Commercial Underwriting Intern Review

I really enjoyed my placement. It was the second internship I had done with Allianz, both of which have been fantastic. The work was interesting, and was not repetitive at all. I was constantly given new tasks, new things to learn, and was fully integrated into the social life of the office. I was treated like any other member of the team, but also given more time to complete tasks if needed, and there was constant support.

After doing two internships with Allianz, I can without a doubt say that Allianz values its interns. You are given work that if you were not doing it, they would be. It is proper work that needs doing, and when you do it well, it is appreciated by your colleagues. I was never sat at my desk doing nothing; my colleagues always wanted me to get involved in their work, and respected my input.

At Allianz they really do provide a fantastic level of support for the interns. When starting, very few know anything about insurance, so they expected you to be starting from scratch. As long as your willing to listen and learn, they will provide you will all the support you need. As you learn more, you are given more responsibility, and this is reviewed on a daily basis. As soon as I was comfortable with the work I was doing, my line manager was keen for me to start more challenging work, and would sit down with my every time to make sure I understood what I was doing. Other members of the team would constantly grab a chair next to me to check up on me, see how I was doing, and answer any questions I may have, even if they were not directly related to the task at hand.

By involving me in a range of tasks, I always had work that I could be getting on with. At the start of the internship I had numerous workshops and 1-2-1s where I learnt about a large range of tasks that I could get involved in. For the remainder of the internship, I then had my main few projects to get on with, but I could dip in and out of other peoples' work as and when I was required, or if I ever had any free time. I always had work to be getting on with, but I also did not feel too stressed that I would stay later than 5, unless I particularly wanted to get a piece of work done before I left. By the end of the internship, I was just like any other employee, with a range of responsibilities in the office and constant work that I had to get on with, which made the internship fly by.

At the beginning Allianz started me off with smaller tasks, but as soon as I was comfortable with that task, and I had learnt enough, they would move me onto something more challenging with more responsibility. What was important was that my line manager was always asking me to take on the next level of responsibility, but only if I was comfortable and he thought I was capable. By the end of the placement I was on the phone negotiating possible business prospects with brokers and making judgement calls that would directly affect the risks coming into the business.

The training I received will most definitely put my in a better position for applying for graduate jobs in the insurance industry. I was given 1-2-1 workshops on a daily basis where I learnt more about the insurance industry, Allianz's products, and the techniques and skills of a commercial underwriter. These skills could be applied for any commercial insurance company, not just Allianz. However, I have also been taught in depth about the different products that Allianz offers, which puts me in a good position to apply for the Allianz Management Trainee scheme. More generally, I have developed my excel skills dramatically, as well as essential skills in the office like how to use Microsoft outlook, and how to work in a corporate environment.

The office had a good balance between work and fun. Work was taken seriously, and everyone got on with their own work, and helped others when need be. But it was not a room full of stress; people chatted, joked and most importantly involved me in this social side of the office, which made the internship far more enjoyable. We would often go out for lunch together, and then occasionally drinks after work. Colleagues were constantly asking each other for advice in their work, which gave my a good insight into the variety of work being done in the office.

Allianz have a dedicated HR manager who looks after the interns, and there is also a manager who looks after your particular field e.g commercial, claims, retail etc. On your first day you have a welcome day at their training centre, and there are more intern days where all the interns meet up, discuss how the internship is going, and look forward towards next steps in our career. The whole internship was very straight forward, and I always knew where I needed to be. Furthermore, my team organised me to go on a variety of days out of the office, so overall it was organised very well.

Allianz invest in their interns, and really do make you feel valued. My branch spent at least an hour a day either going through something with me, or teaching me something new - this was time that could be spent trading. Allianz also provide a number of intern days where they take you to the training office with lunch and transport all paid for. This is the same for the application process - I know one intern flew over from Ireland for his interview and it was paid for - this is just one example where Allianz invests in its interns.

Allianz UK is part of Allianz Insurance Plc, which is then part of the Allianz group, one of the largest companies in the world. The graduates in Allianz go on to work in all areas of the company, and there are opportunities for the grads to work all over the UK; Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Guildford, and then there are international opportunities, specifically in India.

As I was in a branch this year I was the only intern in the office, so there was very little social opportunities this year, although we did meet up a couple of times. However, I know last year when I was in head office there was a much bigger social scene for the interns. However, amongst other colleagues in the branch there was a couple of social events outside of work, and we often went for drinks after work.

I lived at home, so not very expensive at all. However, I know the city I worked in has also been rated as one of the cheapest cities for students, so I imagine it would have been cheap to find accommodation if need be.

It wasn't bad, but I was quite close to home so didn't really go out where I worked.

At my branch there were not that many, but I do know other interns played for the Allianz football team, as well as going to the local gym with colleagues.