Owlnotes.com

Underwriting Technical Associates work in the insurance industry. When looking at a potential client, you review the risk of taking the client and whether they are going to be worth insuring basically predicting that the insurance company will not lose a lot of money when taking this client on. I deal with personal lines of insurance.

If it's dealing with a client's home, we want it to be in a good area, and we want to make sure that the insured is able to pay the premiums, or insurance payments. We review the client's exposure where they live basically the dangers posed to them when they are at home. Also, we consider their occupation, because if they are high risk, we won't provide liability insurance (insurance for any potential personal lawsuits). If the house is in an area prone to fire, we will not insure the home, or we'll insure it without coverage for fire. If a potential client is searching for automobile insurance, we review his driving record. We are more lenient with existing clients, because most people want all of their insurance needs to be met by the saem company. We would rather undertake a small amount of risk than lose all of that client's accounts to another company.

You really have to be organized, because you do a lot of things in one day. You have to be able to prioritize, or you won't be able to finish all of your tasks. You also have to be prepared for the unexpected; sometimes problems arise that you have to handle quickly. You have to have knowledge of the insurance industry - what kind of insurance coverage is necessary, how the insurance industry makes money, etc. Otherwise, you won't be able to understand industry standards and company policies.

Every person who owns a home or has insurance should fully understand his insurance policy and the extent of the coverage offered. Everyone should understand basic insurance. I know when I should call my insurance company, or whether I have coverage for a certain calamity, and I know the rights of the insured. I like it a lot!

I started as part time worker in the Records department, which filed the records of the clients, because I thought that I could go back to what I used to do, which was actuarial studies. I just needed a job, so I started part time.

I was an actuarial researcher in the equivalent of the Social Security system for the Philippines. The Actuarial Department researched statistics regarding old age and retirement. I started as an Actuarial Computer, meaning the one who computes the math on the topics that the actuarial researchers were working on. Then I became a researcher. I completed my analyses based on computer calcuations, and then the actuarial statisticians would review my work.

Because it was a government position, you had to take government exams to qualify. After you pass the government exams, you apply for a position. At the time, there was an opening in that office, and as far as salary and stability, it was one of the better ones it was ranked as one of the top high-paying government positions. The job also fit with my college major, so it was good for me at the time.

I earned a B.S. in Statistics at the University of Philippines, Diliman.

I began college as a chemistry major, but I didn't like it. My friends who were studying statistics didn't have to study too hard, and were getting good grades so I switched! The degree program was similar to what I had already completed, so I was able to change majors in my third year.

The company offered me a full time position, still with Records, but instead I was working on claims verification and the renewal of policies. I was very interested in this subject, so I accepted the offer. From there, they moved me up to Customer Service, where I was in charge of processing of endorsements (clients who had been approved) and answering phone calls from customers. Customer Service basically meant that you had to do everything as far as clerical operations were concerned, so you had to answer the phone, you had to deal with the insurance agent, you had to deal with the insured, you had to handle the internal and external customers and process the work - all at the same time. From then on, they created the New Business Department, where we only process and underwrite new business or new clients. It is more underwriting and issuance of policies based on our new parameters (rules that help us decide whether the risks of the client claiming insurance outweighed the amount of revenue that was potentially to be received from the client).

I read my emails and then start on my workload, which is analyzing about nine potential new clients a day. And then, I also send emails and make calls to insurance agents requesting more information about the potential clients. While I am working, I also have to answer the phone calls from people calling me back with information I had previously requested. And, people also ask questions about how to do certain things, so you I get interrupted alot. If I finish that work, then I try to catch up on other tasks, like review of suspends (potential new clients that I had to set aside while waiting for more information.) Sometimes my manager asks for help completing priority projects. Even though I have my set work, I am forced to drop everything and complete what the managers asked me to finish first. If there is a complaint from a client, then you are expected to drop everything you are doing and work on the complaint before returning to your other work. Complaints need to be answered in 24 hours it's company policy.

We have what is called "compressed work week." It is flexible time; it is still set but you can opt for two days a month that you get off in exchange for longer hours. I opted for the once a month off, so I work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. for 3 weeks, and then 7:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. one week, and have one day off. So, I work 75 hours in two weeks, or 150 hours a month.

My job is not really based on teamwork, because I am accountable for my own work. But, on a different level, it is based on teamwork, because we are also gauged on whether our team reaches the goals set by our supervisors. I have different goals for myself. I have to have a certain percentage for my work and quality, but we are also viewed on how the whole team performs. If I am at 100%, but the team percentage is low, it doesn't mean that my rating is way up. Our team has to meet the goals that we are given.

There is variety because each new business is different.

