Insurance, Reinsurance and Risk Management Intern Review

The people at Aon made my experience what it was. Everyone was welcoming and genuinely interested in increasing my insight into the company as much as possible. I was tasked with some enjoyable projects, with success praised and rewarded with more responsibility. However, the amount of work was not equally spread across the internship, leaving some periods with little to do.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, with everyone friendly, inviting me to social events and willing to talk about their own careers and my future progression. Colleagues were always very grateful for any work that i completed for them, with my contributions directly acknowledged throughout. I feel part of the team here at Aon.

My manager was fantatsic, really positive and very approachable. However, i joined when my team was experiencing a very busy renewal period leaving my first few weeks lacking in work and guidance due to the pressure the team was under. This has been discussed with my manager and he is keen that this will not happen in the future.

It was dependent on the day. Some days i had multiple tasks which kept me busy all day. This was also increased by the social impact project i had to complete whilst on the internship, with this project managed by the interns so you could create work for yourself. In terms of work for my team, once a task was completed, it was often slow before another task came in.

My responsibility increased as the internship progressed, with initial work just based on filling in data to spreadsheets for the team. However, after completing a task for the head of my division, he was impressed and allowed me to take on more responsibility. I think i was given as much responsbility as an intern would be able to have. This responsbility was not work on behalf of clients though but work that was for the team that may then be used for client relations in the future.

I think the social impact project was where i have gained the most skills, working for a charity and expanding their exposure. This is an area that i would like to go into in the future so experience here was invaluable. I have a much greater understanding of the insurance industry as a whole following the internship, as well as general experience working in a corporate environment. The only area in which i don't feel as though i have gained skills, is technical skills.

It is a sociable office with the people all really friendly and dynamic. It was very clear to see how the team has to work together to increase their knowledge. I was also able to attend social events with the team which was a great chance to meet new people in the industry and talk to them about their work. Generally, the work enviornment is very relaxed, with people trusted to get on with the work.

All the training days were set up very well, with accomodation and amenities all provided. The internship was less organised once i began work in the office due to the busy renewal period my team experienced, with things like goals not really set prior to undertaking work. The summer holidays also proved difficult, with managers away for up to three weeks of the internship. Although alternatives were arranged, it was sometimes difficult to know who to report to and who i should be asking for work.

Three training days at the start of the intership were really helpful, especially the technical training day in which we learnt more about the insurance industry. There were also weekly Lunch and Learn sessions on different topics, allowing us to learn more about Aon and hear from very senior memebers of Aon which was inspiring.

I think Aon represents itself really well to interns and makes it an appealing place to work as a graduate. There are also alot of other young people in the office who have come up through the graduate and apprenticeship schemes making real responibility seem obtainable. Future employment prospects are positive, with exposure to lots of different areas throughout the internship advertising that there is something for everyone.

Generally the social scene was good amongst other interns, with social events organised by the company and interns in the office taking lunch together. Friendships were also increased by the social impact project in which you were in teams of 8 with other interns. However, being in one of the regional offices rather than London decreased the amount of interns that you would see, with only 3 being in my office. In terms of colleagues, welcome meals, drinks and leaving meals were organised, as well as me being invited out to meals with clients and drinks with colleagues. I would say overall this is a very sociable company.

In the Chelmsford Office, the cost of socialising was much cheaper than for those based in London. However, many social events were paid for by the company so this was not an issue. I lived at home during the internship so living costs were low. Expenses for trips to other offices and training days were covered by the company.

The nightlife in Chelmsford is limited meaning we most went to pubs if going out for drinks, with this ending at around 10pm usually. Whereas, for the London office it is much better due to the central location of the London Office. I did not experience much nightlife directly from the internship.

I think the fact the internship was only 9 weeks limited the amount of acitivities that you could become involved in outside of work. However, i heard very positive things about the sports clubs colleagues were involved in outside of work, as well as there seeming to be good groups for all sections of the community.