Risk Analyst
Matthew Goodwin, Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd
Risk first attracted me because of the wide scope of knowledge required and the opportunity to work with colleagues across the organisation. Risk management has increasingly become a critical management issue and new entrants to the field can make a meaningful difference to their company’s performance.
Senior Risk Manager
Jonathan Graham, Beazley Group
In common with many of my peers, I didn’t start my career in risk management, nor did I specifically plan to move into risk management. This has resulted in many risk management departments in the insurance sector being comprised of individuals with an eclectic range of skills and prior experience, a practice that has been embraced as a positive by many companies. However, as the practise of risk management in the insurance sector has evolved in the past seven or eight years, so has the number of entry level positions available, and many graduates now plan to begin their insurance sector careers in risk management. As a result, in many companies, the graduates who are now joining established risk management departments will have the opportunity to work with, and learn from colleagues who have a broad base of previous experience.
I started my career by training as an accountant, preparing and auditing the accounts of private and public companies, and since then I have chosen to broadened my experience by working in a variety of roles in the insurance sector, before joining Beazley last year. These roles have included Regional Coordinator, Senior Risk Analyst, Corporate Services Audit Manager, Risk Controller, Development Manager and Head of Risk, working for a global broker, Lloyd’s and London Market insurers and the Corporation of Lloyd’s. My employers have also been kind enough to sponsor me to study for the CII exams and an MBA, to complement my accountancy qualification. I find my current role particularly appealing because the structure of the department has given me the opportunity to focus on a smaller population of risks, namely the Strategic, Group and Regulatory and Legal risk categories, in addition to developing the emerging risk framework and having responsibility for reporting to a number of committees and boards.
For “big picture” thinkers, the risk management department has the advantage of being one of the few departments where there is the opportunity to see the operation and interaction of all of the departments in the business, from the core business areas of underwriting, claims, reinsurance and reserving to the various support functions, from a reasonably early stage in your career. Additionally, it provides the opportunity to build relationships with many colleagues in the company, from the operations teams to the executive and non-executive directors, this variety ensures that no two days at work are the same.
The time I have spent in risk management has given me the opportunity to learn from my peers and enabled me to develop a range of readily transferable skills, and should I choose to move away from risk management later in my career, I can envisage how I will be able to apply many of these skills in a number of other roles.
Chief Risk Officer
Paul Martin, Catlin Group
In my role as Chief Risk Officer at Catlin, I look across our entire global business to inform the board and senior executives of the key risks facing the company, whether they be internal or external, to assist them in developing our strategic direction.
I studied Mathematics with Statistics at university and chose to enter the actuarial profession on graduating in the late 1980s. I have worked in the property and casualty insurance industry throughout my career within both consultancy and company environments. I joined Catlin more than 14 years ago as their first actuary. Catlin now has one of the largest actuarial teams in the market. As the company grew and the risk profile became more diverse, I was asked to lead the Enterprise Risk Management team to ensure we take a consistent view of all that risks our business faces.
I have brought together an Enterprise Risk Management team with from a range of backgrounds, including experience from underwriting, actuarial, finance, investment and risk fields. One of the real pleasures of my job has been to witness this diverse group of technical, pragmatic and commercial practitioners evolve into one team that is comfortable challenging each other about issues that are usually considered outside of their core skill set. This enables the whole team to be much more effective as a unit.
Risk professionals are in many ways exposed to all facets of the insurance business at a much earlier stage than almost any other career path as their skills lie in understanding how things are done, challenging processes and the status quo, and looking for the risks inherent in any business model to help define the control process. As our team has progressed, it has often been the risk professionals questioning the rationale and purpose of some of the more technical aspects of our role that has led to the most beneficial outcomes for the business.