Underwriter Review

The internship exceeded my expectations and has confirmed to me that insurance is the industry for me. I had great exposure to all aspects of insurance from underwriting new business to surveying to even broker visits. I can honestly say I have really enjoyed the last 9 weeks and to some extent its a shame it has come to an end. I would highly recommend the internship to anyone who is thinking about applying.

All my colleagues were extremely welcoming to me and gave me real support throughout the placement. I was given huge amounts of responsibility and trust which was a really rewarding feeling for me. I had the opportunity to complete some mini projects and the praise I got at the end of them was fantastic, they really made me feel part of the team even if I was only there for 9 weeks.

I'd heard that Allianz were known for their support to employees and working for Allianz over the last 9 weeks has only confirmed that to me. When I arrived my line manager had set me a plan for the 9 weeks with various training sessions with colleagues. I also had regular catch up's with my line manager, who was brilliant, to see if I was enjoying the internship and checking I was getting as much out of it as I possibly could. You also get allocated a buddy who always checks up on you and again confirms I was enjoying the internship and making sure I was getting exposure to as many areas of the business as I could.

You are as busy as you want to be. Something I learnt was to be proactive not reactive. I tried to take on as much work as I could, you have to remember you are only there for 9 weeks which is not a long. I was lucky that my line manager and buddy tried to keep me busy, which they succeeded in. At times you may feel you are not getting enough work, so go speak to people and ask if you can help them at all.

Considering I was an intern and I was only there for 9 weeks, I was given huge amounts of responsibility. They trusted me to complete work that a senior underwriter would normally undertake, but with the training and support I was given I had the confidence to carry out the tasks. Towards the end of the internship I was even trusted to train up a new temporary colleague to the standard I was trained to.

If you were to ask me did I think I would be where I am today 9 weeks ago I would have said no chance. However, the support and training I was given has allowed me to develop a new set of skills now. I am now currently in the process of applying for the CIG Scheme at Allianz. I now have 9 weeks experience on people who are going straight onto the scheme which is a real confidence boost.

There was about 35-40 people on my floor in the office so it got fairly busy at times and it's usually rather loud. However, it had a real friendly atmosphere to it and there was one person in the office who wouldn't try and not help out a colleague who sought advice or help. There was great collaboration and communication between everyone and although we were there to work and get the job done we had fun and had a really good time.

My line manager put a lot of time into creating me an induction plan for my 9 weeks. It was detailed with what I would be doing and who would be running the session. My line manager planed it so I would get exposure to all aspects of the business which I did. Training sessions were put into place for me so I could be as helpful as I possibility could. My line manager also set me objectives to meet at the beginning of 9 weeks and helped me achieve them by giving me valuable advice and constructive criticism.

I was lucky enough that my colleagues found the time for me to deliver training sessions. They trained me up as quickly and effectively as possible so I was then of some value in the latter weeks to come. I also got to attend a underwriting clinic at a brokerage which was hugely beneficial.

Hugely, the fact that I now have started to develop a new set of valuable skills I only want to continue to develop them. Allianz as a company though is really appealing to work for. The support and financial backing they provide is really promising and I would definitely like to work for a company that treats their employees the way Allianz aspire to.

I was actually the only intern at my branch so in terms of socialising regularly with them I didn't get the chance to. However, I did get the opportunity to socialise with current graduates and my colleagues regularly. We went out to lunch together a lot and would go out to bars/clubs occasionally. Again this is something Allianz really understand, that work, life balance. I also got to attend our summer party which was brilliant.

I actually commuted from home to where I worked. But from what I had heard in terms of cost of living I think it was very reasonable. However, I did get to experience the socialising side of things in the area. There were loads of great bars in the area which we attended on a regular basis. I also had the opportunities to attend to CII Mid Kent events that the CII put on for employees.

There were loads of great bars and clubs in the area which I worked in. They are all in the same area so it has a really buzzing atmosphere at night. Its good for meeting people as well, when you are outside of work everyone relaxes and its a great way to "break the ice".

Allianz put on many social events and activities on for employees. The CII Mid Kent had talks on interesting topics weekly and then followed by food and some drinks. I also got involved in 5 a-side football every Thursday which was always enjoyable. A couple of times all the interns sent an email around and we would get together for a night out which was always good fun.