett is the CEO of Counterpart, a management and professional liability insurance company. As a relatively new insurance nerd, Tanner is fascinated by this industry despite only being in this space for about three years. Through his work in Southeast Asia, Tanner is bringing some of the concepts he’s learned overseas and applying them back on U.S. soil. Find out more about Tanner and the work he’s doing in Insurtech in this week’s episode.   Key Takeaways: A little bit about Tanner and his company, Counterpart. As a serial entrepreneur, this is the most interesting company Tanner has started. There is so much to learn about insurance and it affects all aspects of our lives. Nobody really wants to talk about the vital importance of insurance. If you ever go into bankruptcy, insurance can help protect your personal assets. What is social inflation vs. legal system abuse? When it comes to liability claims, where is the money really going? It's going to the lawyers, not the people. What are Tanner’s thoughts on pursuing a higher level of education? Business owners are often thinking in quarters, not two to three years out from now. This makes it difficult sometimes to justify the ROI on HR software. Nine out of 10 insurers are looking at how they can buy risk mitigation services on top of their insurance. Insurers have the ability to offer preventive measures to their clients and lessen the risk burden of their clients. How did Tanner go from New York to living in Malaysia to start a company? Insurance is really hard to do and build. There are so many institutions to consider, but the work Tanner did in Asia was eye-opening. Insurance is so nuanced and specific that it is critical to have a robust software program that can handle the subtle differences that insurance has to offer. People want more options, they want things faster, and they want things cheaper. This philosophy is only going to grow in intensity over the next coming years. Can we all just get rid of certificates of insurance already?   Mentioned in This Episode: Yourcounterpart.com Tanner on LinkedIn    

Jason Disborough is the Chief Commercial Officer for Enterprise & CEO — Multinational Clients at Aon. Jason shares what interested him in pursuing a degree in math and why he picked the insurance industry. In this episode, you’ll learn how he was able to sell his consulting business to Aon over 20 years ago and still continue to work for the company. He also shares some key learnings he’s had throughout his time at Aon and his 30-plus years of experience in insurance.   Key Takeaways: A little bit about Jason and the work he currently does for Aon. How did Jason get his mathematics degree? Why didn’t Jason take the Actuary route? Jason started his own consulting company, which was later acquired by Aon; how did that journey start? When Jason started working at Aon again, he felt right at home. What did Jason learn about working with a larger corporation? Business development gives you a big skills boost because you’re working with so many different teams. Jason spent four years in London working in a global role; what were some of the things he learned while there? It was a dream come true for Jason to spend so much time with the Manchester United soccer team. Fun fact: Jason is not a good golfer. Jason is a marathon runner and shares some proud highlights he’s experienced. Why does Jason start his morning with a meditation practice? The winning process starts many, many years before the actual “goal.” You can do the impossible and achieve something that no one else could just by consistent action. How do you learn from your mistakes? Don’t get furious, get curious. Jason believes in relationship equity. It comes down to being a good mentor and having the goodwill to help others. Insurance talks to all industries so that they can help solve problems in all these industries. You become a much more interesting person because of this deep and vast understanding. What does Jason wish he’d learned sooner in his career?   Mentioned in This Episode: Aon.com/home Jason on LinkedIn  

Tabitha Richardson is the National Learning & Development Manager for Business Insurance at Marsh McLennan Agency. Tabitha shares her experience as an insurance professional and her deep involvement in diversity. She talks about the talent gap, what the new generation currently is looking for in the workforce, and so much more. Find out more about the exciting new developments happening in insurance in this week’s episode!   Key Takeaways: A little bit about Tabitha and her work as a Learning and Development Manager. Tabitha majored in psychology; how has that helped her throughout her career? In having a conversation with a car salesman, he said insurance people were worse than people in his industry! There’s a huge negative perception of insurance. The insurance industry has a huge talent gap and people are retiring out. The new generation’s needs are much more different than the baby boomer generation. The new generation knows they’ve got options and aren’t afraid to use them. Why does the state of Florida have the most litigation claims? Our younger generation is very connected to their community and they want to do good for their people. Tabitha talks about the allyship that she’s part of at MMA. Unfortunately, some people just don’t fully understand the benefits of D&I. There are gaps in black and brown senior leadership. What are some of Tabitha’s roles and responsibilities? When you chase approval, you chase perfectionism.   Mentioned in This Episode: Marshmma.com/us Tabitha on LinkedIn The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brené Brown  

Nathan Logan is the Risk Management Expertise Specialist at Amerisure Insurance. In his extensive career, Nathan has worked up the ranks in risk and insurance and shares some of his thoughts and processes around his work and the industry. Nathan believes that starting with a relationship-first approach in this career is one of the best ways not only to build trust but also to get the job done in an effective way. Find out more about Nathan and his love for his work in this week’s episode!   Key Takeaways: A little bit about Nathan and his role at Amerisure. Are there any benefits to doing the underwriting process virtually vs. in person? What are some of the difficulties of doing a claim virtually? A big piece of what Nathan does is building relationships and building trust with his providers. What does Amerisure do? In a role like Nathan’s, how transferable are his skill sets to other positions? Nathan talks about the Myers-Briggs profiles. Nathan shares what the transition has been like, moving from South Caroline to Indiana. Nathan received his Master’s in Risk and Insurance. What was that experience like? What have been some of Nathan’s strategies to further his knowledge and career? What advice would Nathan give his younger self? What is Nathan currently reading?   Mentioned in This Episode: Amerisure.com Leading Without Authority: How the New Power of Co-Elevation Can Break Down Silos, Transform Teams, and Reinvent Collaboration, by Keith Ferrazzi