Can you describe your grad scheme and the rotations?
At Lloyd’s, the graduate schemes have quite a unique setup. We do four six-month rotations, with placements both at Lloyd’s the Corporation, and as part of the market. Currently, I’m in a role at a managing agent. I’m part of their innovation and product development team, meaning I conduct research on behalf of the business and underwriters to help them develop their ideas. Innovation is really the area that interests me - it’s about predicting the change that could shift a whole industry and finding new ways to harness that.
What was your experience on the different rotations on the graduate scheme?
The graduate scheme is very holistic. You get to see the different components that add value for the insurance (such as the claims and underwriting) but you also get to see the Lloyd’s perspective, how it’s impacting and supporting the market. Having that complete overview here is really valuable in terms of seeing which direction insurance is going and also helping me make my own decisions in terms of where I’d like to go within Lloyd’s in the future.
Why do you think it’s important that Lloyd’s has a graduate scheme?
I think the graduate scheme is very good at getting people from different backgrounds into insurance. Traditionally, that has maybe not been the case, but if I look at my graduate cohort, we have people from all different backgrounds and disciplines. People have studied everything from philosophy to music, geography to chemistry. I think that diversity of opinion really matters and counts, and will continue to be important for Lloyd’s moving forwards.
Why do you think innovation is so important?
Innovation is important because the world is changing, so risks are changing and insurance is changing as a result. In terms of looking at what exposures people have, there are risks from anything from climate change to technological developments. We’re also seeing a lot of new risks in the cyber space. It’s really important to keep up with the new trends and not be behind; while that can damage our own business, it also means we can’t provide the protection that our customers need.