Summer Intern Review

As an overall experience, I did really enjoy my time at Allianz. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount and variety I was able to work on, and the degree of responsibility I was given. The people here really make an impact on the quality of the internship.

Working in Allianz Legal Protection was genuinely like working in a family. Everyone is very positive and happy to interact, and they are all very inclusive, from junior members all the way up to senior staff.

My manager was highly supportive throughout the entire process. Even though this was their first experience managing a summer intern, her lack of experience did not show at all. She frequently checked in and we had weekly meetings to get updates on my progress, but still had contact everyday to discuss projects I was working on.

It was a wide range. In the beginning, all the introductory meetings and familiarising myself meant my projects didn't get going until I was settled in, which lead to a busy period, and then bits of lull while they were out of my hands when working with external agencies. This isn't anyone's particular fault; this is just the way it happens when you're only working for an internship duration.

Lots of responsibility was given to me. Of the 5 major tasks I was given, two of which were working with external agencies, I was the main point of contact. Although I did consult with my manager and colleagues in getting their feedback, I had large amounts of responsibility. For my other projects, I did a lot of research on my own and presented it to my manager. After their approval, they trusted my research and decision.

My degree course is not directly related to Marketing and Insurance, although I do have some modules in similar areas, particularly as the tasks I was given differs from the theory content of my degree studies. However, it has aided in learning how to work with teams.

The atmosphere of the office was great. The office had just been newly moved into, with lots of bright light and colours, and people were equally as rejuvenated to be there. People were generally very chatty and approachable, for both work context and social context questions. Although there was still a slight divide between Claims and Underwriters due to the layout of the office, people were making the conscious effort to try to integrate.

Some aspects were well organised, some aspects were not. Contacting HR was a bit of a mix, and you had to be on top of things to make sure you had your travel and stay booked. However, if you did, you were comfortable in terms of hotel / travel / transfers. In terms of work planning and objectives, I was very lucky with my manager who made sure I had lots of things to work on, and another colleague also made sure I didn't get bored and gave me a lot of extra things to work on when things went slow. I heard from other interns that in certain divisions, you weren't given a lot of work since they didn't have clearance to do such things. However, the main thing that I found very disappointing was that the Internship Project initially planned fell through, meaning that our assessment became purely reflective, which also impacted the amount of work I had. Having a project would have meant

The internship was too short to really do much proper training and development. A lot of things were learnt on the job, and they tried to include me in as many things as they could that were relevant and increase my awareness.

The prospects are good if they're what you want to do. There are several grad schemes, but they're quite specific to divisions. The only more general scheme is Corporate Management, but that requires mobility and flexibility of divisions you want to be in. Opportunities beyond grad scheme seems are down to where you work, and to some degree, luck. Insurance is a slow moving industry so there aren't loads of people coming and leaving jobs.

I was the only intern based in my office, and Allianz did not tell me there was another intern working in an office seconds away- we only found out a mid-way development day. Although it wasn't a necessity for them to do so, it would have been nice to know and we could have connected earlier. The average age in my office was a bit older so the social scene wasn't possible, although I was invited to one or two outside the office events, like work hen-do. Although Guildford interns I found were much closer, having lunch together everyday since they were based together in the same head office and I heard they had several social nights out.

Bristol had a somewhat pricey cost of living in terms of accommodation - I stayed in University summer accommodation which was about £100-£120 a week including utilities, excluding internet. However, the cost of food and drink is cheaper than it is in London, so that was cheaper in that regard (if London is a fair comparison) The pay that we were offered probably wouldn't be sufficient especially since we weren't provided a travel or location allowance, and where my office was located from the city area it was a 10mile bus journey every day, but living near the office wasn't possible since it was residential / you would need a car / not much around.

Bristol nightlife is fantastic, lots of varying places to go out to pubs or bars, or nightclubs if you wanted. Although somewhat costly, still cheaper than London and the night travel with buses until 4 am meant you could travel back.

No not really. However, the internship was quite short so not much opportunity to join some of their activities - a wine and cheese night / charity obstacle muddy course / bubble football which were all happening shortly after my internship ends.