Reinsurance Opportunities and Career Paths
I graduated in 2011 from a non-target in economics and recently landed a gig at a small insurance group as a Reinsurance Associate. It is an entry level role where I am essentially learning their business from the ground up, but I am able to venture into other aspects of the business such as sales, underwriting, marketing, finance, or accounting. Basically, considering my situation:
-What do you believe would be my best options moving forward with this company and possibly leveraging this experience to move into a bigger role at a top company after a couple of years? (Analyst roles, AM roles, Brokerage)
-Do you believe the opportunities in reinsurance are vast, and if so, what aspect of this particular industry should I consider? (Or should I consider moving into P&C etc.)
-Also, what designations, certificates, higher-education, or licenses should I consider obtaining in the meantime to further advance my career?
Thank you for your time and any advice or comment on the reinsurance industry specifically is truly appreciated.
For reinsurance, is it similar to the insurance industry where the you have to take the Actuary exams? If that is true you should probably take those as certification and try underwriting. Although I am heading into banking I find the Insurance industry quite interesting and I have a few friends from mathematics heading into graduate programs at AIG and MetLife and the actuary exams seem to be the norm for the higher paying underwriting and risk modelling roles. I believe most people on the forum have knowledge about the various departments of the investment bank such as trading, research, capital markets, banking but unfortunately I am not sure if people can provide the specific information on reinsurance that you want.
IMO really only true if you want to be an actuary.
Sounds like a great position, try to get as much exposure and info on the different areas within your company (and your Reinsurers) and keep up with industry trends (e.g. convergence). Think about for each of these paths what will best position you to move forward. Reinsurance is a small and very relationship driven market so always be networking. Certifications are less important than network and experience; however, there are a few certs seen often: CPCU, ARe, the standard Actuarial or cat modeling designations.
If you're looking to transition over to AM or other finance roles, I would think a CFA would be a good thing to have.
Thank you all for the great advice. As for the thread "Banking on Insurance", I have read that and it is very informative.
That is true, I don't see myself taking the actuary path. I am basically in the position to learn the business as a whole, but the company I work for is small, so although there is room for growth I am limited in scope (i.e. no pe or hf arms). I just want to understand how to leverage the experience I gain now into something bigger in the future. What type of finance roles would I able to transition over to with something like a CFA and experience with reinsurance? Are there special type of funds or leveraged units I could work for that look for experience in reinsurance? Thank you for taking the time to help me out and I appreciate the advice.
I worked in insurance last summer and it is an interesting field that many people don't necessarily think of doing. However, there are actuaries who do the background work to figure out the pricing whereas the underwriter just goes out and tries to bring in business and negotiate a price which is in part brought in using the models from the actuaries. It is kind of like the front office so to speak of the insurance industry.
As far as moving forward I would say it is useful as long as you can explain it and how you create relationships with the customers and such. However, if you like it then you could try to take actuary classes to take the exam although it is very tough. You could also take the CFA and try to move to another business or go get your MBA if you want to switch into banking.
There's a good thread that starts with "Banking on Insurance". I would suggest you read it
Np man. I'm trying to learn more about the industry myself but from what I gather it seems to be a good place to be. Good many and better work/life balance.
Who knows potential salaries in this industry? As in starting, mid-career, and bonus?
Here is a good source for actuarial and other quant role salary broken down in detail: http://www.dwsimpson.com/salary.html
thanks. I was looking more for salaries as an underwriter or broker
Hard to get good numbers independently quoted:
U/W not surprisingly varies greatly by line and location. Bermuda P&C reinsurance underwriters with decent experience probably get base of ~150k with significant bonuses (could be multiples) depending on performance of book. 2007 avg total salary was $314,310 according to this link (http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20080829/BUSINESS/308299927) would also get housing and other allowances maybe deferred stock. US based would garner less though in NYC/CT perhaps not by much and insurance u/ws (not RE) considerably so.
Brokers comp can reach to millions if they're placing for the bigger programs but obviously entry level and overall average is much less, probably same base but less all-in than U/Ws. There's some info on glassdoor for Aon, Guy Carp and Willis salaries, e.g:
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Aon-Senior-Broker-Salaries-E53_D_KO4,17…
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Guy-Carpenter-Vice-President-Broker-Sal…
Wow thanks for the info. I wasn't sure how legit salaries are on glassdoor but that article is promising.
Bump
Bump
Bump? Anyone with any additional information? I've searched all over, but it's impossible to find any forum posts by people discussing reinsurance elsewhere.
I'm an actuary at a reinsurer in Bermuda. It's definitely a very niche and small industry, but if you can find the right path upward (usually in underwriting or actuarial), it can be as (or more) lucrative than finance while maintaining very reasonable working hours.
However, the industry itself is currently getting squeezed due to increased competition from the plethora of capital available (no hurricanes over the last 10 years, low interest rates, alternative capital). There has been a spike in M&A activity over the past 12 months as companies are trying to figure out how to stay profitable going forward. As a result, jobs as a whole are becoming scarcer in the industry.
Currently, it seems like the reinsurance brokers have been in a flurry to compete for talent, so reinsurance brokers' salaries are being bid up currently. The big 3 brokers (Aon, Guy Carpenter, and Willis) are poaching each others' employees left and right.
Likely, the easiest path upward would be to start out as a broker at one of these firms and then try to find some transition into underwriting once you've developed enough industry knowledge.
Hope this is helpful.
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