Jonathan is an accident and health underwriter for Creechurch
What, in your opinion, is the key challenge facing the insurance industry today?
Maintaining focus and emphasis on why we have been successful as an industry and maximising those elements for the future. The trap awaiting us is that we concentrate too much on reducing the impact of our shortcomings and just hope that the plus points take care of themselves.
Why did you decide to become an underwriter?
The decision was made for me by the most respected accident and health underwriter in Lloyd’s of the time, Tony Cassidy. He offered me a job when I was a young broker.
Why did you choose to work at Lloyd’s?
When I started in my career the City was a centre of excellence for financial services, and it still is. Within the City, Lloyd’s offered appealing opportunities to combine intellectual rigour with advocacy.
What do you like most about the job?
The variety of the day-to-day challenges from underwriting unusual risks personally, through negotiating a changing regulatory framework to liaising with capital suppliers, reinsurers and business producers across the world.
What do you like least about the job?
Very little really, but if pushed I would say the need to spread myself more thinly than is ideal in order to accomplish the breadth of tasks we all seem to have now.
What’s your specialisation, and what made you focus on that area?
I am an accident and health specialist and that came about initially because I was interested in broking the class and took up an opportunity when another broker resigned to look after his accounts. Then Tony Cassidy employed me, and found out I had an immunology with physiology degree.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever been asked to insure?
Chest hair! Try Googling on chest hair insurance and see how many hits you get, and from where. In Lloyd’s brand recognition terms, it was probably one of Lloyd’s most successful UK communication strategies and all prompted by the question “have you seen any unusual risks recently?”
When was your best underwriting day – and why?
The best days you have as an underwriter are often when you decline a risk for the right reason, and then avoid a loss a few months later as a consequence. However, like the birth of your first child, the day you write the first risk for the syndicate that bears your name is a very special experience. I was very fortunate to enjoy that in September 1998.
Contact
Creechurch Underwriting Ltd
17th Floor
30 St. Mary Axe
London
EC3A 8BF
Tel: +44 (0)20 7150 9900
