Insurance Consulting Summer Intern Review

Very much enjoyed the internship, office atmosphere was very friendly and never got bored. Project work wasn't the most technical (as would expect for an internship) but extra training assignments gave a flavour of what full-time actuarial work would involve. The 8 weeks flew by and I will be sad to leave.

My line manager and first supervisor were both very encouraging and made me feel like I was genuinely helping them out. I was keen to be as helpful and as little of a hindrance as possible.

My line manager and first supervisor were both very helpful and provided excellent support and guidance. My second supervisor was unfortunately very busy so had little time to answer questions or explain work and I saw very little of him over the course of the internship - for the most part we only communicated via email. It would have been nice to have been given more to do and more regular support for my second project.

I never had a free moment, and worked fairly efficiently everyday. However I often had to ask for more work if I saw a quiet period approaching, mostly due to a supervisor being unavailable to set further work and answer questions as they were going through a busy period. People were always happy to take time explaining new tasks to me and suggest other pieces for me to do when I asked.

I was set work involving client data on my first day in the office, although most work I completed was checked over by my supervisors. It was left to me to make people aware if I had run into any issues or had any questions, and as the internship went on I was trusted more to get on with the work unassisted. I think I was given a good level of guidance but also the opportunity to use initiative and solve problems.

My Excel skills have come a long way which will be useful in my final year at uni and likely in my future job as well. I have learnt how to effectively communicate in a corporate environment, a skill which will definitely set me up for life in an office job. I have gained some technical knowledge of the insurance industry and associated actuarial processes which will give me a headstart if I pursue an actuarial career as planned.

The office atmosphere was the thing that made the biggest impression on me from the internship - everyone was so welcoming and chatty and I just didn't expect it to be so friendly! Everyone seemed to get along and support eachother. It didn't seem competitive or too high pressure. I feel lucky to have got an internship in such a lovely office.

The internship was very well structured and organised, you could tell that it had been running for years. We were given a schedule for training sessions throughout the internship and each assigned project supervisors and line managers. Appropriate project work was prepared for us to tackle and we had review meetings with supervisors and line managers to track our progress. There was somebody overseeing the smooth running of the internship and various people checking up on us all the time.

We had regular training sessions throughout where colleagues would sacrifice some of their time to give presentations and talk us through key concepts in the work they typically complete. People were always willing to answer my questions in the office. On some occasions people were willing to sit down and explain a concept to me for over an hour, which was much appreciated.

Very appealing, the work seems enjoyable and technical enough that I would not get bored. The office atmosphere was so friendly. I have spoken with a lot of young people in the office who joined as a university graduate in recent years and they all were very positive about their experience so far. They are great employment benefits and the study scheme seems good.

Yes, there was at least one social event after work every week, including a pub crawl and a summer party. Interns were always invited to office socials. Everybody ate lunch together and joined eachother for coffee breaks. There were a lot more young people in the office than I expected.

I was lucky enough to have accommodation with a family member for the duration of the internship so cannot comment on living costs. Social events were not too expensive, drinks were reasonably priced.

I cannot comment as I did not experience the nightlife. From what I have heard it is not too wild.