Catastrophe Risk Analyst Review

Overall the internship was incredibly enjoyable. The culture of the firm is incredibly supportive in terms of professional development and work/life balance and it was a pleasure to work here. During my internship, I was giving many opportunities and was actively encouraged to talk to industry professional both within and outside of the business. It is definitely a great experience if you wish to discover more about brokerage/consulting work. Outside of work, there were plenty of times we went for drinks and two summer parties so it was good on the social side too.

The team I was placed within was very friendly and sociable, and took us out for several events including drinks and two summer parties. The work we were giving was quite intense, but this reflects the overall team treating the interns like any other employee which is a huge plus.

I received plenty of support during my time here. Weekly meetings with my line manager as well as regularly keeping up-to-date with HR meant that it was quite a structured and well planned experience with clear goals and objectives. Additionally, I wished to explore other areas of the business that matched my interest and this was facilitated by HR on numerous occasions. Being placed with senior members of the business and to both network and learn from them was an invaluable experience which really supported my own development.

The scope of my project was quite broad so there was always quite a lot of work to do within our team. I never felt particularly overworked, but also never bored as there was always different elements to add to our internship project. The internship is designed to really allow you to decide how much responsibility to take on and go forward with.

Within the scope of our project, I essentially had full control over the direction with little supervision, so definitely a lot of responsibility in that regard. That being said, I was not given any client work during my internship despite asking, although other teams did delegate that to their interns.

The work is tangentially related to my educational background and definitely aided in providing a more holistic view of the insurance sector and pricing placement within reinsurance. Working within a brokerage/consultancy over the summer provided an in depth look within financial services and all the different paths that my career could take me, and in that sense the commercial awareness I developed was invaluable.

The general atmosphere is quite laid-back and relaxed. The team would regularly go for walks and drinks and we were encouraged to take coffee/tea breaks if we were stressed. The office I was in definitely had a more communal feel to it than other offices I have worked in previously and was pleasant to work in.

The projects we were set were quite well organised and planned months in advance of us arriving there. As this is a large company with a well-established internship recruitment programme, it was very smoothly run with an established structure and path for us to follow. Similarly, the business is incredibly open to interns exploring other aspects of the business and this is allowed within the internship.

Willis Towers Watson hosted numerous training events, information shares, conferences, collaborative talks with other areas of the business and more. The team I was placed within prepared work months in advanced and had ample training planned in advance too. I definitely think that there was a significant effort to invest in our professional development.

Willis Towers Watson is the third largest brokerage/consultancy in the world within a truly global reach and capacity. The sheer breadth of work that is available is enormous, and covers every geography that you could want to work within. I would encourage anyone who wishes to start their career within financial services to begin here, as it really is a supportive organisation with great prospects for graduates.

There was a good social scene among my colleagues, however I was not placed in an office with many interns so there was definitely less events than in the London office. I would definitely say there is something going on every week, and every time I was in the London office I organised social events with the other interns after work.

Ipswich is very affordable on the salary that is given. The rents in comparison to London are more than halved, and if you live outside of the town but commute in, it can be even cheaper. Food, drinks and amenities in the local area are cheap and you will be able to save up a large portion of your income.

I did not go out too much, however there are definitely nice pubs and bars in the local area.

Willis Towers Watson allowed for interns to attend conferences, events held by external organisations, travel to other offices as well as host social events after work. I would definitely say there are plenty of opportunities to network and learn outside of work and that they are actively encouraged by the organisation.