I don't know how much starting salary is. Those are never posted or discussed. I make $44,000 with 15 years experience.

When my child was small, I didn't really want to do the compressed workweek because I needed to pick her up at a certain time, and I needed to be out of the house at a certain time. To me, it was not worth it to get one day off; it was better for me to be able to pick my daughter up every day and spend more time with her every day at home. Because she's away at college now, the extra 45 minutes every day really helps, because it gives me more time to finish my work. Plus, most of my team members are working the compressed week, and we get the same amount of work, but when I was working the normal week, I had less time to complete it. We all got nine potential new clients a day, but I had less time to finish all of them. It's a lot easier for me to finish my workload with slightly longer hours. Plus, my husband comes home at around 6:00 p.m., so we still get to spend time at home together.

It gets to a point where it is really stressful because of the workload I have. If it is just you working on your own, then you are fine, but it is the other things that slow you down and stress you out. That is the price I pay, since I've been with the company for 15 years. I know the ins and outs of the system more than someone who just came in from somewhere else. I like it because I know I am valued, but it becomes stressful because you can't focus on what you are supposed to do. You are there because you are supposed to do one thing, but you cannot devote 100% to it.

I like it because I am able to apply it to my daily life. Now, I am able to understand my own insurance policies. A person who is not familiar with insurance will just take any insurance policy and expect that they have coverage to take care of them in case of a calamity. I, on the other hand, understand everything because of my experience. I know what every single thing on my insurance policy means because I know the basic rules when it comes to insuring a client. I know them like the back of my hand.

It gets stressful because of the amount of work you get. But this is one of the best places that anyone can dream of working because of the people that work there. The company is good and stable, but there are a lot of stable companies that you can work for. The people that work here are special people. As far as the camaraderie and the fun we have at work, I don't think there is any company that can beat us!

Everything is going to be computerized. When we started, someone did the entry (inputting the information), someone else did the quotes (an estimate of how much coverage is necessary for the client and how much it should cost) everyone was specialized in their work. The current trend and where our company is going is towards a computer system where you quote a policy, and based on your assumptions, you can issue the insurance policy ibased on your personal quote rather than having to go through a person inputting information, etc. Also, they have programmed the computer so that if you need to review the risks a client poses, it will tell you to do so or vice versa. For example, where I live, in Mira Mesa, there is a risk for brush fire in certain areas. But, if you know Mira Mesa enough as the underwriter for the area, you know which areas are not high risk. If the computer knows that, then the agent does not have to ask about the area, they can issue the policy because the computer tells them it is not in a dangerous area. We're still not the direct writers of insurance policies; our agents write the policy for us. So, we save money and commission if we can tell the computer to communicated this information to the agent, so the agent doesn't have to go and check out the situation for herself.

There will always be insurance, and insurance will always be in demand. It is crazy to own property if you don't insure it. It's like throwing it away. If you have a mortgage, you are required to have insurance because if anything happens to the house, the bank wants to know they can get their money. If you have a vehicle, not only do you want to have insurance for what your vehicle is worth, you also want to have liability insurance in case of an accident. Insurance will always be necessary; it's not a fad. It's still a good field. There are a lot of insurance companies that are good and growing.

My mathematical background definitely helps me in my job. I do manual rating .It's not really statistics that helped me, but it's my strong mathematical background that made my manual rating easier to comprehend and perform.

There is nothing as far as a certain degree you should get. There are different positions depending on what you want to do in the insurance field, so there are different skills you might need. If you want to be a manager in the long run, you'll need managerial skills. Communication would be a good major, because you have to deal with people and agents. You have to be able to assert yourself and explain to them what you want. You have to write a lot as well; you need to correspond. But if you are in the medical field, it doesn't mean that you can't enter the insurance field. You need good analytical skills and organizational skills, but you need that at any job. Skills are more important than your educational background.

If they are going though my company, I would suggest that they go through the West region. We have a program where we will train college students for free and pay for everything - as far as licensing and everything, which can rack up and if you do on the job training with the company, you can get a job as soon as you finish which starting at $40,000. You can also go into commercial insurance - we have different types of lines depending on what you want to do. It's a very nice program, because it is a sure shot at income as soon as you graduate. It's like an apprenticeship for a nice salary. We have two people who have completed this program this program.

I like doing what I do because I know my job well, and I've very comfortable with it. I started from the bottom, so I know what goes on in every area. I like the people that I work with. I learned to like it; it wasn't what I originally dreamed I would be doing after college. But, it gives me purpose, and it pays well. You work because you want to earn a living, and if along that line you enjoy what you are doing, then I think you can consider your career a successful fit.